SKY Into PC

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kiwis

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#183842 31-Oct-2015 19:35

Is it possible to take the output from my Sky Dish and feed it into a PC? HDMI out to HDMI in or something else?

I want to disconnect my input's from my TV and run a customer Media Center with all my Movies and TV series from my Hard Disk and want an option to play my Sky.

Is this possible and if so what do I need? (I'm just talking about getting sky to play into my PC)

gbwelly

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#1417907 31-Oct-2015 22:04

There is a technical way to do this without using the sky decoder by using satellite tuners, a card reader, and a softcam, but someone else will need to explain how as I don't have any experience with this. You could also use a hdfury device to remove hdcp, and an hd capture device like a Hauppauge colossus to capture from hdmi to get the content into the htpc.

Rikkitic

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#1417909 31-Oct-2015 22:07

The dish just collects the signal of any satellites in it's view area and reflects them to a focal point. An LNB at the focus changes the frequency and sends the signal down the cable. At the other end, the signal still needs to be processed by a decoder. This is what the Sky box does. It also unscrambles the signal, which is encrypted. You can't bypass any of this and just plug the cable into a PC.

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rlevis

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#1417945 1-Nov-2015 02:51

I use the card reader method which works very well but very technical. I have heard of a method which takes the output of the Sky decoder and records it to file on a computer. The system also requires an IR blaster which controls the decoder to change channels as required by the media server software. You also need a TV Card in the computer attached to your sat dish so you can retrieve the EPG (program guide data) to see and program which channels to record, like the MySky. But it's only one channel at a time. MediaPortal has plugins for their TV Server to accomplish this configuration.

kiwis

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#1418156 1-Nov-2015 14:52

Cool, so I'm really looking at how I can get sky box to stream via a server/PC?

any ideas?

richms

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#1418165 1-Nov-2015 15:36

Chinese HDMI splitter and then a HDMI capture card should do it. Streaming from HDMI is so common for people sending out to twitch or youtube gaming so there is plenty of hardware that will do it. Chinese HDMI splitter is needed to solve the HDCP issue.

Richard rich.ms

kiwis

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#1418186 1-Nov-2015 17:10

what's the HDCP issue?

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richms

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#1418188 1-Nov-2015 17:14

kiwis: what's the HDCP issue?

Sky box wont output HD without negotiating copy protection. Copy protected content wont work with most capture/streaming devices. Cheap splitters remove copy protection from the input but dont bother to re-add it on the outputs since that would add cost.

Richard rich.ms

Rikkitic

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#1418200 1-Nov-2015 17:16

It is called copy protection. Another futile attempt by Hollywood to put locks on everything so they can charge to unlock. And, like all the others, quickly bypassed by clever bunnies. HDCP prevents you from copying HDMI streams. The right splitter (not all of them) strips this away again.

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kiwis

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#1418388 1-Nov-2015 21:48

So it's not as simple as passing a video/audio feed through a PC?

Rikkitic

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#1418396 1-Nov-2015 22:12

Not really. Two-channel stereo audio isn't difficult, but video is another matter, especially if you want high definition digital video. There are certainly ways to do this, but it isn't a matter of just plugging something in.

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Handsomedan

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#1418627 2-Nov-2015 10:33

I would've thought that a Media PC could simply act as a screen, so to speak - like if you were plugging in a projector...

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Rikkitic

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#1418656 2-Nov-2015 11:23

Depends on the source, doesn't it? What media pc, and what inputs would it have?

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JimmyH

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#1419188 2-Nov-2015 19:31

Rikkitic: Not really. Two-channel stereo audio isn't difficult, but video is another matter, especially if you want high definition digital video. There are certainly ways to do this, but it isn't a matter of just plugging something in.

The issue isn't only with HD video. Even if you want SD pictures, my understanding is that the MySky applies macrovision to its analogue outputs, so you would need either something to clean up the video feed or a capture device that ignores macrovision.

That's one of the key reasons I never went with a MySky - Macrovision is incompatible with the way I distribute video around the house.

Rikkitic

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#1419224 2-Nov-2015 20:05

We still have the antique Pace decoder. S-video to the DVR, which upscales to HDMI. Nowhere near HD, of course, but for our purposes it doesn't matter. We can record anything, any time, no hassles. Wouldn't pay Sky extra for HD anyway, especially considering how little there really is. Anyway, we get HD for free on terrestrial Freeview, not to mention streaming sites.

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wingbat45

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#1419385 3-Nov-2015 00:18

Rikkitic: We still have the antique Pace decoder. S-video to the DVR, which upscales to HDMI. Nowhere near HD, of course, but for our purposes it doesn't matter. We can record anything, any time, no hassles. Wouldn't pay Sky extra for HD anyway, especially considering how little there really is. Anyway, we get HD for free on terrestrial Freeview, not to mention streaming sites.

Bet you get a new one soonish