Getting stuff from sky to other Hard Drive

The_FD

Hi all,

I have sky HD and was planning to record the new series of 24 which starts tomorrow (Sunday). I would like to keep the recordings and watch them in a one'r. If I record them in HD then I won't have ennough space to keep them all on my box - so I would like to copy them to my Sony RDR-HXD995 which has a much bigger memory capacity.

How do I do it? I can never make head nor tail of this stuff. I know I would need to bring the sony from the other room and connect it up to the sky box somehow but can anyone shed some light on how and what connections are needed please.

The_FD

One more thought - to save me having to unplug the Sony and take through to the lounge.......

Just to clarify - I have my Sony in my kitchen with the Sky in the lounge. I have a coax cable which runs from the lounge into my TV in the kitchen with a Magic Eye - this allows me to watch sky in the kitchen, but the same channel as the lounge only. I have no way of recording this because my Sony will record but only from it's built in freeview. Can I just attach the coax from the loung into the Sony and it would then record?

gavinp

Most contents of a SkyHD box are encrypted so cannot be transferred to another box whilst remaining in high definition.

You may be able to copy from one box to another using coax but the picture and sound quality will be very poor in comparison.

A better idea is to upgrade the hard disk in the SkyHD box from the standard 300Gb to a 1000Gb (1 TB) model.

You can then use this free software to copy the contents from one disk to another: http://www.skycopyplus.co.uk/

An example of a suitable 1000Gb hard drive would be:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164282

Instructions on how to remove/replace a hard drive from a SkyHD box is here: http://www.morlocks.co.uk/disc-change-hd.htm

Alternatively you could wait for the 24 box set to be released..

Thanks

Gavin

The_FD

Thanks Gavin,

I have considered getting a bigger hard drive but - there is the cost of the hard drive, plus a hard drive caddie and then I have heard of folks who have found it hard to put it all back together again. Some parts of the Sky box are difficult to put back together. Do you have experience of doing it?

gavinp

Hi, yes I have upgraded a couple of boxes - in fact, I am off to do another one today for my parents.

As long as you don't rush, take your time, print out and then follow the instructions carefully, it really isn't that difficult.

If you have access to a desktop PC with 2 free SATA connections with Windows XP installed, you don't need any caddies and the copying process runs much quicker as well.

Thanks

Gavin

sekrapa

With my sky+ box I connect it to my Sony Hd/DVD recorder via a scart lead. I change the input on the Sony to Line 3 and play the programme on the Sky box and press record on the Sony. I do this before going to work. When I come back it's all done and I then cut out all the adverts. I don't think the Sky HD has any scart sockets so you will have to connect them via HDMI. If your Sony does not have HDMI then the coax is the only way but you will lose definition in picture and sound.

The_FD

gavinp wrote: »

An example of a suitable 1000Gb hard drive would be:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164282

Have you noticed the Samsung EcoGreen being noisy? Does it run smoothly? Some folks say it is noisy...however it is cheaper than many WD drives.

spike7451

sekrapa wrote: »

With my sky+ box I connect it to my Sony Hd/DVD recorder via a scart lead. I change the input on the Sony to Line 3 and play the programme on the Sky box and press record on the Sony. I do this before going to work. When I come back it's all done and I then cut out all the adverts. I don't think the Sky HD has any scart sockets so you will have to connect them via HDMI. If your Sony does not have HDMI then the coax is the only way but you will lose definition in picture and sound.

It does have Scart,if it did'nt you would'nt be able to copy from it to VCR or standard DVD recorder unless you used an RF Flylead.

The_FD

gavinp wrote: »

If you have access to a desktop PC with 2 free SATA connections with Windows XP installed, you don't need any caddies and the copying process runs much quicker as well.

I don't have a PC with 2 free sata connections, (do you actually get them?) Would this caddie work instead?

damo001

if u have a laptop and a suitable usb connection such as ones for use with mp3 players u should be able to just copy the programs over, i can with my sky+, i cant comment on upgrading the hdd in the box itself as i have never done that!!

gavinp

The_FD wrote: »

I don't have a PC with 2 free sata connections, (do you actually get them?) Would this caddie work instead?

I haven't used one of these models but it appears to look suitable - you need to be able to attach both desktop 3.5" SATA drives to the PC so you need something which allows this.

I did my parents Sky HD on Saturday using the EcoGreen drive and it didn't seem any noisier than the original.

Thanks

Gavin