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| Thread ID: 67472 | 2006-03-29 03:01:00 | MySky vs Personal video recorders | kingdragonfly (309) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 441610 | 2006-03-29 03:01:00 | I know we have quite a few people outside NZ . If you're one of those unfortunates you can stop here . I am in no way affliliated with Sky . I have a few personal observations regarding building personal video recorders . I've touched a few PVR software and hardware products, but by no means all . Anyhow I think I can safely say you can't build or buy anything as nice as MySky, even if you were to use two Sky boxes, two IR blasters and two video capture cards . Reason one: since it records the digital signal directly to the hard drive, a recorded show has exactly the same quality as a live show (no analog to digital, digital to analog conversion) Reason two: it can record two programs at once, without the expense of hardware based video encoders, or alternately a fast CPU . Reason three: it's tough to beat it's interactive guide for setting up recordings . Reason four: no IR (infrared) blaster worries to change channels . What's "missing" from MySKy is apparently a way to get at the digital video recordings directly . In other words, someone might want to burn a program to CD/DVD, such as your typical public domain non-copyrighted religious show, to watch later at Church . (wink, wink) The TiVo in the States, and some other PVR's do allow this, though sometimes this means voiding the warranty . You could, of course, play the show and connect a PC with a video capture card, but it has the problem of slightly degrading the signal (digital to analog, analog to digital) . Did I miss anything? |
kingdragonfly (309) | ||
| 441611 | 2006-03-29 03:19:00 | I owned and used a Sky+ box in the UK from virtually the launch there (yep they've had it for years) Sky+ by the way is the UK name for My Sky . Anyway - it changed the way I watch TV . The only real downside to it is . . . it doesn't connect to the rest of the home network, why can't I watch a program I've recorded on a computer in another room, why can't I cut them to DVD to free up space . So now I'm in NZ, and Sky+ is here but I want more . . . . So whats the options, Tivo, not available here . Media Center, well yea but then we are back to two Sky decoders, with blaster to do why My Sky can do and analogue recordings . Ideal world, Media Center (or linux stuff) with two PCI cards that can decode sky . And on the similar subject - what is the state of digital TV in NZ |
gcarmich (10068) | ||
| 441612 | 2006-03-29 03:29:00 | Downside - will only let you watch a movie once - also, if you stop halfway thru, thats it - it's gone. :annoyed: | Peter H (220) | ||
| 441613 | 2006-03-29 03:32:00 | In the UK it gave you 24hr window from when you first started to watch it before it removed it. | gcarmich (10068) | ||
| 441614 | 2006-03-29 03:41:00 | Downside - will only let you watch a movie once - also, if you stop halfway thru, thats it - it's gone. :annoyed: I've heard rumours of some people that always hook up some recording device when watching a pay-per-view program, such as a PC with a video capture board like the Hauppuage PVR-150, but of course this is stealing from Sky. |
kingdragonfly (309) | ||
| 441615 | 2006-03-29 03:53:00 | ... but of course this is stealing from Sky.And if that happens, the Sky will fall on Chicken Little. :thumbs: | Graham L (2) | ||
| 441616 | 2006-03-29 03:55:00 | Downside - will only let you watch a movie once - also, if you stop halfway thru, thats it - it's gone. :annoyed: Thats pathetic. More Big Brother rubbish. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 441617 | 2006-03-29 04:22:00 | Downside - will only let you watch a movie once - also, if you stop halfway thru, thats it - it's gone. :annoyed: The downside of what? My understanding of My-Sky is that the programme is recorded to HDD and can be watched as often as required until deleted. :confused: |
Miami Steve (2128) | ||
| 441618 | 2006-03-29 05:15:00 | I believe Peter H's referring to pay-per-view movies. | kingdragonfly (309) | ||
| 441619 | 2006-03-29 05:20:00 | Correct | Peter H (220) | ||
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