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Old 16-09-2015, 16:17
Philip_H
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I watch BT Sports channels legitimately as a BT customer using the Sky platform with an HD multiroom sky box. I would like to record some of this content for when I`m busy elsewhere. Using a previous SD Sky box I used to record SD on an old Panasonic DVD recorder and it worked although the quality wasn`t great. I am looking to buy a new recorder ideally blu-ray and with a HDD. I have narrowed it down to buying the Panasonic DMR-BWT740EB9. However I`ve now been told that although I can watch the programmes on TV I can`t record them because of encryption. Is this true and does anybody know a way round it?
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Old 16-09-2015, 17:24
chrisjr
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It is entirely possible that BT encrypt their broadcasts. Whether this makes it's way onto the SCART socket on the Sky box in any meaningful way is another matter. There are ways to overcome copy protection on a SCART connection but discussion of such things is frowned upon in DS land.

Basically you will still have to interconnect the Sky box and recorder via SCART as that is the only way to get an audio and video signal into the recorder. It will not have HDMI inputs as I don't know of a single DVD/Blu-Ray recorder with HDMI inputs. And even if it does they are unlikely to work as HDCP copy protection would likely kick in preventing a recording. So even if you do invest in a Blu-Ray recorder you will only ever be able to record in SD quality from Sky, even the HD channels (which will be downscaled for the SCART output)
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Old 16-09-2015, 17:47
Philip_H
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If I am then playing it back on a blu-ray recorder and HD TV it will be upscaled somewhat. However if it is encrypted then it makes no difference.
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Old 16-09-2015, 18:37
chrisjr
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If I am then playing it back on a blu-ray recorder and HD TV it will be upscaled somewhat. However if it is encrypted then it makes no difference.
An HD TV will scale everything it receives to the native resolution of the display panel so it would only make a difference if you connected a Blu-Ray via HDMI and it's scaler is better than the TVs.

The SCART output of the Sky box is not encrypted. It may have something like Macrovision Copy Protection applied which is not the same thing as encryption.

I'm tempted to ask why you don't just save all the faffing about and record in HD on a Sky+ HD box (I'm assuming the box will record the BT channels?). No issues at all then with things like Macrovision.
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Old 16-09-2015, 19:55
Nigel Goodwin
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As others have said, encryption isn't the problem, it's copy protection that is.

Via HDMi it's HDCP (but as you can't record via HDMI that doesn't matter), and via SCART it's Macrovision - in both cases it requires the broadcaster (in this case BT) setting the copy protection to be ON.

I'm with chrisjr, get a Sky+HD box and record it properly - far easier, far better quality, and no chance of mistakes (and you WILL make mistakes ).
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Old 17-09-2015, 13:12
Philip_H
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I don`t own a sky+ box and I dislike the Sky ethos and therefore don`t want to add to their profits by taking out a subscription.
On my previous SD recorder I did record from my previous sky box onto disc but I wanted to record onto HDD
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Old 17-09-2015, 14:22
Nigel Goodwin
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I don`t own a sky+ box and I dislike the Sky ethos and therefore don`t want to add to their profits by taking out a subscription.
On my previous SD recorder I did record from my previous sky box onto disc but I wanted to record onto HDD
So you're using an old Sky box, and an old Sky card, with no subscription in order to watch BT Sports and FTV/A ONLY?.

Then simply connect a DVD/HDD recorder in exactly the same way as you did before, it will record SD exactly as before - UNLESS BT decide to stop you doing so.
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