HOWTO: Sky through DVB-S card within MCE *Part 2*

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Curly99

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This thread is a continuation of this thread http://www.avforums.com/forums/wind...-howto-sky-through-dvb-s-card-within-mce.html

Thanks to nigelbb for starting the original thread.

For reference: First post
I have been in contact with various people on this forum regarding getting DVB-S & in particular Sky working within MCE. There are also a number of threads with discussion of DVB-S within MCE but I thought that I would start this new thread as I have made a breakthrough at the weekend. I can now confirm that running within MCE I have UK Sky TV decoding automatically & to forestall a lot of questions I will try & describe in detail the procedure here.

I use a Technotrend TT-budget S-1500 DVB-S card with add-on CI daughter card
http://shop.technotrend.de/shop.php...sid=e8909ae0b43b65f072a2e12cdd06e4d5&s=&id=12
http://shop.technotrend.de/shop.php...sid=e8909ae0b43b65f072a2e12cdd06e4d5&s=&id=27


The CAM that I use is the only one to support NDS (the Sky encryption method) it is called the T.Rex but was formerly called the Dragon. Technotrend's own software is very good & the decryption is totally transparent. Note that decryption of Sky channels requires a legitimate subscription card & there is no question of piracy here. One caveat is that it is possible that Sky will change something about their encryption that would mean that the CAM would no longer work with Sky. You need a programmer for the CAM (I have a CAS3) to load it with the Predator firmware as it will be supplied without. You can find the latest version of the Predator firmware 3.31 here http://www.satnet.ch/file/download.php or any number of other satellite sites on the Net just do a Google.

Technotrend supply their MCE Tools that in conjunction with their BDA driver give you control of CI & DiSEqC so you can switch between up to four dishes. You can download the TT software, BDA drivers & MCE Tools from here http://www.technotrend.com/english/download/download.html When you install the tools a detailed User Guide in PDF format is installed.

To work within MCE the Technotrend driver pretends to be a supported DVB-T (Freeview) card. You use the DVB-T Mapper application to map satellite transponder frequencies to DVB-T MUXes. You then edit the channels & add back all the encrypted channels which by default are not displayed in the EPG. Then you can change the channel order so e.g. BBC1 was channel 1, BBC2 channel 2 etc

Technotrend's first CI implementation within MCE allowed you to select a channel on a transponder to be decrypted & then you hit the 'Decrypt' button which was OK but now they have an application that automatically decodes when it detects a programme change to an encrypted channel. For these encrypted channels you use the Technotrend provided tool & map the SIDs to the channel numbers which creates an XML file that you can edit. You can get full listings of satellite transponder frequency & SIDs for each channel at http://www.lyngsat.com/

To get a full Sky EPG after setting up MCE as DVB-T you need to edit the registry & change the headend number to a valid one for Sky then do an EPG download & then map EPG listings to the channels. The registry key for the headend ID is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Media Center\Service\EPG but if you just do a Find on headend there is only one entry.

DVB-S within MCE works very smoothly & decrypts transparently. It is very stable & has great picture quality when compared side by side with an MCE system with a Sky+ digibox feeding a Hauppauge WinTV PVR250 card by s-video.

There is one outstanding problem in that unattended recordings of encrypted channels fail as the TT_CI_Autodecoder process does not kick in when the channel changes for an automatic recording. Scheduled recording while tuned to a channel that is already being decrypted works OK as of course does recording of Free To Air channels. Technotrend are evidently aware of the problem & have promised a fix.

I bought my CAM & programmer from this German supplier they have very good prices & rapid cheap delivery by DHL http://www.dvbshop.net/ They also have a good forum that has some discussion of using the Technotrend card within MCE http://www.dvbshop.nt/forum/ I have also found one or two Dutch or German forums where DVB-S in MCE is discussed. The Germans are very keen to get this working as they of course have many FTA satellite channels plus Technotrend is a German company.

I know that there are a couple of other MCE DVB-S experimenters on this forum so let's pool our knowledge & get Sky working within MCE in top quality.

Perhaps this thread could be made a Sticky?


Last post
Great news everybody! Looks like we are one step closer to loading custom EPG in Vista TV pack 2008 and Windows 7. Microsoft have published the XML schema for the guide listings.

The Green Button - Media Center Guide Listings

:clap:
 
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Curly99

Any chance of making Part1 a sticky as well ? There is a lot of information that will be useful for new users.
 
I can't seem to tune into Five US. I've got a FireDTV S2 with T.REX CAM. I can tune into all other Sky channels. When i try to tune into Five US I get this channel is scrambled message. I tried scanning the transponder again but MCE reported no new channels. I am using Tv Pack 2008. any of you having this problem?
 
Hi all
I have been readding this from when nigelbb first start the thread, i am new to this and would like to give it a bash.
I have a few questions, I am led to believe that the floppydtv card and a t rex cam are the things to get, but i got confused about how sky plus would work, do you still have to have 2 subscriptions to watch one and record one? and are you able to get sky hd through vista mce?. i am running vista premium, i thought would be better for sky because of the tv pack
could you please steer me in the right direction
cheers kevin
 
Hi all
I have been readding this from when nigelbb first start the thread, i am new to this and would like to give it a bash.
I have a few questions, I am led to believe that the floppydtv card and a t rex cam are the things to get, but i got confused about how sky plus would work, do you still have to have 2 subscriptions to watch one and record one? and are you able to get sky hd through vista mce?. i am running vista premium, i thought would be better for sky because of the tv pack
could you please steer me in the right direction
cheers kevin

Yes, Floppy/FireDTV with a T.REX CAM loaded with Predator is your best option. If you want to watch and record more than one channel, then you need as many Floppy/FireDTVs and T.REX CAMs. You would also need multiple SKY Subscriptions. Multiroom will not work as it requires both STBs to be plugged into a telephone line. If you only need to watch Freesat then this is not a requirement.

You can watch BBC HD in Vista Premium MCE with a hacked file. However your best bet is to wait for Windows 7 which supports H.264 natively. However, even Windows 7 at the moment does not support the DVB-S2 standard. This means you will not be able to watch any of the SKY-HD channels that are broadcast in DVB-S2.
 
anyone thinking about buying equipment soon to use their sky card with mce..................wait a few months!

looks like their definitely swapping cards soon, and theres a good chance that cam's wont work anymore with sky cards. As i'd be very suprised if their gonna go to the hassle of changing cards and not change the way encryption works.


Home | Sky Viewing Help
 
Yes, Floppy/FireDTV with a T.REX CAM loaded with Predator is your best option. If you want to watch and record more than one channel, then you need as many Floppy/FireDTVs and T.REX CAMs. You would also need multiple SKY Subscriptions. Multiroom will not work as it requires both STBs to be plugged into a telephone line. If you only need to watch Freesat then this is not a requirement.

You can watch BBC HD in Vista Premium MCE with a hacked file. However your best bet is to wait for Windows 7 which supports H.264 natively. However, even Windows 7 at the moment does not support the DVB-S2 standard. This means you will not be able to watch any of the SKY-HD channels that are broadcast in DVB-S2.

You might be able to access DVB-S2 i.e. Sky HD channels using the DVBSBridge software from DVBLogic - provider of digital streaming connectivity solutions however this would be limited to a single tuner as despite promising originally multi-tuner support for last year, they still have not managed this. You could have a second DVB-S only tuner directly accessed by Windows 7 (and set the tuner priority to use the DVBSBridge one for HD channels).
 
anyone thinking about buying equipment soon to use their sky card with mce..................wait a few months!

looks like their definitely swapping cards soon, and theres a good chance that cam's wont work anymore with sky cards. As i'd be very suprised if their gonna go to the hassle of changing cards and not change the way encryption works.


Home | Sky Viewing Help

As far as I understand the encryption system is built into the set-top-box. The cards carry the access flags to determine which channels you can watch. The NDS system is still "unbroken" in that any solution still requires a legal sunscription card. Its unlikely that Sky would want to change the entire encryption whole-sale.

Saying that, it does not hurt to wait just in case BSkyB got something up their sleeve. It will be their 20th anniversary in April so perhaps a suprise or two is in store for us enthusiasts. :eek:
 
Thanks paulm187 for the reply, do you need to put the sky card back in the sky box every 5 weeks to keep in alive? how would get sky hd to work with vista mce? does anyone know when window 7 is out.
cheers kevin
 
Thanks paulm187 for the reply, do you need to put the sky card back in the sky box every 5 weeks to keep in alive? how would get sky hd to work with vista mce? does anyone know when window 7 is out.
cheers kevin

Yes, the Sky card needs to be "refreshed" every 4 to 6 weeks by putting it back into the STB. Since Vista or Windows 7 doesn't support DVb-S2, you will not be able to watch most of the Sky HD channels. You could however use a 3rd part application such as DVBsbridge but it is quite trick to setup.

Windows 7 could be out by autumn 2009. You can however download the Beta version from Microsoft.
 
i am not a software person but how hard would it be to see what software in a linux sky box or a sky box to keep the sky card alive and adjust it for windows to use and where would i get the hack for watching bbs hd on vista mce
sorry to be a pest
kevin
 
Curly99

Any chance of making Part1 a sticky as well ? There is a lot of information that will be useful for new users.
Can't you use the link in the first post of this thread? as I'm limited to how many sticky's there can be.

Curly
 
hi all
i understand that vmce with tv pack you can have more than one tv tuner card install, i was wondering if you can have one tv card for watching sky and other tv card for freeview and being able to record from the freeview tv tuner in vmce?
may sound a daft question
kevin
 
has anyone given a thought to the new sky viewing cards.

http://www.skyviewinghelp.com/index.html

NDS's new cards aparently run at 3.3v cards and there have been reports of an awful lot of cams and card readers melting them.

I'm currently using media portal with MDAPI card sharing client plugins acamd 0.5.1.0 , and wincsc for the second tuner

The Sky card is connected to an infinity usb unlimted overclocking ( which supports 3.3v and 5v along with full frequency control )the card slightly to 4.45 which handles 3 channels well(4 and you start to get glitches) and I'm running Newcs to connect that to share it with the card clients. The added bonus is that Newcs and Acamd keep the card alive. win csc won't send the EMMs which keep the card alive.

Apparently Newcs works with the current NDSv3 cards around Europe if you can find a card reader that won't melt them.
 
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Might sound a dumb question but if I have multiple tuners (2 DVB-S, 2 DVB-T) how does MCE know which to record from and which receive which channels? Someone able to answer a noob question please? :smashin:
 
Quick question as there seems to be a new Sky card on its way to us soon:

Has anyone had a new card and tried it in the Floppy-DTV setup and does it still work?
 
Is it possible to use a seperate PCMCIA to PCI adapter to use a dragon cam ?

I have a Pinnacle 7010ix, PCMCIA to PCI adapter, a Dragon cam and a working FTV card. Can MCE combine all these for the FTV stations?
 
I've been using the Fire + Floppy setup with DVB Viewer for a few months with Sky. However I stupidly activated my new white card and at the moment it does not work with encrypter channels.

I have pred 3.96 firmware loaded onto my T-Rex. The old card when inserted reports it is an NDS card from within DNB Viewer but the new on is comes up as unrecognized.

Not sure if I have just messed something up or if the new cards are not yet compatible :rolleyes:

Having to go back to skybox and RF tunner to the PC for the moment :eek:
 
Yes, the Sky card needs to be "refreshed" every 4 to 6 weeks by putting it back into the STB. Since Vista or Windows 7 doesn't support DVb-S2, you will not be able to watch most of the Sky HD channels. You could however use a 3rd part application such as DVBsbridge but it is quite trick to setup.

Windows 7 could be out by autumn 2009. You can however download the Beta version from Microsoft.

DVBS2 IS supported in windows 7 RC Media Center the main problem is how MC scans the transponders. what is needed is a tweek in the reg and you will be able to scan skyhd and view it. In Germany it has been confirmed that DVB-S2 channels like ArteHD or AnixeHD are working im media center !!!
 
I've been using the Fire + Floppy setup with DVB Viewer for a few months with Sky. However I stupidly activated my new white card and at the moment it does not work with encrypter channels.

I have pred 3.96 firmware loaded onto my T-Rex. The old card when inserted reports it is an NDS card from within DNB Viewer but the new on is comes up as unrecognized.

Same here, has anybody found a solution to this?

M
:)
 
Tried updating the CAM to the latest version of predator 3.69, makes no difference, I get:

smartcard is UNKNOWN
Not decoding

It seems that you can no longer use a DVB-S + CAM + $ky viewing card to decode $ky

Mark
:(
 
Hi,

I'm using a Dreambox 500S (very cheap) with CCcam and Newccs to serve my legit card to my 2 HTPCs which run Windows 7 and DVBViewer (and DVBLink to get it into MC). Works perfectly and gives all channels, including HD, straight into media center. Try some googling - it really is a very good solution.

Regards
 
Hi,

I'm using a Dreambox 500S (very cheap) with CCcam and Newccs to serve my legit card to my 2 HTPCs which run Windows 7 and DVBViewer (and DVBLink to get it into MC). Works perfectly and gives all channels, including HD, straight into media center. Try some googling - it really is a very good solution.

Regards

Great news, and just to confirm this is with the new white viewing card? Just read up on DVBLink, it seems it now supports multiple tuners, is this working for you (last time I looked in to this approach it only supported a single tuner).

Is MHEG5 working via this (the red button)?

I have my Windows7 on order.
 
Hi,

Yes, confirmed with white card. I'm using the RTM of windows 7 in 2 HTPCs one with one tuner and the other with 2 tuners. Both work well but I can't say what the max number of tuners is - never tried past 2 ;)

Not sure about the red button - never tried it.

Regards
 
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