Sky HD and Windows Media Centre 8.1

[Scubbie]

Unfortunately this isn't something I have looked into.

If I were looking for it I would first use a search engine and see what came up. You may well need to get involved with the software so that you can tailor it to your needs.

[bubblegun]

Unfortunately this isn't something I have looked into.

If I were looking for it I would first use a search engine and see what came up. You may well need to get involved with the software so that you can tailor it to your needs.

Skirting on the edges of something which might get the site shut down, beware! (I'm pretty sure - going by Scubbie's guarded responses, she is aware of this). Other sites have been taken offline for such discussion - posts hinting at how to do this ALWAYS get deleted on Digital Spy due to "legal issues".

To the OP, there are ways of doing what you want but they cannot be discussed on a site like this one!

Sky frequently take legal action against people offering services like this which breach their terms and conditions.

Whatever Microsoft have suggested to you would probably be illegal under UK law except for with freesat channels.

[Tazmaniandevil]

If my memory serves properly this is something that can be done for unscrambled channels only. There are many, many more unscrambled channels in the US than in Europe. Even if you find illegal software to unscramble the channels, I'm pretty sure a company whose main income stream is based on satellite broadcasting will regularly switch the scrambling algorithm, rendering the software useless.
What I would be very careful of though is not only would you breaching the terms & conditions of your contract with Sky, the company's license to broadcast is from the UK government under the Broadcasting Act. They really don't like people messing with their laws.

[NickS]

I was wondering about the legality when I saw this but the OP is a Sky customer so benefit of the doubt and all that I just hope he doesn't become the victim of an expensive misunderstanding. Not sure what hr is trying to achieve but looks like the consensus is it will only work with FTA channels. I wouldn't worry about the site getting closed down, I'm sure the mods are keeping an eye on things and a finger on the delete button.

[Scubbie]

I wasn't so much aware of the issues with similar threads being deleted elsewhere, but I can understand why.

There was an episode of Panorama a few years back which made allegations over the demise of ITV's digital terrestrial offering and how someone was hacking their encryption technology and issuing codes for the black market. This killed off OnDigital and paved the way for Sky to be the premier subscription TV service in the UK.

The allegations made were that the people behind Sky's encryption technology were behind the hack and as a direct result they also beefed up their own services. I am being careful here to show that the allegations were not my own and that I am purely recalling some of the content of the episode.

...I wouldn't worry about the site getting closed down, I'm sure the mods are keeping an eye on things and a finger on the delete button.

If we received such a request then the thread would be removed, as has happened with other threads/posts in the past.

However I genuinely haven't looked for such software for a long time. I am aware of what would be required and it has been lightly discussed on this forum before.

At the same time, I have an opportunity now to consider getting a Freesat adaptor for this Laptop, so thanks for the reminder. I am getting an extra feed from my dish for my new TV fitted later today, so I shall definitely be looking to get a couple of spare leads fitted at the same time.

[Tazmaniandevil]

Apologies for meandering off topic here, but in a way it is relevant to the original query.
OnDigital were also victims of poor advertising revenue. Sky took a massive gamble in the 80's on being able to sustain quality programming with the relatively low advertising revenue available at the time. If the satellite option had not been so successful, early adopters could have ended up with expensive doorstops and garden ornaments in their homes. (cough... BSB... cough....)
You really cannot blame Sky for wanting to protect their service, considering the huge onward investment required to keep the good quality programmes flowing into our TV sets.
Many of the terrestrial channels are also suffering from poor advertising revenue. I have seen repeats of programmes I watched on Dave several years ago start to appear on Channel 5 recently.
The "ITV Microregion" approach to advertising isn't really paying off either. Even though this was exactly how they approached advertising in the 60's, and 70's.

People will always find a way to steal services, whether it is gas; electricity; telephone; TV; or whatever. What these thefts inevitably lead to are increased costs for those of us willing to play fair.
It also means that what may seem a reasonable enough request to be able to watch SKY through a dedicated card in your PC must be declined. Security is only as good as the weakest component.