Best option for sky input

[JP23]

I'm currently using a Hauppage Nova-T 500 with gbpvr, but will soon be getting sky and would like to incorporate that too.

I'm out of PCI slots, so can anyone reccomend a USB capture device that I can connect to the sky box?

[sub]

Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 is a good analog device with hardware MPEG2 encoder.

[JP23]

That seems quite expensive...
Surely I only need to input the Scart or Svideo from the sky box, I don't actually need a device with a tuner do I?

[sub]

I'm not aware of any devices, with the required hardware MPEG2 encoder, that dont have a tuner. They just dont make them.

[JP23]

Will Hauppauge WinTV USB, or their USB-Live do the job?

[sub]

No, neither of these have the hardware MPEG2 encoder that GB-PVR requires.

[JP23]

On closer inspection I have one PCI-E x1 slot that I can use if I rearrange some cabling, so this is an alternative to USB. I would also consider using the RF output on the sky box rather than SCART/S-Video if this is going to be much cheaper or easier.

Any ideas?

[sub]

The svideo connection will give a slightly better picture than RF. Cost and ease will about the same.

[martint123]

I use RF2 from the sky box, the quality isn't that bad and I use a digieye at the PC end of the cable for channel changing. The Sky box and PC are around 50 feet apart.
I never managed to come across a cheap tuner with hardware mpeg, but managed to get one from ebay that got me started.

[systemshark]

JP23

I've got a hauppauge PVR350 connected over RF2 to my sky box, I use a Redrat for controlling the sky box. I found my PVR350 for £25 on ebay including postage....

That seamed ok to me.