A device to capture Direct TV streams?

[Jakesty]

I'm considering alternatives to Xfinity, and wondering if there's a solution that I can use to capture or use Direct TV as a source.  I'd prefer it to be reliable and relatively simple.  Any tuner or other hardware out there that can do this?
thanks, Jake

[mvallevand]

No, satellite streams like cable signals are encrypted. In the US I figure the best choice for this type of recording is using Channels DVR with TV Everywhere https://getchannels.com/tv-everywhere but it actually relies on Internet streams not the satellite. You can also test it with Xfinity. The downside is recording local programming.

Martin

[pkscout]

You could technically use an analog encoder to capture the output from the DirecTV box, but that also requires an IR blaster. I do this for my cable provider because the only things I can get unencrypted are my locals. But I would not call it simple (even relatively), and it's borderline on reliable (I wrote an entire script to check and see if the cable box is on and turn it on if it isn't). I honestly probably wouldn't recommend it unless you want an ongoing hobby.