Contents

Does this application support the extraction of encrypted recordings?

Which recordings are encrypted?

What software do I need to watch the extracted recordings?

Is it possible to copy recordings to a new, larger, XTV formated hard disk which can be used in place of the old one?

Will Push VOD 'Sky Anytime Showcase' recordings work?

Which PVRs are supported?

How do I attach the hard disk from my Sky+ HD or other XTV-Based PVR to my computer?

Does this application change the hard drive in any way?

I have copied my recordings to a new hard drive, but there a some "failed" entries in my planner.

• Does this application support the extraction of encrypted recordings?

  Unfortunately this feature cannot be added. I am not sure of the legality of such a feature and in any case, Sky would take a very dim view; for these reasons I will never add this to ExPVR. There is however a plug-in API which you could use to add this feature if you wished.

  If you extract an encrypted recording, it will still copy but the recording wont be viewable on your computer (it will still be encrypted).

  Note that copying encrypted recordings to another Sky+ HD hard disk will work fine.

• Which recordings are encrypted?

  Recordings from channels you have to have your card inserted to view, are encrypted. Recordings from other, free to air channels (BBC1, BBC HD, ITV, E4 etc.) will extract fine.

  Encrypted recordings are highlighted in a pale red in ExPVR.

• What software do I need to watch the extracted recordings?

  The recordings are extracted as standard *.TS files (MPEG Transport Stream). VLC Media Player is recommended for viewing these but they can also be viewed in any Direct Show player (e.g. Media Player/Media Center/DVBViewer) with the correct codecs.

• Is it possible to copy recordings to a new, larger, XTV formatted hard disk which can be used in place of the old one?

  Yes, this is now possible with ExPVR version 2 and above, please see the Copy & Format Wizard page for more details.

• Will Push VOD 'Sky Anytime Showcase' recordings work?

  Non-encrypted Push VOD recordings can be extracted in the same way as standard ones and will work correctly. Pull VOD ('Sky Anytime+') recordings which have been saved may work but this has not been tested.

• Which PVRs are supported?

  Please see our device support page.

• How do I attach the hard disk from my Sky+ HD or other XTV-Based PVR to my computer?

  All XTV-Based PVRs contain standard PC hard disks with either an IDE or SATA connection. All Sky+ HD boxes have SATA hard disks. It is recommended you connect your hard disk via an external SATA or IDE caddy, but it also possible to connect them internally as long as you read the warnings in the support section. For more information please read the tutorials here.

• Does this application change the source hard drive in any way?

  ExPVR only reads from your PVR hard disk, it will not make any changes. It is therefore safe to use without any worry of corruption.

• I have copied my recordings to a new hard drive, but there a some "failed" entries in my planner.

  If the "failed" entries are recordings that you choose not to copy then this is normal and they can safely be deleted, this occurs if the "Rebuild Planner" option has been disabled; the recordings that where not copied still exist in the database and the Sky box is just reporting that they no longer exist.

  If any of the recording you selected to copy appear as "failed" then something when wrong during the copy operation, please contact us or post in the forums for more help.