I have a Virgin Media V+ box (similar to Sky+, although I've never used that). I'd like to copy one or two programmes so that I can watch them on any television. According to the V+ manual, you must use the Scart socket to do this. Can I hook this Scart socket to my laptop to make the copy there?
Michael Smith
Not as far as I know, and if you could, you'd need to capture the video signal in real time. The V+ system appears to work with DVD recorders, so you should be able to use the "Copy to VCR/DVD" option to save your programmes. (I don't have a V+ to try.) If you really wanted to keep a copy on your PC, you would have to rip this DVD in the way you usually would.
Backchat: David Wharton says he has done it, "but it's not straightforward. If you have a DV camcorder with a video in AV socket and a FireWire out, you can connect the camera (set to video through) to the V+ box using a Scart-to-AV converter plug. With the camera connected to the computer via FireWire, you can capture the video from the V+ box using any video capture software, even the Movie Maker program bundled with Windows. For less technically adventurous types, a few manufacturers sell dedicated USB2 and FireWire devices for this sort of purpose. Most of them seem to retail at around £150-200."
