Sky+HD and DVD recording

[John]

We have a Sky+HD recorder (an Amstrad DRX 890C) but not the HD service, only SD. We also have a Philips DVDR 7260H, which is a stand-alone DVD/HDD recorder. Both machines have HDMI outputs which go up to the TV

- selecting HDMI 1 on the TV means that you can watch the Sky box; HDMI

2 means you can watch the DVD Recorder/Player.

I record lots of music videos from Sky Arts 1 and BBC4 on the Sky box and I don't want to lose them, which may happen if the box (or the HDD in it) goes faulty; plus of course, you need a current Sky subscription to play recordings on a Sky box, which we may not always have, so I like to make copies of these recordings 'just in case'.

The only way I know of doing this is by connecting a Scart cable between the Sky box and the Philips DVD/HDD Recorder and doing it in real time by pressing 'Play' on the Sky box and 'Record' on the Philips box and letting the programme run its course. I can then, at any time later on, burn the recording to a blank DVD if I so wish (and I often do) so I have it in three places - the Sky box HDD, the Philips box HDD and a DVD disc.

The Philips DVD/HDD Recorder has just died and I can't afford a replacement at the moment, but I do have a spare computer that I could press into service to take its place - if I (and for that, read you ;o) ) can connect it.

It's based on a Gigabyte H67N-USB3-B3 mobo with an Intel Core i3 2120 and 6GB of DDR3 RAM and is running Windows 7 Pro x64 so I reckon it's obviously powerful enough to do the job but I'm not sure how to get the data in. The motherboard has two HDMI ports, one of which is obviously used to connect to a monitor to show the output, but can the second HDMI connector be used to accept an input from the Sky box?

Second question is - if the answer to that is 'yes', is there some sort of Scart (which is the only connector at the Sky box end) to HDMI cable or adapter available?

And finally, if it can be done, what software should I use (preferably free to download and use for personal use) to do the recording - both initially as HDD to HDD and then HDD to DVD disc?

TIA

[John]

John pretended :

EDIT: Sorry, in case it's relevant I should say that when I record to DVD I want to be able to play them on any standard, stand-alone DVD player and not for them to only be playable on a computer.

[Davey]

Read the first sentence of my Reply.

[John]

Davey submitted this idea :

Haha, now that I've got home and read it properly I see what you mean. Thanks you sir lol

[Mark Goodge]

One you've got it onto a PC in any reasonably standard format, you can then convert it as necessary and transfer it to any other media with no difficulty.

Mark

[John]

Mark Goodge presented the following explanation :

Thanks Mark, good to know that. I've been very spoiled over the years with just pushing two buttons and having everything done for me lol

[Dave Liquorice]

DRM (Dgital Rights Managemnet) permitting... You might be able to make one copy but get tripped up when trying to copy the copy. I understand that there are work arounds.

[Mark Goodge]

That's why I said "reasonably standard format". If it has Digital Restrictions Management applied, then it's not in a standard format but a proprietary one.

Mark