How to use recordings on an old box

Johnwa · 6 July 2019, 8:13PM

I have a Youview box from Talktalk that is 6 years old. They have offered me a new box, but i have a lot of recordings on the old box that i want to keep. If i accept the new box can i connect the old one to PC to view the old recordings? If not is there another method whereby i can somehow keep the old recordings?

Thanks for any help

John L · 7 July 2019, 1:54AM

Hi johnwa,
Welcome to the forum. In a simple answer, the good news is yes. The recordings are yours to view, they remain on the hard drive. Simply plug into your TV, or a spare TV in another location using either HDMI or scary cable to TV. If you wanted to copy recordings, connect to dvd recorder via scart or there is a way via HDMI using a convertor. The recordings then have to be played in real time, while recorder records. You can't connect/transfer to pc, not as simple as old Humax pvr's, due to file system used. Trust I have helped answer/solve your query? Let us know how you get on. Good luck. John L.

John L · 7 July 2019, 1:56AM

Scary mistyped from autotext should read : scart

Johnwa · 7 July 2019, 8:05AM

Thanks for the reply John L.

Just to clarify, so i couldn't transfer to a PC but could i connect direct to the PC monitor to view recordings ? Otherwise i suppose the solution would be to have old and new boxes side by side and change the connections when i want to view old recordings.

As my old box is 6 years old i guess that it won't go on forever so i should accept the new box. Would the new Talktalk box be any better than the 6 year old one or is it like for like.

Thanks

John L · 7 July 2019, 8:38AM

You could use the pc monitor as a screen to watch if you have a HDMI connection on pc monitor, but does the monitor have built in sound via HDMI input? If not you are making it complicated to view your recordings. You Then have got to split audio out from the talk talk over to a speaker. I would personally use a TV screen. Older box should still work, until hard drive decides to break down. You could fix it with a reformat, losing your recordings if the hard drive jams. Not sure if the newer model is any better spec. The Humax models are better built and tend to have better hardware. I used to have a 372t model and found the tuner signal was very poor. Hope you find a solution to watch your recordings. John L

Johnwa · 7 July 2019, 8:47AM

Thanks again. My idea about using the monitor isn't practial then ( i didn't think about sound !). I think i will take the new box and use that everyday, but swop connections and use old box to view the old recordings.

Johnwa

John L · 7 July 2019, 10:58AM

"Sounds" a good idea Johnwa! Have fun! Glad I was able to help. Its all about trying out ideas. Some things work & some solutions don't. John L

Tim C · 8 July 2019, 10:42AM

Provided you have a spare HDMI port on the TV then it's possible to have both boxes connected at the same time with a piece of card or something similar that covers the IR point on the box not in use. Not sure where it is on the TalkTalk units though. I'd guess there's no need to have the old unit connected to the internet or paired to a smart device app.

It is also possible to extract the required programmes from the old unit if they're in SD format and convert them to ,say, MP4/MKV files for playback on a smart TV or PC. It's relatively straightforward but involves removing the HDD from the old unit, booting a PC into a Linux based O/S - I used Ubuntu, copying files from the HDD to your PC and converting them to a more friendly format. I did this for some that I wanted to keep for the wife.

If you feel that this approach would work for you I can provide more detail.

John L · 8 July 2019, 11:50AM

Hi Tim C,
That's a brilliant solution if you a very technically minded. I have repaired a Youview Talk Talk Hard drive on a 372T model, some time back when it wouldn't even reformat or could not be rescued from the maintenance modes. I managed to reformat the various partitions etc as per instructions I found somewhere on the internet. I used MiniTools free software. But it is slightly involved if you simply want to watch recordings & not dismantle the box. If only they were made like the old Humax 9200/9300 pvrs that allowed you to access files (SD only in those days) via MS Windows. John L

Johnwa · 8 July 2019, 8:45PM

Hi Tim,

i didn't think of that but yes i have a spare HDMI so will do that. Will then have new box from Talktalk and the recordings on old one easily available.

Thanks

John

How to use recordings on an old box

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