Recording TV programmes

[CarolineH]

This is nothing to do with renting properties, just a personal problem !

Can anyone help me find a solution to my search for the perfect recording device?

I currently have no method of recording TV programmes, but I do have the following list of equipment and I would like to be able to record either French or English TV:
TV flatscreen with various connections, SCART, HD, White/Yellow/Red cables (not sure of the techie name)
Canal+ terrestrial decoder
FreeSAT satellite decoder
A laptop (new christmas pressie )

Before the laptop arrived, I thought that the best solution was to buy a Hard disc drive with a receiver inside (150€) to record the French TV (but not Canal+), but wasn't sure that I could do the same for the UK TV.

Now someone has suggested that I can buy some sort of receiver for my laptop - I guess I would need one Froggie one and one Roast beef one, which will record my programmes to disk.

Does anyone have any experience of these devices or can advice another solution?

[Tartuffa]

Try www.filmon.com. About €15 per month to receive a whole host of channels from all over the world (including all major UK ones) plus the ability to 'record' when logged on right onto your computer hard drive to watch later. No good if your laptop screen is tiny though and you want to watch them on your telly.

[KathyG]

What about iplayer/itvcatchup for the UK stuff on your laptop? You would also need to sign up and pay for a VPN (virtual private network) to watch it from France though.

[gam]

Try www.filmon.com.

Only going by what I've read and I may be wrong but I'm dubious about the legality of that service - they're being bombarded with lawsuits from various networks. In a press release I briefly looked at, they say they will be launching a legal service soon. No doubt somewhat more restricted or more expensive than their current one.

It looks to me as though you'd be paying for something freely available from other (non legal) sites.

[Tartuffa]

We're not convinced of the legality of any of these services however a VPN is an obvious hoodwink and with this at least we are openly paying for a service that they are openly providing. If they haven't got the legals sorted then I agree it may not last long - at least in its present form. However it does offer a recording facility which is what the OP wanted.