[goonerman1961]

Anyone using one of these? I would be interested in your set-up & results, pro's & con's etc.
Cheers

[mattclarkie]

I am also waiting to get one of these. I haven't found it available to buy anyway, and the RRP is £125 but if reviews are good I will pick one up if it gets sub £100.

[Stephen Neal]

Looks to be an interesting box if you have an HD source with analogue component outputs.

Could also be a nice way of digitising good quality SD content if you have it available from a component source. (I've been looking for a way to easily digitise SD content from DigiBeta decks without buying an SDI to DV converter - which cost quite a lot more) If it did MPEG2 as well as H264 I'd be very happy!

[rentagas]

I've had one of these for a month or so
It works well for archiving (oops time shifting) from the sky HD box
there are some known issues with it eg the optical in will only cope with stereo at the moment (fix coming). there have been overheating issues etc.
But my HD PVR has been fine and I think it was a good investment
I haven't used it for capturing SD stuff but I'm sure it works just as well. There is an extensive discussion on editing/changing formats etc. on avsforum

I suspect it will be more than $250 when it launches in the UK ?£200. I got mine from the US hauppauge site but it shipped with a 3 pin plug from ireland

Set up is HD box, HD PVR (component and optical), Qosmio G40 laptop. Playback on PS3

I have mainly used it to edit my Glastonbury 2008 stuff (for "time shifting")

[Hamster86]

I'm looking at picking up one of these as well. Does anyone know when they're due to be released in the UK?

rentagas: Is there any lag when using the component passthrough? I'd want to record HD footage from a games console, the idea being I play on the TV via the passthrough and record on the PC. If there's much lag it wouldn't really be viable...

[Martin J.]

Originally Posted by rentagas

I have mainly used it to edit my Glastonbury 2008 stuff (for "time shifting")

Would it be possible for you to post a really short clip somewhere (no more than a few seconds)? It would be interesting to see how PAL material looks and the performance of the various compression options.

[rentagas]

Originally Posted by RavenousHamster

I'm looking at picking up one of these as well. Does anyone know when they're due to be released in the UK?

rentagas: Is there any lag when using the component passthrough? I'd want to record HD footage from a games console, the idea being I play on the TV via the passthrough and record on the PC. If there's much lag it wouldn't really be viable...

I haven't used component pass through but there is a significant lag on the capturing computer. My understanding is that there is no lag on the pass through. I'll give it a try.

I'll try and post a few second clip. However I've not done this before so it may take some time to do!

[Hamster86]

Originally Posted by rentagas

I haven't used component pass through but there is a significant lag on the capturing computer. My understanding is that there is no lag on the pass through. I'll give it a try.

I'll try and post a few second clip. However I've not done this before so it may take some time to do!

Ah ok, that would be great if you could try it out. I expected lag on the PC, that's no problem at all, but if there's lag on the passthrough, it's a no go.

Where did you pick one up from by the way? It's an American import I take it?

[goonerman1961]

Cheers rentagas for the comments.
Can I assume you just connect the component cables from Sky HD to the HD PVR, then burn the video to your computer? I guess the HD quality remains?
What would be the advantage of this item over a DVD recorder that upscales to 1080i?

[Martin J.]

Originally Posted by goonerman1961

Cheers rentagas for the comments.
Can I assume you just connect the component cables from Sky HD to the HD PVR, then burn the video to your computer? I guess the HD quality remains?
What would be the advantage of this item over a DVD recorder that upscales to 1080i?

There are a lot of questions answered in the instructions: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/suppor...ort_hdpvr.html

The HD PVR encodes the incoming signal to H.246, then passes a stream via USB to the PC, which then saves the file on its hard disk. What you do with it from there is up to you, you could re-encode it or burn it, either to Blu-Ray or SD DVD. The HD quality remains, as it can "record" a 1080i signal. That is far preferable to a DVD recorder, which will only record SD 576p/i.

[rentagas]

As I said I ordered it from the US Hauppauge website, but it actualy shipped from Ireland with Irish Vat (21%) and postage. I have assumed it is covered by a EU warranty.

The files can be streamed from a hard disc and played on a computer or PS3 or written as a hybrid DVD (AVCHD) that will play on a blu ray player or PS3. The players see this as a "blu ray" disc despite the fact it is a DVD. The files can be edited and transcoded but obviously this can take a while depending on the action.

[gurka]

I got mine from the US a few weeks ago, and yep I have been happy with it, it's great for creating your own BR

[rentagas]

BTW the HD PVR records what it is given 1080i stays as 1080i, 720p to 720p etc. Changes in resolution can be done downstream but will be slow.

An upscaled 576i picture will never look as good as a genuine 1080i source. The sampling rate can be altered but most people use 9-11 Mbps for a 1080i source which results in an hour or so of 1080i on a DVD disc.

[mattclarkie]

If streamed to the PS3 are you stuck having to convert the audio to AAC. When streaming MP4 to the PS3 it wont do DD, do you get the same issue with HD recorded from with the HD PVR.

[rentagas]

Originally Posted by mattclarkie

If streamed to the PS3 are you stuck having to convert the audio to AAC. When streaming MP4 to the PS3 it wont do DD, do you get the same issue with HD recorded from with the HD PVR.

Currently the HD PVR will not encode 5.1, only stereo over the optical or analogue link. The 5.1.fix is coming apparently. The PS3 will play the H.264 files directly or as a AVCHD (a US PS3 will not play PAL AVCHD's but will play the same files on a data disc or over a network). No further conversion is necessary. The HD PVR comes with utilities to convert H.264 to MP4 the Hauppauge version is quicker then the arcsoft version AFAIK.

[mattclarkie]

Well I don't want them as MP4 because I know for a fact that the PS3 refuses to play anything other than AAC from MP4 files but handles DD from MP2.

Hopefully then once the DD patch is released I could stream H264 with DD without having to convert the DD to AAC(which is frankly awful).

[rentagas]

I think I understand but why convert the files at all if the H.264 files play on the PS3 perfectly?

[ensyed]

I just received mine today. I plan to hook it up to Sky HD and time shift to an MCE machine.
A few questions:

1) Does this come with recording software or do I first have to record to Sky HD and then manually transfer the recording via playback to this device?
2) If it has recording software will it play nicely with Microsoft Media center software?

3) Another option is for me to use it with a Mac if there is any benefit??

Thanks

Originally Posted by ensyed

I just received mine today. I plan to hook it up to Sky HD and time shift to an MCE machine.
A few questions:

1) Does this come with recording software or do I first have to record to Sky HD and then manually transfer the recording via playback to this device?
2) If it has recording software will it play nicely with Microsoft Media center software?

3) Another option is for me to use it with a Mac if there is any benefit??

Thanks

Hello Ensyed
where did you purchase your hd pvr from and how long did it take to be delivered


thanks malta

[rentagas]

1) The box encodes live or recorded output from the box in real time. It comes with arcsoft capture software which shows the output and recordings can be made in a similar way to a VCR (ie wait for the bit you want and press record!). These recordings can be transcoded (eg to MP4), written to DVD (as avhcd), streamed to PS3 or edited (eg with tscutter)
2) The appropriate drivers for Vista/MCE do not exist ie you cannot get windows to schedule recordings or stream the captured stuff DIRECTLY to a windows media player eg xbox360. But this can be done with stuff already captured (but I haven't done this). Currently the IR blaster will not control the HD box using the supplied software
3) People on avsforums have use macs with success

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...015617&page=77

[goonerman1961]

Hi Ensyed
How are you getting on with this item? I really need something like this but have been told by Hauppauge its not available in the UK till end of August, how did you get yours?

[Martin J.]

So my HD PVR showed up last week. I've been fiddling around over the last couple of days trying to overcome some driver issues - I use a weird unsupported OS - but seem to have it up and running.

Working with the H.264 transport streams isn't the easiest, Hauppauge supply a piece of software to convert them to MP4, but even then not many applications support the output.

That being said, I'm fairly impressed. I've been outputting 720p from the Sky box to eliminate the need to deinterlace, and even at modest 9Mb/s (average) data rate the results are good.

Here's a frame:

Most of the artefacts in that are from the save to JPEG, and then they're few and far between.

One word of caution; it turns out you need a fairly beefy computer to use this thing, my old XP box chokes completely, even on SD footage.

[Martin J.]

A couple more still frames using acid-test material, Gladiators on Sky One, which is all flashing lights and movement.

720p - default compression (~8MB/s)

1080i - default compression (~9MB/s) (not de-interlaced, hence field tearing)

Gladiators has some uses after all!

[mattclarkie]

Can't argue with the results. All we need is for the DD support to be added and it will be all-singing and all-dancing.

I plan to use it with an x2 4800 with 2gig of RAM, hopefully that is beefy enough.

[rentagas]

Originally Posted by Martin J.

One word of caution; it turns out you need a fairly beefy computer to use this thing, my old XP box chokes completely, even on SD footage.

The avsforum bods would suggest fairly modest systems can be used for the "recording" computer. The preview screen may stutter but the recorded stream itself is OK. At this stage most of the work is being done by the HD PVR. However streaming big files can strain the disc system particularly if you (as I did rather supidly) try and capture and in addition save files to a network disc this DID result in a slightly stuttering file.
When files are played on a computer however this computer has to be fairly beefy eg dual core with a card like the nvidia 8000 series. Files play very well on my Qosmio laptop dual core 2Ghz with a 8000 graphics card but not very well in my smaller laptop with integrated intel graphics

[Zaxx]

Where can I get an HD-PVR in the UK?

Is it neccessary to order from the Hauppauge US site?

This results in the order being shipped from Ireland I believe.


As a further point are the units being shipped from Ireland revision C1 or C2?

Some other the early units froze resulting in revision C2 units being fitted with fans.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by rentagas

The avsforum bods would suggest fairly modest systems can be used for the "recording" computer. The preview screen may stutter but the recorded stream itself is OK. At this stage most of the work is being done by the HD PVR. However streaming big files can strain the disc system particularly if you (as I did rather supidly) try and capture and in addition save files to a network disc this DID result in a slightly stuttering file.
When files are played on a computer however this computer has to be fairly beefy eg dual core with a card like the nvidia 8000 series. Files play very well on my Qosmio laptop dual core 2Ghz with a 8000 graphics card but not very well in my smaller laptop with integrated intel graphics

Presumably the requirements to replay HD PVR HD recordings (which are 720p or 1080i H264) are pretty similar to those required to replay Blu-ray content (much of which is also H264 albeit often at a slightly higher bitrate)?

As recording only entails taking a data stream pre-encoded in hardware by the HD PVR and recording it to disk, the hardware requirements for recording are much lower, as there is no requirement for the CPU/GFX card to do any encoding or decoding?

[Martin J.]

Originally Posted by Stephen Neal

As recording only entails taking a data stream pre-encoded in hardware by the HD PVR and recording it to disk, the hardware requirements for recording are much lower, as there is no requirement for the CPU/GFX card to do any encoding or decoding?

My edit PC is using about 2-4% of CPU resources during capture, so all it appears to be doing is displaying the incoming stream and writing it to disk.

My Windows XP box is having none of it though, it's choking even when displaying the image. I'll need to check later what is soaking up all the resources but decoding and displaying H.264 at 1080i isn't easy for older machines.

I received the C2 revision so it has enabled "bling" LEDs and the factory fitted fan, which kicks in whenever the unit is called upon to encode.

[rentagas]

My unit is a C2 unit. I have had no problems with it since I got it in June

[CaffeineJunkie]

My unit is on order so it should be with me soon.
Does the Driver dated 13th June enable 5.1 audio capture or are we still waiting for that?