Hauppauge or AverTv??

[markypizz]

My friend and I plan to do a Rock Band stream for charity in a few weeks. We want an HD capture card preferably with input for component OR hdmi with audio, and an output for component.

We found two things, the Hauppauge HD PVR USB Video Capture Device, and the AVerMedia AVerTV USB HD DVR Digital Video Capture Device MTVUHDDVR HDMI Interface.

They can be found here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/583569-REG/Hauppauge_1212_HD_PVR_USB_Video.html
and here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100052

We wanted to know which was the better buy, or if anyone else had a better idea for one. Thank you guys for your support. And if anyone knows, will either of these work on mac or just windows?

[fritzi93]

I can't tell you anything about the AverTV device. But from the specs, it appears to be Windows only, like the Hauppauge. Both require a dual-core CPU. It seems both come with TME, which is very good capture software, also first-class for playing Blu-Rays/AVCHDs from your computer. Plus some rather basic AVCHD editing/authoring/conversion modules.

However, I do have the Hauppauge HD-PVR unit and it's been perfectly satisfactory in every respect. So no need to go into any details.

The included IRBlaster remotes? Meh, I don't use the bundled remote, it's no great shakes.

Differences:

1) Is HDMI important to you?

2) Reviews at NewEgg look overall better for the Hauppauge, although the sample base is small for the Aver. Some negative reviews should be discounted, of course, the reviewers not knowing what they're doing. But there you are.

Maybe someone here has the Aver device and can comment. Good luck.

[EDIT] Prime example of a stupid review: The guy who says the Aver is useless for recording game play because of the delay. Duh, that's what pass-through is for. Both devices have it.

[SHS]

The only real differences with the two are
AVerTV USB HD DVR it has HDMI output if that important to you that for Video Playback only not the desktop it self and has no Optical S/PDIF in and out meaning no AC3 5.1 Recoding
HD-PVR has Optical S/PDIF in and out so you can record AC3 5.1 also the HD-PVR better well support with more other 3rdparty apps rigth now even under Linux.
They both have same chipset and belive it or not but the very same heat problem
I agree with fritzi93 thoses newegg user are so clueless it an't funny even that one stupid review

As for require a dual-core CPU not ture you just needed a good Video card that was the main thing I had when woking with HD-PVR run on old P4 2.2Ghz but I did have a good Video card know as ATI HD 3850 AGP

[NOKYARD]

will either of these work on mac or just windows?

For us Mac users (who don't care about Optical S/PDIF in and out) there is the new Eye TV HD from Elgato.

It is similar in specs to the AVerTV USB HD DVR (likely the same chip) without the HDMI output. Pricing is lower than the Hauppauge unit and should be similar to the AVerTV once it hits the discount retailers. The unit comes with the EyeTV 3 application so it will still be useful after your event. I will not be buying mine until the end of the month so i can't give you a full review, hopefully it plays nice with camtwist because i plan to use it for live game-related webcasts. The AVerTV USB HD DVR has no Mac drivers. For the Hauppauge unit you can purchase a Mac driver for $30.

Keep in mind that you will be playing the game at the same time as you are broadcasting. Video game systems only supply a single output signal so you are going to have to figure out a way to split the video (and audio) signal to send it to your capture device (for the live stream), and to the TV screen you will be playing on. Playing the game by watching the monitor window of the capture software is not possible because it is usually a second or two behind the actual game.

The Hauppauge unit features component video loop through to allow HD recording and viewing at the same time so all you need is an extra component cable. You will need to re-calibrate your instruments to the new setup.

If you choose the Eye TV HD or the AVerTV USB HD DVR you will need to find a way to split the video (and audio) signal (there are other threads in this forum which may provide alternative methods for doing this). I have heard that a simple component y-cable could be useful for an event such as this (you would also need a matching y-cable for the audio as well), but i would never recommend it as a permanent solution.

[markypizz]

Thanks for all of your suggestions guys! I don't think I will be opting for the EyeTV. I don't want to have to go buy splitters, and it does have the highest price of the three devices. I have a netbook, and I don't know if that is going to power everything. We do have a laptop, but I am not able to use that often. The option I was thinking was to use my macbook pro and use VMWare Fusion to run a virtual windows XP and use that. Would that be powerful enough? I have chosen the Hauppauge. It has everything that I want and it seems like a more reliable device. AverTV doesn't seem like it is up to the standards of the Hauppauge. I will let you all know if anything happens.