Hauppauge Colossus or Hauppauge Colossus 2? Which to get?

[harky]

i dont know which to choose as it look pretty much the same??


Can someone help me?

* need to able to capture from VCR Player & DVD Player
* Need to able to capture from cable TV box
* Need to able to capture from satellite TV receivers

[usually_quiet]

i dont know which to choose as it look pretty much the same??


Can someone help me?

* need to able to capture from VCR Player & DVD Player
* Need to able to capture from cable TV box

The Hauppage HD-PVR Colossus might do better with VHS. It has a built-in TBC of some sort which can be activated with a registry hack. I never tried capturing VHS with mine, but this former member did. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/354737-Does-the-hauppauge-colossus-work-with-Virtua...=1#post2229694

I did use a Hauppage HD-PVR Colossus for capturing from a cable box. It worked well enough. If capturing from HDMI, you need an HDMI splitter that removes HDCP as a side effect. Not all HDMI splitter do that. I used the ViewHD VHD-1X2MN3D http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Powered-Splitter-1080P-Model/dp/B004F9LVXC An HDMI splitter will also allow you to watch TV while recording.

Don't capture DVD or Blu-ray. Use software to copy and convert them them. It is often faster and provides better quality.

[harky]

Thanks for your reply..

been trying to look at both product but most ppl get Colossus.. while i tot Colossus 2 is the latest product from them

i dont know which to choose as it look pretty much the same??


Can someone help me?

* need to able to capture from VCR Player & DVD Player
* Need to able to capture from cable TV box

The Hauppage HD-PVR Colossus might do better with VHS. It has a built-in TBC of some sort which can be activated with a registry hack. I never tried capturing VHS with mine, but this former member did. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/354737-Does-the-hauppauge-colossus-work-with-Virtua...=1#post2229694

I did use a Hauppage HD-PVR Colossus for capturing from a cable box. It worked well enough. If capturing from HDMI, you need an HDMI splitter that removes HDCP as a side effect. Not all HDMI splitter do that. I used the ViewHD VHD-1X2MN3D http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Powered-Splitter-1080P-Model/dp/B004F9LVXC An HDMI splitter will also allow you to watch TV while recording.

Don't capture DVD or Blu-ray. Use software to copy and convert them them. It is often faster and provides better quality.

[usually_quiet]

The Colossus 2 is newer. It has the same hardware on board as the HD-PVR 2 external devices, and has a built-in HDMI pass-through, which the original Colossus does not have. However, the Colossus 2 doesn't have a built-in TBC to help with VHS capture.

No matter which Colossus you get, you may find VHS capture using the device to be difficult or unsatisfactory. Most people use specific SD capture devices for VHS. They either use a DV capture device, or a SD capture device that allows them to capture losslessly so they can use special software to improve the quality of captures. H.264 is so compressed that most of our VHS capture experts would tell you that quality cannot be significantly improved by post-capture processing.

[harky]

oh.

So do u think is better for me to get DV capture device, or a SD capture device to capture VHS?

The Colossus 2 is newer. It has the same hardware on board as the HD-PVR 2 external devices, and has a built-in HDMI pass-through, which the original Colossus does not have. However, the Colossus 2 doesn't have a built-in TBC to help with VHS capture.

No matter which Colossus you get, you may find VHS capture using the device to be difficult or unsatisfactory. Most people use specific SD capture devices for VHS. They either use a DV capture device, or a SD capture device that allows them to capture losslessly so they can use special software to improve the quality of captures. H.264 is so compressed that most of our VHS capture experts would tell you that quality cannot be significantly improved by post-capture processing.

[usually_quiet]

oh.

So do u think is better for me to get DV capture device, or a SD capture device to capture VHS?

If you want a proven method, then yes. Although, to achieve the best possible quality, you must be willing to put a lot of time and effort into attaining your goal. Using the original Colossus for VHS capture would be more of an experiment.

[harky]

Do you have any recommend?
Yes, I looking at the quality although vhs itself already not very good.
But than I tot Colossus can capture ts file is already the best quality?

oh.

So do u think is better for me to get DV capture device, or a SD capture device to capture VHS?

If you want a proven method, then yes. Although, to achieve the best possible quality, you must be willing to put a lot of time and effort into attaining your goal. Using the original Colossus for VHS capture would be more of an experiment.

[Brad]

TS (Transport Stream) is a container format typically used for AVC and MPEG-2. It doesn't imply any particular quality level.

The file produced by any of Hauppauge's devices (AVC here) is not the "best" quality, from any source you may plug into it. It's a simple compromise that most people recording HDTV are happy to accept for the convenience.


The best quality for an HDTV broadcast is the original digital broadcast stream data, from a provider that doesn't transcode what they receive before transmitting. The content providers continue to make this more difficult to obtain, every year.

[usually_quiet]

Do you have any recommend?
Yes, I looking at the quality although vhs itself already not very good.
But than I tot Colossus can capture ts file is already the best quality?

oh.

So do u think is better for me to get DV capture device, or a SD capture device to capture VHS?

If you want a proven method, then yes. Although, to achieve the best possible quality, you must be willing to put a lot of time and effort into attaining your goal. Using the original Colossus for VHS capture would be more of an experiment.

As far as I can tell, the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC 110 is the only DV capture device still being made. It is OK for capturing PAL VHS tapes. Color is degraded when capturing NTSC VHS tapes.

The Hauppauge USB Live 2 and StarTech SVID2USB2 are good for lossless capture from VHS, and widely available. Many people here recommend the ATI TV Wonder 600 USB, but it is long discontinued and was not sold outside North America.

[Edit]Lossless capture requires using a lossless encoding format, for example HuffYUV or UT Video Codec. Files are large, about 30-40 GB per hour. DV is not lossless, but is not highly compressed and it is easy to work with. DV files are 13 GB per hour

[harky]

I see thanks.

I was thinking isit possible for me to


Record VHS -> Into DVD HDD Recorder? (I nt sure if my hdd recorder able to do tht?) -> Capture from HDD Recorder?

will it improve the quality ?

Do you have any recommend?
Yes, I looking at the quality although vhs itself already not very good.
But than I tot Colossus can capture ts file is already the best quality?

oh.

So do u think is better for me to get DV capture device, or a SD capture device to capture VHS?

If you want a proven method, then yes. Although, to achieve the best possible quality, you must be willing to put a lot of time and effort into attaining your goal. Using the original Colossus for VHS capture would be more of an experiment.

As far as I can tell, the Canopus/Grass Valley ADVC 110 is the only DV capture device still being made. It is OK for capturing PAL VHS tapes. Color is degraded when capturing NTSC VHS tapes.

The Hauppauge USB Live 2 and StarTech SVID2USB2 are good for lossless capture from VHS, and widely available. Many people here recommend the ATI TV Wonder 600 USB, but it is long discontinued and was not sold outside North America.

[Edit]Lossless capture requires using a lossless encoding format, for example HuffYUV or UT Video Codec. Files are large, about 30-40 GB per hour. DV is not lossless but is not highly compressed and is easy to work with. DV files are 13 GB per hour

[usually_quiet]

I see thanks.

I was thinking isit possible for me to


Record VHS -> Into DVD HDD Recorder? (I nt sure if my hdd recorder able to do tht?) -> Capture from HDD Recorder?

will it improve the quality ?

It would certainly be easier to record with the DVD recorder instead of capturing. The quality may or may not be acceptable. That mostly depends on how discerning you are.

[Edit]If you are asking about using your DVD recorder as a line TBC while capturing with another device, only some DVD recorders can improve the signal.

[harky]

oh..

BTW some1 recommend me to get Hauppauge : WinTV-HVR-1955

U think is good euff?

I see thanks.

I was thinking isit possible for me to


Record VHS -> Into DVD HDD Recorder? (I nt sure if my hdd recorder able to do tht?) -> Capture from HDD Recorder?

will it improve the quality ?

It would certainly be easier to record with the DVD recorder instead of capturing. The quality may or may not be acceptable. That mostly depends on how discerning you are.

[Edit]If you are asking about using your DVD recorder as a line TBC while capturing with another device, only some DVD recorders can improve the signal.

[usually_quiet]

oh..

BTW some1 recommend me to get Hauppauge : WinTV-HVR-1955

U think is good euff?

The WinTV-HVR-1955 is not much different than using a DVD recorder for VHS capture. Both the DVD recorder and the WinTV-HVR-1955 hardware encode to MPEG-2.

[harky]

oh.. so i shouldnt get anything tht has hardware encode?

oh..

BTW some1 recommend me to get Hauppauge : WinTV-HVR-1955

U think is good euff?

The WinTV-HVR-1955 is not much different than using a DVD recorder for VHS capture. Both the DVD recorder and the WinTV-HVR-1955 hardware encode to MPEG-2.

[usually_quiet]

oh.. so i shouldnt get anything tht has hardware encode?

oh..

BTW some1 recommend me to get Hauppauge : WinTV-HVR-1955

U think is good euff?

The WinTV-HVR-1955 is not much different than using a DVD recorder for VHS capture. Both the DVD recorder and the WinTV-HVR-1955 hardware encode to MPEG-2.

If you want a quick and convenient solution, get something that hardware encodes to a highly compressed format (MPEG-2 or H.264), but do not expect the best possible quality.

If you want the best possible quality, capture losslessly. Expect to spend a lot of time learning how to improve it, and only after you are satisfied that you have done all that you can, you would encode to MPEG-2 or H.264 using software.

DV capture (which is also encoded using hardware) sits somewhere between these two options in terms of quality and convenience. Most would would encode DV to MPEG-2 or H.264 using software after editing and perhaps doing some minor improvements.

As far as I am concerned, my participation in this thread is over with respect to VHS capture. I'm not a VHS capture guru. I'll leave it to them to inform about the advantages/disadvantages of lossless capture and DV capture over DVD recorders and capture devices which hardware encode to highly compressed formats.

[harky]

thanks!!

[harky]

thanks!!
Think, i will get a Hauppauge USB Live 2.

I manage to find Grass Valley ADVC 110 at a very cheap deal but I don't have a FireWire port (but I know can get the pcie card).
And the vhs had is a NTSC or pal but the VCR player can play both.

In term of capture Card DV or SD, I not sure which is good also.
Are both of them turn out to be same? As in quality?

If you want a quick and convenient solution, get something that hardware encodes to a highly compressed format (MPEG-2 or H.264), but do not expect the best possible quality.

If you want the best possible quality, capture losslessly. Expect to spend a lot of time learning how to improve it, and only after you are satisfied that you have done all that you can, you would encode to MPEG-2 or H.264 using software.

DV capture (which is also encoded using hardware) sits somewhere between these two options in terms of quality and convenience. Most would would encode DV to MPEG-2 or H.264 using software after editing and perhaps doing some minor improvements.

As far as I am concerned, my participation in this thread is over with respect to VHS capture. I'm not a VHS capture guru. I'll leave it to them to inform about the advantages/disadvantages of lossless capture and DV capture over DVD recorders and capture devices which hardware encode to highly compressed formats.

[usually_quiet]

thanks!!
Think, i will get a Hauppauge USB Live 2.

It is acceptable for capturing PAL or NTSC tapes, according to members who have one and use it for that.

I manage to find Grass Valley ADVC 110 at a very cheap deal but I don't have a FireWire port (but I know can get the pcie card). And the vhs had is a NTSC or pal but the VCR player can play both.

In term of capture Card DV or SD, I not sure which is good also.
Are both of them turn out to be same? As in quality?

Since the VHS capture gurus at VideoHelp seem to be busy at the moment, try http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/

[Brad]

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

[harky]

Eh... Than which you suggest?
I check that, isn't much card in the market already.

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

[usually_quiet]

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

It does support PAL 60 capture according to hech54, who has one and has used it to capture NTSC tapes using a PAL VCR for playback. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/351311-PAL60-Success-finally

[harky]

Do Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card work too?

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

It does support PAL 60 capture according to hech54, who has one and has used it to capture NTSC tapes using a PAL VCR for playback. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/351311-PAL60-Success-finally

[usually_quiet]

Do Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card work too?

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

It does support PAL 60 capture according to hech54, who has one and has used it to capture NTSC tapes using a PAL VCR for playback. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/351311-PAL60-Success-finally

I know nothing about the Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card. I do know that many capture devices cannot capture PAL 60.

[harky]

oh... look like not much ppl use this pci-e card.. and i google only 1 post mention can.

http://deinterlace.sourceforge.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=3913&sid=24804ae5840f6d08d5a8486052ba987c

Do Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card work too?

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

It does support PAL 60 capture according to hech54, who has one and has used it to capture NTSC tapes using a PAL VCR for playback. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/351311-PAL60-Success-finally

I know nothing about the Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card. I do know that many capture devices cannot capture PAL 60.

[harky]

i asked Huappauge,

they say ImpactVCB-e PCI It's based on the BT 878 solution.
Hw do u define which is support PAL-60?

But than again, think i get the most popular Hauppauge USB Live 2 :/

Do Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card work too?

Your multisystem VCR almost definitely puts out a nonstandard signal for one of the two, either NTSC or PAL. I don't know whether USB-Live2 supports PAL60 or the other one, off the top of my head.

It does support PAL 60 capture according to hech54, who has one and has used it to capture NTSC tapes using a PAL VCR for playback. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/351311-PAL60-Success-finally

I know nothing about the Hauppauge ImpactVCB-e PCI Express Video Capture Card. I do know that many capture devices cannot capture PAL 60.

[harky]

How do i know which VCR contain TBC?

[usually_quiet]

i asked Huappauge,
Hw do u define which is support PAL-60?

The hardware and the device drivers would both need to support PAL60 as an option for capture. That information is difficult to obtain without having the device itself. Even if you could obtain it, you would still need to find a report from a reliable source who tried capturing a PAL60 source with the device to be absolutely certain it works for capturing a PAL60 signal.

How do i know which VCR contain TBC?

The user manual, or the fact sheet/product description would have that information.