Best HDMI Capture Device for Satellite TV, Games & PC?

[jagabo]

Yes, the Elgato and Hauppauge HD PVR 2 allow you to capture at lower frame sizes (you can't caputure 1080p60 as 720p60, only 720p30). But they both require a computer to record.

[NickR]

On the C285 the recording resolution is automatically based on the source resolution. I searched all the menus and could not find an option to change recorded resolution which is a problem for me because my source is 1080p but I only want to record at 720p.

Does anyone know of competing devices that let the user select the recorded bitrate and and resolution?

Here's the settings screen for the avermedia live gamer portable which is used to set pc free mode.

[zapster]

Here's the settings screen for the avermedia live gamer portable which is used to set pc free mode.

That looks promising. Can you get to that screen without a PC hooked up? If yes how do you make your selections?

Avermedia lists these resolutions and frame-rates for PC Free. The screen above does't show frame-rate, how is that set?


Capture:
720 x 480 (30p), 720 x 480 (60p), 720 x 576 (30p), 720 x 576 (60p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 1920 x 1080 (30p)

[SHS]

On the C285 the recording resolution is automatically based on the source resolution. I searched all the menus and could not find an option to change recorded resolution which is a problem for me because my source is 1080p but I only want to record at 720p.

Does anyone know of competing devices that let the user select the recorded bitrate and and resolution?

With the Hauppauge Rocket you can enable it to do on the fly down scaler all way to 480x270 from a source input as 1080p and video/audio bitrate even frame rate down 15fps, NOTE: only support CBR with this device.
Once you hook it up to PC and run the software and setup it up the way you want it, it automatic stick to those setting in PC free mode.

[NickR]

Here's the settings screen for the avermedia live gamer portable which is used to set pc free mode.

That looks promising. Can you get to that screen without a PC hooked up? If yes how do you make your selections?

Avermedia lists these resolutions and frame-rates for PC Free. The screen above does't show frame-rate, how is that set?


Capture:
720 x 480 (30p), 720 x 480 (60p), 720 x 576 (30p), 720 x 576 (60p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 1920 x 1080 (30p)

You have to plug the ALGP to a pc via USB then set the recording option eithe 720p or 1080p and Bitrate, not sure what happens to the frame rate, I guess it just records at the framerate outputted from the device you're recording?

Once the ALGP is set that's it you don't need to use a pc you just plug the USB Into a power source I.e. TV USB. There's loads of YouTube vids on the ALGP working in pc free mode.

BTW I'm a bit of a noob at this stuff

[zapster]

With the Hauppauge Rocket you can enable it to do on the fly down scaler all way to 480x270 from a source input as 1080p and video/audio bitrate even frame rate down 15fps, NOTE: only support CBR with this device.
Once you hook it up to PC and run the software and setup it up the way you want it, it automatic stick to those setting in PC free mode.

I ruled this device out because of the 2GB file size max. Do you know of an easy way to join these files without loss of quality?

[SHS]

With the Hauppauge Rocket you can enable it to do on the fly down scaler all way to 480x270 from a source input as 1080p and video/audio bitrate even frame rate down 15fps, NOTE: only support CBR with this device.
Once you hook it up to PC and run the software and setup it up the way you want it, it automatic stick to those setting in PC free mode.

I ruled this device out because of the 2GB file size max. Do you know of an easy way to join these files without loss of quality?

Hmmm where did you get that at far as I know of you shouldn't have that problem unless your using fat32 format.

[zapster]

Hmmm where did you get that at far as I know of you shouldn't have that problem unless your using fat32 format.

How long can my recordings be?

Recording length is only limited by the size of your USB thumb drive. For example, a 16Gb USB thumb drive can hold up to 4 hours of video.
*PLEASE NOTE*: When recording to a USB thumb drive, your recordings are formatted in 2Gb file "chunks".



http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr_rocket.html#tabs-7

[SHS]

Hmmm where did you get that at far as I know of you shouldn't have that problem unless your using fat32 format.

How long can my recordings be?

Recording length is only limited by the size of your USB thumb drive. For example, a 16Gb USB thumb drive can hold up to 4 hours of video.
*PLEASE NOTE*: When recording to a USB thumb drive, your recordings are formatted in 2Gb file "chunks".



http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr_rocket.html#tabs-7

I take look at this and let you know right now it hook up to may PC game system

[SHS]

Yup it dose that, time put a req option to disable that.

[jagabo]

The similar Avermedia device it drops a few frames between segments. Can you check if Hauppauge does the same?

[zapster]

I'm doing some testing and on very HQ slow motion footage I can see no real difference between 10 and 20 Mb/sec. What type of footage is the best to see the difference?

[vhelp]

then it doesn't matter as long as you don't see any difference. use that bitrate for those particular sources. but some sources you may notice difference, or, over time you will begin to notice on all sources. anyway. either way, if you're not sure, just post the two sources so others can take a look.

[SHS]

The similar Avermedia device it drops a few frames between segments. Can you check if Hauppauge does the same?

Can't tell for sure may guest is yes to a few frames as well jagabo

[SHS]

I'm doing some testing and on very HQ slow motion footage I can see no real difference between 10 and 20 Mb/sec. What type of footage is the best to see the difference?

As rule it use lee High Speed Auto Sports Action that where you will see problem as long as sources output 100% dead on.

[jagabo]

I'm doing some testing and on very HQ slow motion footage I can see no real difference between 10 and 20 Mb/sec. What type of footage is the best to see the difference?

I suspect slow motion footage has lots of duplicate frames so it's not taxing on the encoder. Something like OTA soccer or basketball would be more difficult.

[zapster]

Has anyone tested component into the C285 then HDMI-passive out? Do you see any quality degradation?

[zapster]

Has anyone tested component into the C285 then HDMI-passive out? Do you see any quality degradation?

I finally got everything set up to test this. If there is a loss of quality my eyes don't notice it.

[VideoFanatic]

Is this still the case nowadays with the Elgato?

When there is any 5.1 sound input when using the Elgato, the software won't work at all (v1.4) This is pretty useless when capturing TV

I assume if I set my satellite box to only output stereo then that won't be a problem?

I'm looking to record 1080i 30fps satellite TV to 720p 60fps. The 60fps is needed to prevent a choppy framerate. I was disappointed to learn after buying the Elgato that it only records 720p in 30fps (it can only record in 60fps if the source was that). Do any models of the HD PVR record 1080i in 720p 60fps? And are there any artefacts caused by a poor downscaling?

Would prefer not to use the PVR as the reviews suggest it's buggy. Is there a similar device that can record 1080i 30fps in 720p 60fps? I'm looking to get the best picture possible without artefacts.

[Steve(MS)]

Is this still the case nowadays with the Elgato?

When there is any 5.1 sound input when using the Elgato, the software won't work at all (v1.4) This is pretty useless when capturing TV

I assume if I set my satellite box to only output stereo then that won't be a problem?

I'm looking to record 1080i 30fps satellite TV to 720p 60fps. The 60fps is needed to prevent a choppy framerate. I was disappointed to learn after buying the Elgato that it only records 720p in 30fps (it can only record in 60fps if the source was that). Do any models of the HD PVR record 1080i in 720p 60fps? And are there any artefacts caused by a poor downscaling?

Would prefer not to use the PVR as the reviews suggest it's buggy. Is there a similar device that can record 1080i 30fps in 720p 60fps? I'm looking to get the best picture possible without artefacts.

Very good question, in fact, I am interested in this as well.
The pat answer is to use the company's dvr...problem with that is..What if I don't want theirs?
Seems to me all these capture devices have a serious flaw somewhere to keep it from being top dog.
I would prefer a computerless hookup myself.

[jagabo]

I'm looking to record 1080i 30fps satellite TV to 720p 60fps. The 60fps is needed to prevent a choppy framerate. I was disappointed to learn after buying the Elgato that it only records 720p in 30fps (it can only record in 60fps if the source was that).

Why don't you just set your sat box to output 720p60?

[VideoFanatic]

I'm looking to record 1080i 30fps satellite TV to 720p 60fps. The 60fps is needed to prevent a choppy framerate. I was disappointed to learn after buying the Elgato that it only records 720p in 30fps (it can only record in 60fps if the source was that).

Why don't you just set your sat box to output 720p60?

In the UK nearly everyone has Sky. The Sky box doesn't have a 60fps option. It just outputs in the same framerate as 1080i (25fps). While recording in 720p 25fps doesn't give as juddery a frame rate as recording in 1080i 25fps then converting to 720p 25fps, it's still noticeable. I didn't actually notice an issue until I played the 720p file on my media player. It's sad that people none the wiser will destroy their footage by using the Elgato to record 1080i footage in 720p.

Is there any capture device that will record 1080i in 720p at 50 or 60fps? Can the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus do it? I'm not sure about buying that as it seems to have issues. Amazon has grouped all the reviews for every HD PVR model into the reviews for every model! So it's difficult to see what the star rating is and reviews for the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus.

[jagabo]

You can always capture at 10180i and convert to 720p later. Of course, that's yet another lossy compression cycle. But if you capture at 30 Mb/s the losses aren't so bad.

[VideoFanatic]

Can anyone suggest a self-contained device that can record to it's own hard drive or flash memory without needing a PC? I would like to record some on demand shows from a satellite box that's in another room (I can't move it into my room as my parents are using it).

[usually_quiet]

Can anyone suggest a self-contained device that can record to it's own hard drive or flash memory without needing a PC? I would like to record some on demand shows from a satellite box that's in another room (I can't move it into my room as my parents are using it).

I know of 3 capture devices that record HDMI input to either a hard drive or USB flash drive, but you will have to operate them manually. You will also likely need a device to remove HDCP in order to use them with the HDMI output from a satellite receiver. Some inexpensive powered HDMI splitters can do this. The quality of the recordings may not be as as good as some of the PC-based capture devices mentioned in this thread.

Avermedia Live Gamer Portable
AVerMedia Game Capture HD II C285
Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket

[VideoFanatic]

OK thanks. I can remove HDCP no problem. I'll have a look at those. I was also thinking that I could use a HDMI to Gigabit Ethernet cable and plug it into a homeplug in my parents room then in my room I could have another homeplug then connect the cable from that into my HDMI recorder in my room. From what I've read ordinary homeplugs can't do that but there are other devices that can. Does anybody know of anything that will work like that?

[usually_quiet]

OK thanks. I can remove HDCP no problem. I'll have a look at those. I was also thinking that I could use a HDMI to Gigabit Ethernet cable and plug it into a homeplug in my parents room then in my room I could have another homeplug then connect the cable from that into my HDMI recorder in my room. From what I've read ordinary homeplugs can't do that but there are other devices that can. Does anybody know of anything that will work like that?

Look for an HDMI extender using Cat5e or CAT6 cable. They require two CAT5e or CAT6 cables to connect the HDMI devices on both ends. The CAT5e or CAT6 cables can't be connected to a home network at the same time.

This is one example, but not the only kind available

[VideoFanatic]

Doesn't that use a physical cable? I need something where there will be no need to install a physical cable between the two rooms. Homeplugs are effectively wireless as they use electrical cabling in your walls to connect 2 devices.

[usually_quiet]

Doesn't that use a physical cable? I need something where there will be no need to install a physical cable between the two rooms. Homeplugs are effectively wireless as they use electrical cabling in your walls to connect 2 devices.

If Homeplugs use the home's electrical system instead of network cables, they aren't wireless. In the USA it's called "powerline networking", so I didn't understand what you meant. You cannot use home wiring as an HDMI extender. The same number of wires as in an HDMI cable are needed to function as an extender. That is why two network cables are required.

[Edit]Wireless HDMI extenders need an unobstructed line-of-sight connection to function, and they have a limited range even then, so they aren't going to be helpful to you.

It looks like I'm out of date and something new was released that promises you can wirelessly extend HDMI to other rooms, but I'm not sure if it really works well enough to serve your purpose: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00630WKGI?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374...29&camp=211189

[VideoFanatic]

This device uses homeplug type things: http://www.justhdmi.co.uk/hdjuicebox/ but it's quite expensive. Was wondering if there are cheaper alternatives.