This dvr claims to record from any source to a pen drive, is it any good?

[ezcapper]

Is it good, does anyone have it? It's a dvr that supposedly records anything to a pen drive with h.264 compression. No computer is needed. It's from A+V Link Technologies.
The device is called the HVR-6040L
Manual:
http://www.gozens.com/pictures/ebay/A+VLink/6040L/6040L_User_Manual_ENG_1.1.pdf
Device:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDTV-Digital-Video-Recorder-HDMI-1080-DVD-Blu-ray-USB-HDD-Reco...item3f32c751e7

It accepts hdmi, composite or component input. It is $200 and can record to either hard drive or pen drive.

[jagabo]

It doesn't record HDCP encrypted HDMI sources (nearly all HDMI sources are HDCP encrypted) so you'll need an HDCP stripper.

[newpball]

Get an Elgato Game Capture HD instead.

[ezcapper]

It doesn't record HDCP encrypted HDMI sources (nearly all HDMI sources are HDCP encrypted) so you'll need an HDCP stripper.

From my understanding, after you install the firmware upgrade: http://www.gozens.com/pictures/ebay/A+VLink/crack/crack.rar

it will record hdcp encrypted hdmi sources. It claims to record pretty much any source you can imagine.

The elgato will not work with my set top box. It is a game recorder, not a dvr.

[newpball]

The elgato will not work with my set top box. It is a game recorder, not a dvr.

Oh, did you try?

Elgato supports:

1080p (simultaneous 60 fps pass-through and 30 fps capture), 1080i, 720p (60 or 30 fps capture), 576p, 576i, 480p, 480i, 288p, 240p

[Cornucopia]

ElGato is HDCP-compliant, so NO it will not work with a settop box that outputs HDCP-protected streams. That should be fairly obvious.

ezcapper, you shouldn't be talking about warez. It's against the site rules.

Scott

[jagabo]

From my understanding, after you install the firmware upgrade: http://www.gozens.com/pictures/ebay/A+VLink/crack/crack.rar

it will record hdcp encrypted hdmi sources.

I don't know about that "crack" firmware but the ebay link you gave specifically says it doesn't record HDCP encrypted HDMI.

The ElGago GameCapture HD does not record HDCP protected HDMI either.

[ezcapper]

"I don't know about that "crack" firmware but the ebay link you gave specifically says it doesn't record HDCP encrypted HDMI.

The ElGago GameCapture HD does not record HDCP protected HDMI either."

oh ok got it thanks for the help. I understand now.

[mail2tom]

You might want to check out the HDMI Cloner Box at Amazon. It records to pen drive and doesn't require another device to strip HDCP.

[ezcapper]

You might want to check out the HDMI Cloner Box at Amazon. It records to pen drive and doesn't require another device to strip HDCP.

Thank you for this great post. Here is the latest firmware for the HDMI Cloner Box.
http://www.cloner-alliance.com/download.html

It seems to be getting good reviews, does anyone have one?

one guy says the audio recording is out of sync a little bit?

[ezcapper]

sorry, one last thing. Will the cloner box firmware work with the yk918h? are they the same device? I would guess yes. Thanks!

[mail2tom]

You might want to check out the HDMI Cloner Box at Amazon. It records to pen drive and doesn't require another device to strip HDCP.

Thank you for this great post. Here is the latest firmware for the HDMI Cloner Box.
http://www.cloner-alliance.com/download.html

It seems to be getting good reviews, does anyone have one?

one guy says the audio recording is out of sync a little bit?

I bought one a few weeks ago (ships from PRC and arrived before the estimated arrival date). I updated the firmware (for the NTFS support to keep files from splitting at 2Gigs) with no problem. My only attempts at capturing were just a test of Hulu, Netflix and from FIOS (does not capture Captions). I switched between 720p/60 and 1080i/60 source and captured at 29.97 progressive. It records to MP4 and AAC audio (no matter the audio source). I have mine placed "in line" so the unit must remain on in order to view live programming from the source. It also requires you to do a manual start and stop by pressing the "start" button on the unit, and records in real time.
As far as audio sync goes, I ran into that problem after re-encoding the audio to AC-3 (using TFM Audio) and remuxing to MKV container. However using FFMPEG produced synchronized audio. IMHO the quality is better than that produced by my Hauppauge HDPVR, doesn't require a computer to capture, and has no user accessible settings.

[ezcapper]

You might want to check out the HDMI Cloner Box at Amazon. It records to pen drive and doesn't require another device to strip HDCP.

Thank you for this great post. Here is the latest firmware for the HDMI Cloner Box.
http://www.cloner-alliance.com/download.html

It seems to be getting good reviews, does anyone have one?

one guy says the audio recording is out of sync a little bit?

I bought one a few weeks ago (ships from PRC and arrived before the estimated arrival date). I updated the firmware (for the NTFS support to keep files from splitting at 2Gigs) with no problem. My only attempts at capturing were just a test of Hulu, Netflix and from FIOS (does not capture Captions). I switched between 720p/60 and 1080i/60 source and captured at 29.97 progressive. It records to MP4 and AAC audio (no matter the audio source). I have mine placed "in line" so the unit must remain on in order to view live programming from the source. It also requires you to do a manual start and stop by pressing the "start" button on the unit, and records in real time.
As far as audio sync goes, I ran into that problem after re-encoding the audio to AC-3 (using TFM Audio) and remuxing to MKV container. However using FFMPEG produced synchronized audio. IMHO the quality is better than that produced by my Hauppauge HDPVR, doesn't require a computer to capture, and has no user accessible settings.

Thanks so much! so now we know the clonerbox is a good device at the $100 price point. Now you're post made me a little greedy. The yk198h looks like the same exact device with a different decal. It has the same specifications and is $52.40:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Arrival-HDMI-HD-HDD-Video-Capture-Box-YK918H-/390960385216...item5b070e0cc0

I'm wondering, is it the same device for half the price? Just ordered one, so we'll find out

[mail2tom]

You might want to check out the HDMI Cloner Box at Amazon. It records to pen drive and doesn't require another device to strip HDCP.

Thank you for this great post. Here is the latest firmware for the HDMI Cloner Box.
http://www.cloner-alliance.com/download.html

It seems to be getting good reviews, does anyone have one?

one guy says the audio recording is out of sync a little bit?

I bought one a few weeks ago (ships from PRC and arrived before the estimated arrival date). I updated the firmware (for the NTFS support to keep files from splitting at 2Gigs) with no problem. My only attempts at capturing were just a test of Hulu, Netflix and from FIOS (does not capture Captions). I switched between 720p/60 and 1080i/60 source and captured at 29.97 progressive. It records to MP4 and AAC audio (no matter the audio source). I have mine placed "in line" so the unit must remain on in order to view live programming from the source. It also requires you to do a manual start and stop by pressing the "start" button on the unit, and records in real time.
As far as audio sync goes, I ran into that problem after re-encoding the audio to AC-3 (using TFM Audio) and remuxing to MKV container. However using FFMPEG produced synchronized audio. IMHO the quality is better than that produced by my Hauppauge HDPVR, doesn't require a computer to capture, and has no user accessible settings.

Thanks so much! so now we know the clonerbox is a good device at the $100 price point. Now you're post made me a little greedy. The yk198h looks like the same exact device with a different decal. It has the same specifications and is $52.40:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Arrival-HDMI-HD-HDD-Video-Capture-Box-YK918H-/390960385216...item5b070e0cc0

I'm wondering, is it the same device for half the price? Just ordered one, so we'll find out

Yes, looks very similar. On the other hand, I was impressed by the support people at ClonerAlliance. I received an unsolicited email that thanked me for the purchase, a link to the new firmware with a description of its functions and an indication that "any questions" regarding their product would be answered. At least good PR.

[ezcapper]

You might want to check out the HDMI Cloner Box at Amazon. It records to pen drive and doesn't require another device to strip HDCP.

Thank you for this great post. Here is the latest firmware for the HDMI Cloner Box.
http://www.cloner-alliance.com/download.html

It seems to be getting good reviews, does anyone have one?

one guy says the audio recording is out of sync a little bit?

I bought one a few weeks ago (ships from PRC and arrived before the estimated arrival date). I updated the firmware (for the NTFS support to keep files from splitting at 2Gigs) with no problem. My only attempts at capturing were just a test of Hulu, Netflix and from FIOS (does not capture Captions). I switched between 720p/60 and 1080i/60 source and captured at 29.97 progressive. It records to MP4 and AAC audio (no matter the audio source). I have mine placed "in line" so the unit must remain on in order to view live programming from the source. It also requires you to do a manual start and stop by pressing the "start" button on the unit, and records in real time.
As far as audio sync goes, I ran into that problem after re-encoding the audio to AC-3 (using TFM Audio) and remuxing to MKV container. However using FFMPEG produced synchronized audio. IMHO the quality is better than that produced by my Hauppauge HDPVR, doesn't require a computer to capture, and has no user accessible settings.

Thanks so much! so now we know the clonerbox is a good device at the $100 price point. Now you're post made me a little greedy. The yk198h looks like the same exact device with a different decal. It has the same specifications and is $52.40:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Arrival-HDMI-HD-HDD-Video-Capture-Box-YK918H-/390960385216...item5b070e0cc0

I'm wondering, is it the same device for half the price? Just ordered one, so we'll find out

Yes, looks very similar. On the other hand, I was impressed by the support people at ClonerAlliance. I received an unsolicited email that thanked me for the purchase, a link to the new firmware with a description of its functions and an indication that "any questions" regarding their product would be answered. At least good PR.

You're right, I definitely won't get that type of customer service with my device. It can be priceless. I was getting a little worried about my purchase, but I noticed that the two devices not only look identical minus the decal, their instruction manuals are identical, with just the product name changed. For those interested:
hdmi cloner manual:
http://www.cloner-alliance.com/files/download/hdmi-cloner_box_user_manual.pdf
yk918h manual (you have to scroll down. The first picture in the ebay listing is not the device):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Video-Capture-Nano-Recording-718H-1080P-For-Wii-PS4-XBOX-TV-DV...item1c51fb70ed
that was reassuring

[ezcapper]

looks like its a no-go on the firmware update for the yk918h. Some guy on youtube tried it for me, this was his reply: mine wont update it seems like its a naming issue of the file. so im trying to locate the name to change it to since i bought the box like this. my box only deletes the file. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-HD-HDD-TV-Video-Capture-Nano-Recording-H264-1080P-For-Wii...item462b24a0d1

[usually_quiet]

My only attempts at capturing were just a test of H***, N****** and from FIOS

I guess you didn't realize that the forum ruled were changed a couple of years ago so that discussions about recording paid streaming services are no longer allowed.

[ezcapper]

looks like its a no-go on the firmware update for the yk918h. Some guy on youtube tried it for me, this was his reply: mine wont update it seems like its a naming issue of the file. so im trying to locate the name to change it to since i bought the box like this. my box only deletes the file. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-HD-HDD-TV-Video-Capture-Nano-Recording-H264-1080P-For-Wii...item462b24a0d1

But on a brighter note, it seems like the 2gb limit is not a big deal. VOB files on dvd's have a 1 gb limit. This is double the bitrate, so has double the size limit. If you save the recording files in the same folder and add a playlist file which you would click to play the recording, you should have seamless playback, in the same way a dvd has seamless playback using VOBs, I would think. If I'm wrong, Alternatively you could use Avidemux. Would that reencode certain frames?

Another youtube guy confirmed that there are no dropped frames or stuttering between the files. I'm telling myself it's just like a next generation VOB file. In fact, I'll even rename my files VTS_02_1VOB.mp4 etc to make myself feel better, haha. I'm guessing it records the file past the 2gb mark then splits instead of recording seperate files.

But I have to admit it seems like the hdmi cloner is the better device.

[racer-x]

If you format the USB thumbdrive with NTFS, does it still record in 2gb chunks?

You can merge mp4's with MpegStreamClip as well as ffmpeg also.

[ezcapper]

If you format the USB thumbdrive with NTFS, does it still record in 2gb chunks?

You can merge mp4's with MpegStreamClip as well as ffmpeg also.

the firmware works with the hdmi cloner, so there is no filesize limitation. For the yk918, the firmware theoretically should work, since the folder it comes in says yk918 on it: http://www.filedropper.com/yk918-yk928-d612-2015-5-15-beta_1, but I will have to try it July 15th when my device comes in, others have said they can not get the firmware to install.

[mail2tom]

My only attempts at capturing were just a test of H***, N****** and from FIOS

I guess you didn't realize that the forum ruled were changed a couple of years ago so that discussions about recording paid streaming services are no longer allowed.

Oops.

[SHS]

Hmm I wonder what under the hood as in what Hardware Encoder Chipset is.
Also all you ElGato fans don't get it this a Stand along device just like the Hauppauge HD-PVR Rocket as it need no PC or Laptop you can't that with a ElGato.
So that HVR-6040L is also has Video Playback support.

[ezcapper]

Hmm I wonder what under the hood as in what Hardware Encoder Chipset is.
Also all you ElGato fans don't get it this a Stand along device just like the Hauppauge HD-PVR Rocket as it need no PC or Laptop you can't that with a ElGato.
So that HVR-6040L is also has Video Playback support.

From how they label their firmware update file, I'm 90% sure that this is what is under the hood, the guy who did the teardown seems very knowledgable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFBL_ZSbn-U

The HDMI Clonerbox comes with a free matching pen drive now on amazon for $100:
http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Cloner-need-Capture-streaming-videos/dp/B00TF9MCXU/ref=sr_1...ds=hdmi+cloner

[SHS]

From how they label their firmware update file, I'm 90% sure that this is what is under the hood, the guy who did the teardown seems very knowledgable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFBL_ZSbn-U

Hmm that not very good teardown he didn't remove the heatsinker but looking at firmware of that HDMI Clonerbox which look like the very same device it saying it a ITE Tech. Comp may guest is it same IT9910 Grabber Device (HD) that found in the Hauppauge HD-PVR Rocket.
That board do show micoUSB that most like for PC mode as well as power port and IR port and long 6 pin is most likey the development serial port pin header and small 4 pin that could be fan pin header.

[ezcapper]

I would guess it is using the same grabber device as the Avermedia LGP (C875)

[SHS]

I would guess it is using the same grabber device as the Avermedia LGP (C875)

Nope everything you want know about right here
http://goughlui.com/2015/04/10/review-teardown-avermedia-c875-live-gamer-portable-hdmi...ure-box-gl710/

[ezcapper]

I would guess it is using the same grabber device as the Avermedia LGP (C875)

Nope everything you want know about right here
http://goughlui.com/2015/04/10/review-teardown-avermedia-c875-live-gamer-portable-hdmi...ure-box-gl710/

After reading that article, I'm sticking to my guess. h264 video, max bitrate 16mbps, no adjustable settings, aac audio. I'll check the chroma sampling when my device comes in.

c875:
"Recordings are automatically named by date and time (which I have no idea how to set, but at least it is unique), and are made in the .ts format. They are automatically split to ensure it doesn’t exceed the FAT32 limitation of 4Gb per file. Video quality is adequate, with the bit-rate variable but maxing out about 16Mbit/s in my experience. Audio is always compressed as AAC-LC at 256kbit/s.

It is important to remember to set your source to put out a signal of the right resolution. Outputting at different resolutions can result in recording error (i.e. blue flashing) or black bars around the image area on the recorded video with scaling and associated “softness”. Occasionally, it seems that files with no audio are recorded due to incorrect HDMI mode-detection. Unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable after the LGP has booted seems to solve the issue."

[SHS]

After reading that article, I'm sticking to my guess. h264 video, max bitrate 16mbps, no adjustable settings, aac audio. I'll check the chroma sampling when my device comes in.

ezcapper I'm 99% sure that on Avermedia LGP (C875) the chip mark as AH 1444 I think that is an Texas Instruments DM369 or one of the other DaVinci Video Processors as it in BGA package where the IT9910 Grabber is in TQFP package only.
I add pthoto of what IT9910 form the HD-PVR Rocket look like.

[ezcapper]

After reading that article, I'm sticking to my guess. h264 video, max bitrate 16mbps, no adjustable settings, aac audio. I'll check the chroma sampling when my device comes in.

ezcapper I'm 99% sure that on Avermedia LGP (C875) the chip mark as AH 1444 I think that is an Texas Instruments DM369 or one of the other DaVinci Video Processors as it in BGA package where the IT9910 Grabber is in TQFP package only.
I add pthoto of what IT9910 form the HD-PVR Rocket look like.

I believe you, you sound like you know more,but why would the video have different max bitrates? the rocket can hit 18mbps

[ezcapper]

yk918h (probably same as hdmi clonerbox) board:

c875 board:


In the yk918h, the chip under the heatsink looks to big to be the grabber device chip. Couldn't the other ground off chip be the same ah 1444 ground off chip in the c875?

edit: ah no, i see it now, you're more likely to be right

can someone with an hdmi clonerbox take it apart so we can see if it's the same as the yk918h?