Capture Software that works with HD PVR 2

[raveclash]

so i just "ran" another test(2, 10-15 minute long videos), this time using my game cube with the composite cables hooked up to the A/V in port on the PVR. the video came out great, no skipped frames, no messed up image, nothing out of sync, just great. i didnt change anything but the system i was recording(Game cube instead of Xbox 360) and i recorded the video to the external drive with the usb hooked up to the back of the CPU. so, in theory, that would have to mean the problem is with the HDMI cable(s), yeah? im using the HDMI cable that the PVR came with as HDMI out and i bought an Xbox HDMI cable(microsoft brand) that is the HDMI in. if i had to guess which cable is faulty(if that is the problem) i would hazard a guess its the hauppauge brand cable. ill try switching both and then doing another test

PS. Sorry for the Double Post

[raveclash]

Damn, i mustve double clicked post...didnt mean the triple post

[gll99]

Lets hope it's the hdmi cable because that's an easy fix. There shouldn't be a hdcp handshake issue with the xbox360 but even that can be solved with a special splitter. There are a few threads about that on VH.

I wonder also about the resolution of the video coming out of the gamecube over component. If it's only 480p there might still be a throughput problem to consider. Anyway that's putting the cart before the horse. Lets see how a new HI-speed HDMI cable works for you 1st.

btw) If the hdmi is at fault I'd be more suspicious of the one going into the PVR2 from the source and not the one going from the PVR2 to the TV but it won't hurt if you test both.

[raveclash]

Any specific brand HDMI cable or would an amazon brand cable( http://amzn.to/1ODtrSf ) work too?

The resolution of the game cube through composite was 720x480i but i dont really have an interest to record older consoles, at least not yet

I did switch the cables and it had the same problem...

[jagabo]

The frame size you're capturing at doesn't matter. What matters is the bitrate. All frame sizes transfer the same amount of data at the same bitrate. Of course, that's assuming the device is giving you the bitrate you specified. Trying to capture low resolutions with high bitrates, or high resolution with low birates, may not give the bitrate you asked for.

The Amazon Basics cables should be fine a lengths under 20 feet.

[raveclash]

The frame size you're capturing at doesn't matter. What matters is the bitrate. All frame sizes transfer the same amount of data at the same bitrate. Of course, that's assuming the device is giving you the bitrate you specified. Trying to capture low resolutions with high bitrates, or high resolution with low birates, may not give the bitrate you asked for.

I have capture set to record at a constant 11.00 mbps (which is default) and under "details" of the video file properties it says data bitrate of 11358 kbps (11.358 mbps) and a total bitrate of 11550 kbps (11.55 mbps). it is in 480p, but id prefer to record it in 720p if i could but thats neither here nor their at this point (I could always just look up a tutorial lol)

The Amazon Basics cables should be fine a lengths under 20 feet.

alright cool. i was gonna get the 6.5 ft one (my tv, console and pvr are all in close proximity to each another)

[raveclash]

Update:
So i received the HDMI cable i ordered(i got two of them, just in case) and...still doesnt work. It worked for A 10 min. video but that was after i changed both cables and installed the new update for capture but now it keeps screwing up...again. i didnt change anything except for the cables themselves. i tried recording via component(a plan b of sorts), that worked for a little while but now that wont even work. recording via composite still works tho...

im starting to think that it may be the pvr itself that is screwy but it doesnt help that every time i try to stop a recording, capture freezes and then stops the recording or stays frozen until i force close it. And every other time i started capture i kept getting that error message i mentioned before but this time i got a screen grap of it. i feel like im gonna have a mental breakdown or something, it feels like ive been trying to get this thing to work properly for, what feels like, eons.

PS: i gotta know, would an el gato hd60 been this big of a pain in the butt?

PPS: Ive tried running capture "as an administrator" as well and nothing.

[jagabo]

Have you tried capturing at the lowest bitrate setting?

I don't know about the El Gato HD 60 but older Gamecapture HD has very high CPU usage.

[raveclash]

I just tried recording at the lowest bitrate(.20 Mbps) and it was fine, crap quality(which was to be expected) but nothing messed up. I also tried the highest setting, 14.00 Mbps, but that crashed capture 7 min. in to the recording. 10 mbps and 9 mbps (both in the "high" quality settings) didnt work and neither did 8 mbps(medium quality) but 5 mbps(.10 before the medium quality) did fine. all of those were with the HDMI, i dont know if recording via component would yield anything different.

[jagabo]

It looks like your computer just can't handle over 5 Mb/s. Recording via component shouldn't be any different. Check your internal hard drive (Device Manager) and make sure it's using DMA. Check that the external USB drive is running USB 2.0 speed, not 1.2. Make sure the HD PVR is connected via USB 2.0 too.

[raveclash]

I checked the DMA, i had to turn it on. i think that both the external hard drive and the pvr are connected via usb 2.0, but im not sure how to check.

[jagabo]

After switching your internal drive to DMA can you capture to that drive at higher bitrates?

To check USB speed: From Device Manager:



Full speed = USB 1.2, High Speed = USB 2.0. Check all the USB controllers. Try different USB ports -- not one right next to the mouse or keyboard, for example.

You can also use an disk speed program to check the speed of the external drive.

[raveclash]

I switched the DMA on and switched the usbs so that both the pvr and external hard drive are using usb 2.0 and when recording to the external drive i still get the problem BUT when recording to the internal hard drive, it works fine(at 11.00 mbps). recording to just a folder on my desktop isnt ideal(i do have enough space to record but it would be more ideal to record to the external hard drive) but ill take what i can get at this point... hopefully i wont run into anymore problems *knock on wood* *fingers crossed*

[gll99]

11 Mbps for the video only is well within the theoretical speed 480Mbps of the usb 2.0 port so it shouldn't be an issue. I'd check the external drive for errors and run some speed tests on it. Even the slowest external 1TB drive should be able to handle that traffic unless somehow you are using an old housing with a usb 1.1 controller and cable and it's throttling down to its native speed of roughly 12 Mbps. Did you ever say if you are using your own housing or whether you bought an actual 1TB usb 2.0 external drive? Maybe I missed that.

[jagabo]

Yes, it sounds like you aren't getting the right speed on your external drive. USB 2.0's raw speed is 480 Mb/s but it's real world throughput is more like 240 Mb/s. The sustained read/write speed of modern hard drives ranges from about 160 Mb/s to 1000 Mb/s. So the drive shouldn't be a bottleneck either. Make sure you're not using an external hub that might be slowing you down -- ie, connect the drive directly to a port on the computer.

[raveclash]

My external drive is a Seagate FA GoFlex Desk (http://bit.ly/1eCOsK7) connected directly to the back of the pc via usb 2.0, its a few years old but it still works with no problems...is their a good/recommended speed test software?

[jagabo]

Try the free version of HD Tune. http://www.hdtune.com/

[raveclash]

I ran both speed tests and error tests(just to be sure), here are the results:

HD Tune: Seagate FA GoFlex Desk Benchmark

Transfer Rate Minimum : 20.4 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Maximum : 22.0 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Average : 21.2 MB/sec
Access Time : 18.0 ms
Burst Rate : 14.4 MB/sec
CPU Usage : 32.7%

HD Tune: Seagate FA GoFlex Desk Error Scan (Quick)

Scanned data : 953488 MB
Damaged Blocks : 0.0 %
Elapsed Time : 0:48

i ran the test a couple times, using different usb ports and the results were just about the same every time with one or two times, the minimum was down 1-2 mb/sec and the maximum was up 1-2 mb/sec with the average being in the 21 mb/sec range each time

[raveclash]

didnt mean the double post...again

[jagabo]

20 MB/s (160 Mb/s) is about right for an external USB 2.0 drive. So it looks like it's just a matter of the additional CPU usage and latency in conjunction with your weak CPU that's causing problems capturing directly to the USB drive. You'll have to settle for capturing to your internal drive and copying the files to the external drive later.

[raveclash]

Thats fine for now than. thank you all for the help hopefully i wont have to post here with more problems(at least about the pvr anyways ) *fingers crossed* *knock on wood*