Capturing Cable TV in 60FPS using a HD60 S

[NEW YORK]

Hey guys, long time lurker.

I wanted to know if it's possible to capture in 60FPS cable TV using a HD60 S? Looking to capture any channel. I know it's possible if you decrease the video size to 720P the capture device will capture in 60FPS. But is it possible with this capture device in 1080i?

[usually_quiet]

Hey guys, long time lurker.

I wanted to know if it's possible to capture in 60FPS cable TV using a HD60 S? Looking to capture any channel. I know it's possible if you decrease the video size to 720P the capture device will capture in 60FPS. But is it possible with this capture device in 1080i?

I don't think so. For 1080i TV in the USA, the frame rate is 29.97 frames per second. The specs for the HD60S merely say it captures 1080i video input. Since the specs don't specify any resolutions and frame rates for captured video, I take that to mean the HD60 S captures at the same resolution and frame rate it receives. That will be 29.97 frames per second for 1080i TV, although many times its referred to as 30 frames per second instead.

1080i video is interlaced. Confusion creeps in because some video standards use a naming convention that count the frames per second in interlaced video, while other video standards use a convention that counts the fields per second. (Each frame in interlaced video holds two fields.) This means 1080i29.97, 1080i30, 1080i59.94 and 1080i60 all refer to the the same thing when someone is speaking of TV in the USA.

Some cable boxes can be configured to output 1080p60 video (Comcast's X1, for example), and the HD 60S can capture that at 60 frames per second.

[NEW YORK]

Hey guys, long time lurker.

I wanted to know if it's possible to capture in 60FPS cable TV using a HD60 S? Looking to capture any channel. I know it's possible if you decrease the video size to 720P the capture device will capture in 60FPS. But is it possible with this capture device in 1080i?

I don't think so. For 1080i TV in the USA, the frame rate is 29.97 frames per second. The specs for the HD60S merely say it captures 1080i video. Since the specs don't specify any resolutions and frame rates for captured video, I take that to mean the HD60 S captures at the same resolution and frame rate it receives. That will be 29.97 frames per second for 1080i TV, although many times its referred to as 30 frames per second instead.

1080i video is interlaced. Confusion creeps in because some video standards use a naming convention that count the frames per second in interlaced video, while other video standards use a convention that counts the fields per second. (Each frame in interlaced video holds two fields.) This means 1080i29.97, 1080i30, 1080i59.94 and 1080i60 all refer to the the same thing when someone is speaking of TV in the USA.

Ah, I see. Thank you for the quick response!

It would've been beautiful to capture sports in 1080i60 if it was possible.

[usually_quiet]

Ah, I see. Thank you for the quick response!

It would've been beautiful to capture sports in 1080i60 if it was possible.

I amended my answer. You may be able to capture at 1080p60 instead of 1080i30, but your cable box has to support it. (Each field becomes a frame when interlaced video is played with a player that uses good deinterlacing.)

1080p60 may be more useful in circumstances where interlaced video can't be used, like imbedded video on a website, but 1080i30 should look just as good when properly deinterlaced during playback.

[jagabo]

It would've been beautiful to capture sports in 1080i60 if it was possible.

1080i60 is the same thing as 1080i30. Marketing dweebs simply changed the name to make it sound better. The HD60 says it can capture 1080i30 but it's not clear the file it produces is 1080i30 or if it's deinterlaced to 1080p30. But I have an older ElGato capture device and it saves 1080i30 sources as 1080i30 files.