Which one: Hauppauge Colossus 2 or HD PVR 2 model 1507/01512...

[Altairst8te74]

I am torn between these as per title of the thread:

Hauppauge Colossus 2 or HD PVR 2 model 1507/01512

The external version I can carry that around anywhere or can change the pc with no fuss!

But the internal version is far more tidy and with no psu!

I am stuck... also are they good at recording? I want to record of a set-top box and maybe some old stuff like vhs tape.

Tia

[jwillis84]

PCI express or USB

Probably PCI express

They are not good at recording for most video, designed mostly for Game console recording

They require you use the Hauppauge recording application to make recordings, some people do not like it

They produce highly compressed h.264/265 files which are not good for editing, mostly they are meant to be watched unedited

You cannot record uncompressed video or to any professional intermediate editing format, so strictly consumer grade

Best results will require you put the signal through some type of TBC/Frame buffer device before connect it to the Inputs of either device for capture

Its not impossible to make okay recordings with either

They aren't the kind of recordings archivists would prefer to make

[jwillis84]

The USB device has a wall adapter, it gets very hot and over heats if used for long periods of time and begins to shut down. Its also usually covered with connector cables and difficult to move around. It is not very portable.

The PCI express device will be more stable, but its the equivalent of a Tivo with the Hauppauge capture and recording software without a TV tuner.

You can get an old DVD recorder and pass the signal your trying to record/capture through the DVD recorder "first" and then take the cleaned up and processed signal from that and input it into the Hauppauge for capturing.

Some people have started using Analog video to HDMI converters and then capturing the HDMI.. but its really inefficient and not as good a quality.

You didn't state how you intended to use them. Knowing that would help to provide better suggestions.

They are mostly for Game console capture, and only the PCI express version won't overheat.

[usually_quiet]

I am torn between these as per title of the thread:

Hauppauge Colossus 2 or HD PVR 2 model 1507/01512

The external version I can carry that around anywhere or can change the pc with no fuss!

But the internal version is far more tidy and with no psu!

I am stuck... also are they good at recording? I want to record of a set-top box and maybe some old stuff like vhs tape.

Tia

The following applies to both the HD PVR 2 and the Colossus II. Recording from the set-top box's component video and stereo analog audio connections may be your only real option. Recording from HDMI won't work unless you happen to have an HDMI splitter that removes HDCP as a side effect. Unfortunately, I don't know what splitters work for removing HDCP today.

In 2014, I used an original Colossus to record the output from a set-top box to watch at a more convenient time. I used Windows 7's Media Center as my recording software and was able to change channels with an IR Blaster. This solution isn't workable today and it wasn't a completely reliable solution in 2014 because Hauppauge's HD capture devices aren't intendeded to be left on for days on end. They both need to be power cycled every few days. If that isn't done, they don't operate correctly.

It may take more than one try to get a good capture from these capture devices. Honestly, if you want to use a capture device to be able to make recordings that do not require using your set-top box to watch, you are better off if you rent a PVR from your service provider, and re-record its recordings instead of making your computer into a PVR with a Hauppauge capture device.

[Altairst8te74]

The PCI-e version sounds better. I am not wanting maxed out-settings regarding recordings! but want to record from an Humax DR-1010S via composite. Can these cards do uncompressed video? I would even be happy with Obs studio if it worked? I would be happy with *.ts format if the software could do it. Also! everything is turned off every single night so nothing would ever be allowed to sit there running, getting hot.

Regarding the VHS tapes, I was thinking about an old Elgato coupled with some kind of av2hdmi adaptor. Seems to be creating a fuss on youtube and from what I know it works quite well enough to get the job done.

I was using ati all in wonders but I am loosing these cards to age, faulty hardware etc.

[usually_quiet]

The PCI-e version sounds better. I am not wanting maxed out-settings regarding recordings! but want to record from an Humax DR-1010S via composite. Can these cards do uncompressed video? I would even be happy with Obs studio if it worked? I would be happy with *.ts format if the software could do it. Also! everything is turned off every single night so nothing would ever be allowed to sit there running, getting hot.

I don't think the Hauppauge Colossus 2 is the kind of device that you want. Yes, it can capture composite video via the blue component video RCA connector on its analog AV breakout cables, which also includes the typical red and white RCA connections used for stereo audio. However, this capture device won't allow users to capture uncompressed video. It only allows capturing H.264 video and uses an onboard chip to do the encoding. It looks like analog stereo audio is always captured as 2-channel AAC. TS is the native container file format that the Hauppauge Colossus 2 uses for output. The Colossus 2 comes with Hauppauge Capture and a version of WinTV (8?). I don't know if OBS supports the Colossus 2 but Hauppauge Capture is likely to be a better choice. The Hauppage HD-PVR II is essentially the same hardware and all of the above applies to it as well.

[johnmeyer]

I use the Hauppauge 1512 HD-PVR 2 and it captures everything. It connects via USB to my old, but very fast, Lenovo laptop running Windows 7.

I originally used it to capture component (RGB) from my Cisco PVR (used by AT&T Uverse). I used the PVR's optical audio output.

Worked great.

I then bought the adapters to capture both composite and S-video, so I could capture older analog video without going through my DV adapters.

That worked great.

From the moment I bought it I was able to capture non-encrypted HDMI from some sources.

Worked great.

Finally, I got tired of making all the connections needed for the component capture, not only because of all the wires, but because I had to partially disassemble my home theater each time I wanted to use it. So, I bought a splitter and now capture from the DVR using HDMI. I use the OREI HDMI Splitter 1 in 2 Out 4K - 1x2 .

Works great.

The only issues is that I only get good results when I capture using the .TS format. I capture a lot of streaming content so I can watch it on the road, and I've really enjoyed the results.