Which Hauppauge USB-LIVE2?

[Leanoric]

Well Ive been using the elgato for about a year now and Im not so sure that it deserves the bad reputation that it has here. Ive had no issues at all with it. No dropped frames, no audio synching problems and it worked with windows 11. That said, its the only capture device that ive used so I have nothing to compare it to, so I think that its time to try something else and see if there is an improvement.

Im looking to buy a USB-LIVE2 but there seems to be two different models available on amazonuk, a 1341 USB-LIVE2 and a 610 USB-LIVE2. Any ideas on which one I should get? For use with win11 btw.

[Sharc]

Hauppauge UK are currently selling model 1383
https://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/webstore/webstore_usblive2.html

[Leanoric]

My 2 cents re. GV-USB2 vs Hauppauge USB-live2:

For less experienced users I would give the GV-USB2 a slight plus over the USB-live2 for the following reasons:
1. Its Proc Amp default settings, reducing the contrast a few notches, prevent out-of-gamut captures (keyword: RGB cube within the YCbCr cube) better than the USB-live2.
2. Its strongly reduced sharpness Proc-amp settings (by default) avoids oversharpening artifacts. It can easily be changed though when someone prefers the same sharpness as the USB-live2.
3. Relevant for Composite video only: The GV-USB2 has a far superior luma/chroma separating filter avoiding dotcrawl and rainbow artifacts when capturing composite video.

While 1. and 2. can be adjusted with proc-amp settings or in post processing for the USB-live2, the GV-USB2 makes life easier for the less experienced user, I think.

Sharc, Ive just seen this comment of yours in another thread and point number 3. in particular has actually made me think to go with the GV-USB now instead as Im connecting my vcr to an es10 via scart. Thanks for the insight.

[Sharc]

My 2 cents re. GV-USB2 vs Hauppauge USB-live2:

For less experienced users I would give the GV-USB2 a slight plus over the USB-live2 for the following reasons:
1. Its Proc Amp default settings, reducing the contrast a few notches, prevent out-of-gamut captures (keyword: RGB cube within the YCbCr cube) better than the USB-live2.
2. Its strongly reduced sharpness Proc-amp settings (by default) avoids oversharpening artifacts. It can easily be changed though when someone prefers the same sharpness as the USB-live2.
3. Relevant for Composite video only: The GV-USB2 has a far superior luma/chroma separating filter avoiding dotcrawl and rainbow artifacts when capturing composite video.

While 1. and 2. can be adjusted with proc-amp settings or in post processing for the USB-live2, the GV-USB2 makes life easier for the less experienced user, I think.

Sharc, Ive just seen this comment of yours in another thread and point number 3. in particular has actually made me think to go with the GV-USB now instead as Im connecting my vcr to an es10 via scart. Thanks for the insight.

Note that point 3 is only relevant when you capture directly from the Composite out of your VCR. If you use a DVD recorder in passthrough (your ES10 as I understand) you can enable its Y/C separating filter (Comb Filter) and connect the capture dongle via S-Video. In this case the USB-live2 offers a slightly more detailed/sharper (but also slightly noisier) picture than the GV-USB2. You may or may not notice the difference, it is subtle and within personal preference. Also take note of the posts about fake GV-USB2 being currently offered on e-bay. Watch out.

[Leanoric]

Just received my GV today, my initial impression is that its much better than the Elgato. Only had a quick go with it so far but it seems to have eliminated the dot crawl that I was getting with the Elgato.

Theres one setting that Im not sure about, just wondering if this is ok to be left at default?


[Attachment 76339 - Click to enlarge]

[Sharc]

Hmm... What SW is reporting these Properties? What codec are you using? Don't you capture into a lossless format?

[Leanoric]

Yes I capture with Lagarith. That setting is within the capture pin option in the video tab.


[Attachment 76346 - Click to enlarge]

[Bwaak]

VDub shows it. VDub shows a similar panel for other converters. I guess it is capable to read info about built-in MPEG-2 encoder? Could not find it on AmarecTV.

Based on my recent experience with the GV-USB2, I would recommend using AmarecTV just like it has been recommended eariler by other forum members. Capturing with VDub2 I get from zero to 4 to 7 to over 100 drops over a three-minute video in different takes. AmarecTV consistently reports zero drops.

[Leanoric]

VDub shows it. VDub shows a similar panel for other converters. I guess it is capable to read info about built-in MPEG-2 encoder? Could not find it on AmarecTV.

Based on my recent experience with the GV-USB2, I would recommend using AmarecTV just like it has been recommended eariler by other forum members. Capturing with VDub2 I get from zero to 4 to 7 to over 100 drops over a three-minute video in different takes. AmarecTV consistently reports zero drops.

I had problems getting it to work with vdub at first. All versions of it kept crashing. It then stopped crashing but said that it could not connect to the desired capture driver. And then all of a sudden it started to work and hasnt crashed since.

I captured a 3 hour tape earlier with it and didnt have any dropped or inserted frames.

[Leanoric]

Forgot to mention scale type, wasnt too sure about this one either.


[Attachment 76347 - Click to enlarge]

[Bwaak]

Interesting. My GV-USB2 shows different custom properties panel - it looks identical both in VDub2 and AmarecTV.

Mine shows 2010, yours is 2021. Clearly, judging by the CPU support section, mine is way old.

Did you buy yours from Amazon Japan? I wanted to buy from Japan, but in the end I bought from a reseller on Amazon US.

Also, does yours say GV-USB2, or GV-USB2/A, or GV-USB2/E or GV-USB2/HD? Can you post a picture of it, from both sides?

[Leanoric]

Mine just says GV-USB2. It came from Amazon US. Yours doesn't have windows 10 on the box then?

[Bwaak]

Mine just says GV-USB2. It came from Amazon US. Yours doesn't have windows 10 on the box then?

It does. Hmm. Have you installed the drivers from the bundled CD or downloaded from their website? I installed from the CD. Also, I use Win7. I guess I need to try installing on Win10.

[Sharc]

Mine looks exactly like Bwaak's (slightly different S/N of course). Same Properties, same Version and Date. I ordered it from Japan.
I use(d) it on W7, W10 and W11.
Your driver is newer, but I think it's ok and you can leave as is. Maybe upload a short capture.

[Leanoric]

I downloaded the drivers from the website. It made all versions of vdub crash multiple times at first, to the point where Id have to restart the computer because I couldnt get vdub to close. That was both 1&2. And then all of a sudden it just worked, I have no idea why.