Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Model 1512

[AndyO6322]

Does anyone know what encoder hardware is in the HD PVR 2 (brand and model chip, etc.). I am considering using it for VHS tape capture/digitizing. I am also looking at a PVR USB2. I will be using S-Video input from a VCR (JVC SR-MV45) into the capture box then USB out to Win7 computer. Any thoughts?

[jwillis84]

Siena crossbar
Lumanate, Inc. Dolphin-2 based
AVCHD h.264


Video processor input - ADV7401 - ADLLT - Adaptive digital line length tracking (roughly a line tbc)

Video processor output - ADAV803


Hardware compressor MB86H52 (I think, recollecting from memory, it was very popular at the time and very cheap per chip)
unique in that it was dual, simultaneous MPEG-2 / H.264 capable and AAC / AC-3 capable - could also recover from frame sync errors if driver supported it


Hauppauge made Windows Capture Software - no longer supported

HDPVRCapture made Mac Capture Software - no longer sold


design vulnerable to power supply power surges would destroy encoder chip,
design overheats and can destroy encoder if left on for extended periods of time, difficult to cool with an external fan

nice hardware encoder for its time, but more robust and easier to use devices came along a few years later


needs a "Stable" USB port chip on a "Stable" motherboard or laptop to be effective, NEC mostly.. which Buffalo almost always used, very popular in Japan, can be hard to find in the US. Blackmagic also often referred to NEC compatibility with most of their USB devices, if it wasn't NEC.. don't expect it to work.. USB2.0 or USB3.0

[AndyO6322]

Great to hear from you jwillis84 and thanks for the info on the hardware encoder. If the 1512 HD PVR2 is based on the Lumanate Dolphin-2 it appears to be geared towards HD signal capturing to H264 format. The older PVR USB2 with the CX23416 encoder would appear to be better suited for capture of analog VHS to MPEG2 files. Is MPEG2 more appropriate for capture of analog VHS from a S-Video out VCR than H264, accepting the fact that the MPEG2 file will be of larger size? Storage of large files no longer seems to be an issue these days.

[jwillis84]

summary, not looking to make any new enemies here.

in my opinion h.264 has matured, its the standard now and those work flows are sufficient for most people

professionals will always want uncompressed or an edit protocol instead, more power to them

if you got the time and money to each their own

VHS to MPEG2 is best done with a DVD recorder with a hard drive supported by Isobuster bar none

VHS to h.264 is best done with a ClonerAlliance device to a usb storage device and then copied to a PC or Mac

a DVD recorder was designed to handle poor VHS signals and recover from frame or sync problems, for bad VHS tapes its probably the best all in one solution . but its not for everyone

personally.. I don't expect my tapes to be played by people 100 years from now and uncompressed is not that important to me

I currently use both methods, DVD/HDD recorder with IsoBuster for MPEG-2 and a Cloner Aliiance Box Pro for h.264

MPEG-2 will always be harder to playback on everyone's devices, h.264 plays back on almost everyone's device with little concern

[AndyO6322]

VHS to h.264 is best done with a ClonerAlliance device to a usb storage device and then copied to a PC or Mac

jwillis84, do you know what digital encoder chip is in the ClonerAlliance Box Pro device? Is it suitable for SD analog capture from a VCR (frame sync, etc) and can it accept the preferred S-Video line out of the VCR? I've not considered this device as an option for VHS capture and archiving.