SiliconDust Announces Alliance with Hauppauge For CableCard Tuners

 

Well this is interesting for HTPC folks.  SiliconDust just announced an alliance with Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. to introduce a USB-connected Digital TV Tuner product for use with CableCARD™.

This alliance means SiliconDust’s new HDHR Prime CableCard Tuner will sell alongside the Hauppauge CableCard tuner – both of which are expected to hit stores later this year.  SiliconDust and Hauppauge have been competitors in the TV Tuner market up until now, but Hauppauge has the wider retail presence that SiliconDust has been missing.  For Hauppauge this gives an expanded CableCard tuner offering to compete with Ceton’s Quad CableCard tuner. 

The new SiliconDust CableCard tuner is particularly interesting because like the HDHomeRun QAM tuners before it, the HDHR Prime connects to your home network via ethernet instead of being installed internally in a computer.  This gives it the ability to be accessed across the home network from any computer.  Hauppauge will have their own WinTV branded CableCard tuner available as well – at this point we don’t know much about that one though.

The SiliconDust HDHomeRun Networked CableCard Tuner is scheduled to arrive this December as their beta is already underway.  The Hauppauge CableCard device announced at the January CES Show 

It should be interesting to see how the CableCard market pans out by December.  As of now the Ceton is the only real option for CableCard PC tuners and it’s nearly impossible to obtain due to a parts shortage.  If the Hauppauge & SiliconDust tuners make it to market before Ceton gets caught up, things could get interesting.

Full Press Release

Thanks to Dave Zatz for the tip

Hauppauge HD-PVR Driver Update for Media Center

This week Hauppauge released a small, but helpful driver update for the Hauppauge HD-PVR Media Center driver.

The update 1.0.28171 includes the following two fixes:

• Fixed IR blaster failed after system resume.
• Fixed video glitch when connected to PAL capable PS3

So if you’re experiencing the IR blaster problem head over to Hauppauge to get the driver update.

via techlifeweb

Hauppauge HD-PVR Driver Coming Soon to Windows 7 Media Center

About fifteen months ago I received word that Hauppauge was “working” with Microsoft to enable their Hauppauge HD-PVR device to work natively with Windows 7 Media Center.  I had mostly given up hope for this given the very long wait and the fact that CableCard had shown signs of life, but today I received a tip and then two separate, reliable confirmations that Hauppauge will soon be releasing a driver for their HD-PVR to work with Windows 7 Media Center – without requiring third-party software!

Why the Hauppauge HD-PVR Matters?  Access to All TV Channels

The Hauppauge HD-PVR isn’t a tuner, but it uses a Cable Box, Satellite Box or other component video source to capture that stream and encode it to h.264.  So you can capture one source per HD-PVR connected to a STB.  The HD-PVR allows you to view and record all channels from a cable/satellite box whether encrypted or not since it uses the analog hole.  Great news for Media Center users because it provides one more option for the masses to add HD and digital content to their Media Center PC beyond the exciting new CableCard options coming soon from both Ceton and Hauppauge.  It also opens up a new way for Windows 7 MediaCenter users to access content from Satellite TV since Dish Network and DirecTV haven’t come through for us.

Native Driver Support – No More Need for Third-Party Software

Many enthusiasts will note that one can make Windows 7 Media Center work with the Hauppauge HD-PVR already with the third-party add-on DVBSBridge, but this solution will be much, much easier and won’t require the purchase of any additional software.

Public Release Coming Soon

Hauppauge has been working on a Windows 7 Media Center which supports the HD PVR.   This driver project is something Hauppauge has been working on for nearly a year and thanks to some help from Microsoft, they have it working now and are ironing out the details.  No official ETA yet, but it appears to be close .  They also confirmed that the driver does not currently work on Windows XP MCE.  UPDATE 5/5/2010 : Apparently this will be for Windows 7 only and will not be ported back to Vista or XP

Unanswered questions we still have about the HD-PVR/Windows 7MC driver include:

• What is the ETA for the driver release to public?  UPDATE 5/4/2010:  I’m being told the plans are to release this driver to the public this month – May 2010 – possibly as soon as a week or two!
• Will channel changing via the IR blaster work?  (I use firewire channel changing with my HD-PVR and SageTV which is a better option) UPDATE 5/5 officially, the Hauppauge IR blaster will be supported at release although that doesn’t mean other external channel-changers won’t follow
• How many HD-PVRs will we be able to use with MediaCenter at the same time?

 

Stay tuned to GeekTonic for more information

Hauppauge MediaMVP-HD Player Nearing Release

It’s been a whole fourteen months since we mentioned it, but Hauppauge appears to finally have their MediaMVP-HD Media Player ready for the masses. 

NOTE:  Read below for info on how to win your own Hauppauge MediaMVP-HD

Hauppauge is the company that brought us many HTPC tuners and devices (Hauppauge HD-PVR anyone?) and also was the company who brought us the now aging MediaMVP media player.  This media player is a new, HD-ready version called the MediaMVP-HD.

The MVP-HD is set to compete with comparable stand-alone media players such as the WDTV, D-Link, Asus and many others that work to connect media from your home network or USB drive to your TV.  It appears to handle all the popular file formats including DivX, H.264 and many others.  It has a built-in UPNP client to play from any UPnP servers including Windows 7.  The MediaMVP-HD sports a Sigma 8655 processor running a Linux OS.  It of course handles standard definition and high definition video up to 1080p.

Here’s the detailed specs of the MediaMVP-HD:

MediaMVP-HD decoder specification

• Dedicated hardware decode support for MPEG-2 Transport and Program Stream up to 1080p, H.264 streams up to 1080p
• Video output: HDMI, Component high definition out. Composite, S-Video standard definition out.
• HDMI formats: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 720i, 480i, 480p. 120Hz, 100hz, 60hz and 50hz.
• Outputs NTSC and PAL video, software selectable.
• Volume adjustment for all audio outputs
• Briteness, contrast and saturation adjustment.

MediaMVP-HD file formats

• MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264 SD or HD
• H.264 in MP4, MT2S or MKV
• AVI
• VOB
• Divx SD and HD

MediaMVP-HD audio decoder specification

• Two channel audio output.
• Optical audio out (5.1 channel)

Included in the MediaMVP-HD package

• MediaMVP-HD digital media receiver device
• Wall mounted power supply
• MediaMVP-HD remote control with batteries
• MediaMVP Installation Guide
• 1 meter HDMI cable
• 1.5 meter Ethernet cable

Power consumption

• Approximately 6 watts when playing HD video from network
• Power supply: 5v at 2amp

Finally, I’ve included a few screenshots of the very simple user interface:

I don’t have the suggested retail price or the ETA, but according to the Hauppauge experts at SHSPVR, it will be shipping very soon. UPDATE:  Thanks to an anonymous tip, I found the MediaMVP-HD for sale Hauppauge MediaMVP-HD for sale at Amazon for $139.99 w/free shipping.  Amazon has it listed as shipping within 1-2 months, but I’m guessing it will be much, much sooner.

Speaking of SHSPVR, if you’d like to get your hands on one of these MediaMVP-HD’s for free, head to the SHSPVR forums to enter for a chance to win one of five he has available for giveaway!  Get over there by May 15th when the contest ends.

Official Info at Hauppauge

DirecTV Serial/USB Channel Changing for Hauppauge HD-PVR using DVBLink

A few months ago David shared his step-by-step, how to setup the Hauppauge HD-PVR on MediaCenter with DVBLink.  Today he takes that how-to a step further and shows his method for channel changing – read on for all of the details.

NOTE:  This is a guest post by David.  Basic guidelines for writing and submitting your own guest post at GeekTonic can be found here.

 

Many people have trouble setting up serial/usb channel changing using DVBLink, DirecTV and Windows 7 Media Center.  I am going to show you the software, hardware and steps I used to get channel changing that is 99% accurate (sometimes it misses the NFL Sunday Ticket HD sub channels).

Software used

• HDPVR IrBlaster Bridge - This is a drop in replacement for the Hauppauage IR Blaster DLL. It currently supports talking directly to the DirecTV STB via the serial port.
• (Optional) DirecTV Channel Control v1.0- This is a utility that will allow you to change channels and control your external direcTV set top box using the low speed data connection (home control) port in the back of the receiver.  This is only needed for the NFL Sunday Ticket HD

Hardware used

• DB9, F/F, Null Modem Mini Type – monoprice
• 2 USB to Serial Convert Cables (DB9M/USB B female converter and USB A/B cable) – monoprice

Steps to setup

Install HDPVR Ir Blaster Bridge.

Connect the USB to Serial Convert Cables to the DB9 Null Modem and install the drivers.

Setup DVBLink to use the HDPVR IrBlaster Bridge or the custom hooks(Optional).

Optional

NFL Sunday Ticket and some of the other DirecTV sports packages use sub channels for the HD channels (ex. 703-1).  I had to use the following to allow me to be able to correctly change channels to the sub channels.

Download DirecTV Channel Control.  Extract it to a folder, I just put the directv.exe in C:\ to make it easy to find.

Edit the change-channel.cmd file located at C:\Program Files\DVBLogic\DVBLink\Data\HDPVR\Hooks.  My channel-change.cmd code change-channel.

Conclusion

After following the above steps I was able to have 99% accurate channel changes through USB.  It was faster and more reliable than using an IR blaster and it only cost about $18 for the extra cables and adapters.

About the author:  David is an HTPC and Home Theater enthusiast.  He has a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science and is currently working at a Private College in Virginia as a Web Technical Analyst.  He has built a theater in his basement from scratch.  He did 80% of the work himself.  After starting with XBMC on the original Xbox, he moved to an HTPC running SageTV, then now to Windows 7 Media Center.

Read more of David’s HTPC writings on his website

Hauppauge HD-PVR Back in Stock $200

If you’ve been shopping for a Hauppauge HD-PVR component video recorder in the last few months you may have noticed they’ve been pretty difficult to find.  Apparently after a very good black-Friday deal at Amazon, they were backordered and even Hauppauge themselves had few to ship.

Well they are begginning to get caught back up and that’s good news for HTPC shoppers.  And the “normal” price seems to be settling much closer to $200 these days as well.  Here’s a few places you can find the Hauppauge HD-PVR:

Newegg

Newegg (affiliate) now has these back in stock.  The Hauppauge HD PVR 1212 is $209.99 with $8.50 shipping.

Amazon

Amazon (affiliate) has the Hauppauge HD-PVR in stock as well although their website says “usually ships within 2-4 weeks”.  Hauppauge HD-PVR But the cost is even lower at $200.70 and free shipping!

Bestbuy and Buy.com both show it out of stock so far.  I expect we’ll see the Hauppauge device settle around $200 as the new AverMedia device gets closer to release.  Speaking of the AverMedia, I had a very interesting (and promising) interview with the folks there and plan to have a few posts about that in the next few days.  Stay tuned!

 

Hauppauge Confirms CableCard Device

Dave Zatz stopped by to meet with the folks at Hauppauge at the end of CES and confirmed something I had reported on this past summer, but had since lost hope on:  Hauppauge is in fact working on a CableCard device!

Not much additional information on that front, but good news nonetheless for MediaCenter fans who have gone from seeing non CableCard tuners available to several.  Hauppauge will be joining SiliconDust and Ceton as new, small companies developing CableCard tuners for MediaCenter HTPCs.

Lets hope this device will be multistream like the ones from SiliconDust and Ceton coming this year.

via ZatzNotFunny!