Hauppauge HD PVR Colossus Unboxing and SageTV Preview

By: Clift

The Hauppauge Colossus HD PVR is the latest capture card that allows High Definition capture from an unencrypted source. It is the successor to the popular HD PVR USB model 1212 that came out almost 3 years ago. The Colossus HD PVR retains most of the strengths of the original HD PVR and loses some of the (arguable) weaknesses. Namely, the Colossus HD PVR is an internal PCIe X1 full size card. That's a good thing from some, and a bad thing for others. The best part of the HD PVR (USB and Colossus) is that it has an onboard hardware encoder that re-encodes HD material into H.264 format. Where the Colossus HD PVR differs from its predecessor, however, is that it utilizes a different encoder chip, which also supports MPEG-2 encoding (although this functionality is not yet utilized) and it adds support for unencrypted HDMI capture. The Colossus HD PVR also supports pass-through of the component signal like the HD PVR USB, as well as S/PDIF audio. As you can see in the image above, the Colossus HD PVR comes with two break-out cables that attach to the board through proprietary connectors (input and output/pass-through).

The cards just recently started shipping from Hauppauge to early adopters who purchased during the pre-order period. SageTV recently released a beta update to SageTV 7 that allows the Colossus HD PVR to be used as a capture device within the software. Setup was pretty straight forward, as any other capture card being set up in SageTV. Hauppauge also has updated drivers on their website that fix a S/PDIF audio issue. I recommend using the updated drivers as well because reports seem to indicate the CD installer attempts to update other Hauppauge cards if they are installed in the system. Some have reported these updates made their existing Hauppauge cards less stable.

In the box:

HD PVR Colossus PCIe board

Quick Start Guide/Warranty card

Drivers CD

Two sets of Component + Analog Audio break-out cables

IR receiver cable

IR blaster

Hauppauge 45 button remote + batteries

HD PVR Colossus Unboxing:

HD PVR Colossus running with SageTV (Server capture, HD200 output @ 1080P):

SageTV Basics - How To Install Hauppauge HD-PVR with SageTV

Want to record any channel from your Cable or Satellite TV provider?  Better yet, want to be able to detect commercials on those recordings and control how you use & store those recordings?  Well the Hauppauge HD-PVR is your device.  The HD-PVR from Hauppauge records directly from the component out port of any device and uses the “analog hole” to bypass any restrictions put on the content by the provider.  SageTV has the best (read most reliable) solution for using the HD-PVR and today I’ll show you how to install and set up the Hauppauge HD-PVR for use with SageTV’s HTPC software.
Hauppauge describes the HD-PVR this way:

HD PVR is the world’s first High Definition video recorder for making real-time H.264 compressed recordings at resolutions up to 1080i.  HD-PVR records component video (YCrCb) from video game consoles and cable TV and satellite set top boxes, with a built-in IR blaster to automatically change TV channels for scheduled recordings. Audio is recorded using two channel stereo or optical audio with five channel Dolby Digital.

If you’re using the HD-PVR for recording TV content to SageTV you’ll need either a Cable box or a Satellite box with a component video output and preferably an optical output for audio.  Added bonus if your cable/satellite box has an active firewire port because if it does I’ll show you how to connect your cable box to your HTPC to change channels more quickly and accurately than using an IR Blaster.

Read on for the complete how-to on setting up the HD-PVR with SageTV

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 for Windows Media Center 7 is Here

Since I told you about the Hauppauge support for Windows 7 Media Center I’ve receive quite a few comments from the doubters, but this evening Hauppauge released their early, public beta driver that gives you native Windows 7 Media Center support for the Hauppauge HD-PVR.  This is at least as big as CableCard news for Media Center enthusiasts in my opinion as I’m a happy SageTV/Hauppauge HD-PVR user.  I hope this Microsoft MC version is as stable as the latest SageTV 7 version has been for me.

Get the download at the Hauppauge website & select “HD PVR  for Windows Media Center”

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

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!

 

AverMedia Brings Competitor to Hauppauge HD-PVR – Forgets 5.1 Audio

I’ve been hearing about a new competitor to the Hauppauge HD-PVR – a device that captures HD video from cable & satellite via component output and transcodes it to H.264 on your HTPC.  I use the Hauppauge HD-PVR to do this very thing with SageTV and would welcome any competition in the area.  Unfortunately, the AverMedia device only records stereo audio – not 5.1!  Talk about leaving out the important details…

I’ll be watching to see if there are any plans for a better version of this device from AverMedia, but for now Hauppauge has “the” device for this purpose with only CableCard as a viable competitor in my opinion.  Then again, if you don’t care about 5.1 audio, this might be a good device as the price goes down from its starting $200 MSRP.

 

AverMedia Press Release

via Engadget

Windows 7 MCE + DVBLink for HDPVR = HD Happiness

Readers of GeekTonic know I’m a fan of the Hauppauge HD-PVR and it’s ability to take component video in and allow you to record all of your Cable or Satellite channels on your HTPC.  You probably also know that’s supported with HTPC software like SageTV and BeyondTV, but not with Windows 7.  Well David has written up the process for getting HD-PVR support in Windows 7 Media Center – 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.

Here are the steps I used to obtain DirecTV HD using Windows 7 MCE, but you should be able to use any Set Top Box.  The Hauppauge HDPVR will record from your set top box to an h.264 wtv file.  At the moment the Xbox 360 is the only MCE extender that can play video produced by the HDPVR.  Most of the instructions taken from the 1geek1tool wiki.

Install Windows 7

I did a clean install of Windows 7 Business.  I ran Windows Update and installed all the Important updates.

Install the latest drivers for your graphics card

Windows Update didn’t give me the latest drivers for my ATI HD 2600 XT.  Having a card that has a hardware h.264 decoder is recommended if you plan on using your HTPC to connect to your TV to cut down on CPU usage.  If you plan on using the Xbox 360 as your extender then the h.264 decoder is not needed.

I use my HTPC in my theater and 2 Xbox 360s in the rest of the house.

Attach Hauppauge HDPVR and install the latest drivers

I downloaded the latest drivers and installed them.  The version I used is 1.5.6.1

You will also need to install the IR blaster configuration program, I use USB to change my channels, but that will be covered in another post later.

Download DVBLink for HDPVR 2.0 Beta 3

You can try it for 15 days before you buy it.

Install DVBLink

1. Run HDPVRBridgeSetup.exe
     
2. Click Always trust software from “Tabekc”
3. Reboot and finish install.

Read on for the full how-to on Setting up Hauppauge HD-PVR support for Windows 7 Media Center:

Recording Video Gameplay -The Other Use for the Hauppauge HD-PVR

When the Hauppauge HD-PVR was announced over a year ago, the news was welcomed by HTPC enthusiasts everywhere as a way to avoid the draconian content protection schemes of the media companies, cable and satellite companies.  And the HD-PVR from Hauppauge has definitely become one of the key cogs in my home theater PC setup using SageTV.  But one of the most popular uses for these little HD-PVR boxes isn’t PVR, it’s recording video gameplay.

This video by “dizzydougtv” provides a tutorial on using the Hauppauge HD-PVR to record gameplay.

Now I think anyone watching me play videogames is a sure-fire way to put them to sleep – or at least laugh at my videogame performance.  But I know there is a very large number of videogamers using the HD-PVR to record their video gameplay.