# Any experience archiving from DVR to Hauppauge HD PVR2 or Elgato?



## rlnoonan (Jan 6, 2007)

My DVR is starting to fill up with things that I'd like to hang onto, so I started looking into ways to archive those things in HD quality. Searching through the threads here I learned about the Hauppage HD PVR 1212, and it sounds like people have had success using this with the component connection.

What I couldn't find was anything about the HD PVR2, which looks like a newer version that has HDMI ports and comes in a smaller, nicer form factor:

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr2-gaming.html

Does anyone have any experience with using this with a D* DVR? The reason I ask is because reading the product description is seems as if the HD PVR2 was made specifically for game consoles (similar to the way there was a game console specific version of the original HD PVR). I also saw something called the Elgato Game Capture, which looked nearly identical to the Hauppauge HD PVR2:

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/capture-convert/GameCaptureHD.html

I'm wondering if there is an issue where the capture will not work with the HDMI ports due to HDCP. If that is the case, I think it may still have a way to input component, which may make it equivalent to the HD PVR 1212.

I've looked through the reviews, but they are almost all for capturing from a game console, so I was hoping for some feedback from D* users since that is what I'd like to use it for. Does the HDMI work or do you need to use component? How is the quality?

Thanks in advance for any feedback or comments.

-Bob


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## FlyingDiver (Dec 4, 2002)

Yeah, you're looking at issues with the HDCP or whatever it's called. It's the copy protection on HDMI connections. The capture devices won't handshake properly with the DVR, so they won't be able to capture video. Component doesn't have HDCP, so it will work.

The advertise for game consoles because consoles don't do HDCP. At least not for game content. If they're being used to play BluRay disks, I think they will.


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## dettxw (Nov 21, 2007)

HDMI won't work unless you've got something shady. 

The Hauppauge 1212 works very well, you just have to use the component outputs (analog "hole" in the rules) and record in real time. An editing product like the HD version of VideoRedo helps buts of course costs extra.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Here is another option:

Unless you are already using a 2TB drive.....buy a new 2TB drive, hook it up externally to your dvr and then after you setup all your Series again, everything gets recorded to the new drive, and you can keep all the stuff on your original drive and flip back and forth between old and new drives until it dies. If you are already using an external drive, buy another and start to fill that one up as well. Or copy the entire contents of your current drive to a new larger drive(as long as its not already a 2TB), and keep recording.


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## rlnoonan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks a lot for the comments and suggestions. I don't currently have an external drive, so I'll have to think about that option. It has some definite advantages over storing to removable disks, but also some disadvantages. I have 3TB of NAT on my network, so it would really be great if I could just offload to that, but I guess that's just wishful thinking.

Dettxw, how is the quality of the video captured/burned using the 1212 compared to playing it from your DVR? That's one of the things I was hoping to hear from others about the Elgato or HD PVR2.

-Bob


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## hjones4841 (Aug 19, 2006)

I use the Hauppauge internal Colossus card with HDMI from a DirecTV DVR and have for a couple of years now - works great. I had the original HD-PVR and found that the video looks better using the Colossus. Makes sense since the HD-PVR used component. With HDMI I cannot tell the difference in quality between captured video and the DVR.

I have had no problem archiving off programs, except for those with HDCP. I can confirm that the Colossus will not capture HDCP encoded programs.

Note that the DVRs are finicky about which eSATA drives will work. I have found that the HR24s are less so than the earlier models.


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## bpratt (Nov 24, 2005)

rlnoonan said:


> Thanks a lot for the comments and suggestions. I don't currently have an external drive, so I'll have to think about that option. It has some definite advantages over storing to removable disks, but also some disadvantages. I have 3TB of NAT on my network, so it would really be great if I could just offload to that, but I guess that's just wishful thinking.
> 
> Dettxw, how is the quality of the video captured/burned using the 1212 compared to playing it from your DVR? That's one of the things I was hoping to hear from others about the Elgato or HD PVR2.
> 
> -Bob


I've been using the Hauppauge 1212 to download HD content from my DirecTV DVRs for years and have downloaded hundreds of shows. If the show is less than a couple of hours, I usually burn it to an AVCHD DVD. If it is longer than a two hours, I burn it to a blu-ray. Both formats need to be played on a blu-ray player and the quality is as good as it was when originally viewed from my HR21-700s. You can also burn a DVD image so the show can be played on a DVD player with some loss of quality, but still a fairly good quality image.

I burn most of my AVCHD or Blu-Ray discs using MultiAVCHD and Imgburn which are free products.


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## dettxw (Nov 21, 2007)

rlnoonan said:


> Dettxw, how is the quality of the video captured/burned using the 1212 compared to playing it from your DVR? That's one of the things I was hoping to hear from others about the Elgato or HD PVR2.
> 
> -Bob


The 1212 video is just great. Of course it depends on the quality of the original recording. I saved off a 1080p VOD recording of UHF and it looks near as good as a Blu-ray.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

FlyingDiver said:


> The advertise for game consoles because consoles don't do HDCP. At least not for game content. If they're being used to play BluRay disks, I think they will.


My PS3 gets very uppity about not getting a proper handshake just to get to the main menu. I was having an issue with the display coming up the other day and it was because of a TV that was on a splitter (through my AVR) that wasn't responding. As soon as I turned on the TV, the PS3 menu popped up on both TVs.

The incursion of HDCP may be significantly more pervasive than you suggest.


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

I use this -

http://www.avermedia-usa.com/AVerTV/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=498&tab=APDriver

•Capture HD Gameplay in 1080p 
•Work without a PC 
•One-click Capture 
•H.264 Hardware Compression, .mp4 format 
•Recording Playback 
•Take Snapshots while Gaming or Playback 
•Record Game Footage in Real-time 
•Pass-thru Mode Support 
•Record to the Internal 2.5" or External USB Hard Drive 
•Built-in 2.5" HDD Slot 
•Recording Pause 
•Remote Control Included

It's also marketed as a game capture device, but it works just fine on movies and TV shows too.

It records in whatever video format is fed into it using component. You set whatever bitrate you like (8, 10, 12m for 720p; 10, 12, 15m for 1080i) and record it in real-time to the hard drive (not included). I copy the file to a flash drive then burn it to a DVD on my laptop. You can get 90 minutes of 720p at 12m per sec onto a DVD+R DL straight from the unit, or tweak the bitrate using Freemake to fine tune your file size. I'm still practicing with it, but video playback looks amazing on my PS3 

Amazon sells it for $120, but they have had them for $100 (like when I got mine in November) -

http://www.amazon.com/AVERMEDIA-C28...144&sr=8-1&keywords=avermedia+game+capture+hd


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

rlnoonan said:


> Thanks a lot for the comments and suggestions. I don't currently have an external drive, so I'll have to think about that option. It has some definite advantages over storing to removable disks, but also some disadvantages...


Bob, if you are thinking this route, which is a great suggestion by CCarncross, look into the ThermalTake enclosure, which allows you to yank and replace a HDD easily (not hot swap).

And while that solves DRM issues, I am not so sure that all DRM issues are that cut and dried, or that HDCP is either that much or the only thing to be concerned about.

I'll give you a for instance: I would like to make SD 16:9 copies of HD DVR recordings of _Southland _on DVDRW+ disks, so that I can watch them in a location where that is my only playback device option. Well, unh-uh, no can do; _Southland _invokes the "copy once" rule, and it considers the copy on my DVR my "one" copy. It will not make SD analog copies to my 16:9 SD DVDR, and it throws a dialog explaining that it won't, and why. It would be interesting to see how a Nomad handles that.

Now that is not HDCP at work, as it is a S-video connection. But it is obviously still DRM at work. On the other hand, I think it is relatively rare, at least for now; I have not found any other programs that won't copy.


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## rlnoonan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks again for all the great suggestions and advice. You've given me a lot to research and think about for what I should do. I knew I could count on this group for that !

I'm glad to hear that a number of you are very happy with the video quality. I was really worried that quality might not be that great, but I know people here are pretty discerning about that so I think I'll be happy too.

Thanks again.
- Bob


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## Delroy E Walleye (Jun 9, 2012)

I've been using the 1212 for a number of months, now (for archive/overflow), and am fairly happy with it. For playback/storage I use WDTVLive Hub. If I A-B original vs playback, there is a slight loss of "crispness" of the video image, but that would be expected, being down an analog generation of the same resolution (as happens with *all* analog video). The digital DD 5.1 audio is passed through unchanged.

Captured video looks absolutely great on the computer screen, and perfectly acceptable on my older HDTV.

The only two issues I have with the 1212 are no recording pause, and no widescreen flag for standard definition. (The recording software has checkboxes for standard def widescreen formatting, but it seems not to work.) WD allows playback workaround, but you're pretty much stuck with pillar box on the computer.

If recording 5.1, there are a few things to workaround to avoid corruption, plus you can't keep 5.1 if you're going to edit. Also, MP4 (Quicktime container) doesn't support Dolby (AC-3). Use .TS format. the WD seems to prefer MP4 for navigating, though, but will play all three secectable output forms (M2TS, .TS and MP4) just fine. You have to figure out what works best in any given situation. I also recommend experimenting with bitrates for acceptable video quality vs file size. The bitrate is adjustable from 1megabit to 13megabits/sec.


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## jksellman (Mar 23, 2007)

I have two HR20's, one with an outboard 2TB HDD.
I have a SONY RDR-GX330 connected to each via ANALOG (S-VHS).
I have been able to record what ever I have on the HR20's...with the following when I am recording HBO or other "protected" content.
I keep my Pioneer Elite receiver connected and "on" (Via HDMI) so that I get the OK / handshake.


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## RVRambler (Dec 5, 2004)

Another editor, TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5, works nicely too. I capture video and edit out the commercials & non needed/wanted. Supports MKV & many output types, also allows conditioning, contrast, noise, deblocking.....


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## gimp (Jul 29, 2006)

I've used a 1212 with DirecTV DVRs for a long time. However, when I upgraded from a HR22 to a HR34, I was disappointed to discover that the HR34 uses coax digital audio out instead of optical. The 1212 has only optical digital audio input. I bought a Monoprice optical to coax converter but it does not work. So no more 5.1, just analog two channel.


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## mavs-fan (Aug 31, 2011)

I also have the Hauppauge Colossus and record HDMI input which is virtually identical to the original source. I also edit out commercials and can burn to Blu-ray, AVCHD compatible DVD's (lossless) or regular DVD discs. Works great.


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