OK guys. For 10 years I've been waiting for this if it's what I think it is. If it is, it looks like the holy grail of HD recording (or at least the beginning). I can't believe I can't find a reference to it in this forum on THIS SITE!

http://www.hauppage.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html

It just can't be what I think it is (component HD in + digital audio --> AVCHD Files). If you can get the raw AVCHD files to a PC/Mac, it looks like this + an HDFury2 is about as close to the holy grail as 1080i is gonna get.

This is the guy everybody said was studio stuff only and was WAY cost-prohibitive if it delivers what it promises (we've been talking about wishing we had one of these for 10 years on this board for you newbies).

Please tell me what I'm missing.

You're not missing anything. Just realize that it recordings to your computer's hard drive, which means you need a HD STB and Hauppauge HD PVR in the same room with a PC.

It's not as simple, as say, downloading the recordings (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11126048&postcount=2#A4) from the DVR as TiVo has allowed for a few years.

Please help me understand how I can DL current HBO-HD and Showtime-HD (and ESPN-HD, et all) content from any existing and functioning HD Tivo.

If people have been doing this for years (archiving Tivo HD content to AVCHD discs), it's news to me.

I remember in the wishing threads for a device like this that the experts at the time were saying that syncing the audio was going to be virtually impossible. I'm assuming they've solved this?

Please help me understand how I can DL current HBO-HD and Showtime-HD (and ESPN-HD, et all) content from any existing and functioning HD Tivo.You can't download recordings from HBOHD and ShowtimeHD on most providers. So the Hauppauge HD PVR would add that "unique" capability. I have no problems downloading content from non-premium HD channels on Comcast.

If people have been doing this for years (archiving Tivo HD content to AVCHD discs), it's news to me.I've been doing it for about 18 months. Normally, though, I just download recordings to my media server and then play / stream them from there.

I remember in the wishing threads for a device like this that the experts at the time were saying that syncing the audio was going to be virtually impossible. I'm assuming they've solved this?Yes. The Hauppauge HD PVR has an optical input so it will record the Dolby Digital stream.

I have a Hauppauge HD PVR too. That's how I made this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNvgoLVzijE&fmt=22).

But you can't get premium content off your HD Tivo and therein lies the rub (and has been for years). ;)

Why would one have to have a PC close by. Looks like you can take a laptop and program it and then walk away and come back and USB the recordings off at your leisure. That's cool enough and simple enough if you can do that.

Looks like a spending spree. :D

But you can't get premium content off your HD Tivo and therein lies the rub (and has been for years). ;)

Why would one have to have a PC close by. Looks like you can take a laptop and program it and then walk away and come back and USB the recordings off at your leisure. That's cool enough and simple enough if you can do that.If your notebook has free capacity, you could certainly do that. Just realize that the Hauppauge has no storage of its own and no means to directly connect storage; it records directly to your computer hard drive using computer software.

One issue that should be brought up here is the matter of recording quality. Since the recorded signal must first be decompressed, then go through a digital to analog conversion, then be reconverted to digital, and then subject to compression on the fly, there is generational loss.

I bought this box when it first came out, and have been thoroughly underwhelmed by its performance. While I could live with the slightly softer image of the recordings from this box (which is to be expected because of the generational loss), my recordings from this device have exhibited a very noticeable (and irritating) motion stuttering that renders it virtually useless. Compression artifacts are also rather noticeable in its recordings.

One issue that should be brought up here is the matter of recording quality. Since the recorded signal must first be decompressed, then go through a digital to analog conversion, then be reconverted to digital, and then subject to compression on the fly, there is generational loss.

I bought this box when it first came out, and have been thoroughly underwhelmed by its performance. While I could live with the slightly softer image of the recordings from this box (which is to be expected because of the generational loss), my recordings from this device have exhibited a very noticeable (and irritating) motion stuttering that renders it virtually useless. Compression artifacts are also rather noticeable in its recordings.

I have both a C1 and D2 version of the HD PVR. No problems after updating to a HD capable video card. Comparison of the HDNet test patterns on my DVR to a max bitrate HD PVR recording shows very little degradiation. So far I have recorded over 600 GB of movies and am very happy with results. I bought the D2 version so I could use the C1 as a backup in case HAUP has $ problems.

I have both a C1 and D2 version of the HD PVR. No problems after updating to a HD capable video card. Comparison of the HDNet test patterns on my DVR to a max bitrate HD PVR recording shows very little degradiation. So far I have recorded over 600 GB of movies and am very happy with results. I bought the D2 version so I could use the C1 as a backup in case HAUP has $ problems.


Interesting. How do I know what version I'm getting? I doubt I have any control over it but thought I'd ask since you seem to have specified when you ordered somehow.

Comparison of the HDNet test patterns on my DVR to a max bitrate HD PVR recording shows very little degradiation.Please tell me you didn't just assess performance based on static images. :eek:

Interesting. How do I know what version I'm getting? I doubt I have any control over it but thought I'd ask since you seem to have specified when you ordered somehow.

Check the 2 threads in the HTPC section. People are receiving either D2 or E1 versions these days. Haupauge has changed the design several times to fix problems. C1 was the first release and many people had problems with overheating although mine didn't.

Please tell me you didn't just assess performance based on static images. :eek:

Yes, to compare the resolution test patterns for degradiation. My cable company is apparently one of the few that actually uses enough bandwidth to provide full 1080i. The HDnet test pattern shows this if you know how to read it. The HD PVR copy shows very little degradiation when played back thru a wired internet connection to a PS3.

Two words: analog hole

When/if that is plugged, this device is virtually useless.

But in the meantime, it does work. Hauppauge is not known for stable, bug free software and the software that comes with this device is no exception. I would not recommend this piece of hardware to computer novices.

I have to close the recording capture app after every time I capture. If I FF or REW the DVR recording, the capture application won't record again, till I close and reopen the program.

Recording quality is adjustable, even at max quality the file sizes are smaller than raw MPEG2 HD videos, since the H.264 format is designed much better and stores data much more efficiently, thus smaller file size.

However the files do play back pretty well. Western Digital makes a $99(on sale) media player that plays back these files very well, over HDMI to any TV/projector, with the original DD5.1 sound.

I posted this in the HT forum but decided to get input here too.

I have what I think is a rather simple question... with a preface.

I started reading a little on this page and see some pretty intense tech going on here. I'm assuming these are control issues/problems?

Here's what I want.

I record EVERYTHING I want to my DTV HR2x's. Occasionally, I want to archive something like the WDW Christmas Parade in HD for my 4 YO daughter. I forgot to record it Christmas day on my DVHS so here I am stuck with it on my DVR forever using up space or until it crashes and I have to explain to her how I lost it.

All I ever want this device to do for me is this:

I wanna press play on my DVR and press record on my PC running the recorder and record the archive to a laptop's HD. Then, I want to dump the AVCHD to a DVD-R or a BluRay-R for permanent storage so I can play it on a PS3 (today) or maybe a compatible BluRay player one day (future. MAYBE. I'm happy with my PS3s for now). No Editing. No BS'ing around. That's all I want. Period.

Will this thing do this or not and if so, is the content acceptable as HD?

Two words: analog hole

When/if that is plugged, this device is virtually useless.


Two words for you: Enjoy waiting. :)

Have you met HDFury2 yet? I have and I LIKE him. So much, I have 3 of'em! :D

I'd rather enjoy archiving while we wait. Once I have it, that's it. They can't take it away from me.

I'm firmly in the camp that believes that that bit will never be flipped and even if it is, it will be in some very specific instances and certainly not for broadcast TV. I guess that argument's been going on around here ad-nauseum for 6 years now and this thread's not the place. :)

I've been on the Hauppauge roller-coaster like some of you sound like you have. I've never known whether they'd be around next week or not after buying one of their products.

That begs the question: Has anybody forund this product from anybody else? I haven't. Have I just not done enough due diligence yet? Is there another one out there?

I don't think there are any other consumer level devices that record component inputs and encode to digital using H.264.

I am using the hauppauge and love being able to get HD off my cable box with little quality degradation. I'm not sitting around waiting for them to plug the analog hole either! I'm guessing this device is such a niche crowd that they don't care and/or didn't bother to try and stop Hauppauge from releasing it. You can make pretty close to original digital copies of HD material from cable/sat with this thing.

Has anybody found a better way to edit out commercials from the 1212's ACVHD H.264 TS files? The bundled arcsoft package works marginally but is quite cumbersome. I keep waiting for videoredo to come up with something, but nothing so far. Thanks

Has anybody found a better way to edit out commercials from the 1212's ACVHD H.264 TS files? The bundled arcsoft package works marginally but is quite cumbersome. I keep waiting for videoredo to come up with something, but nothing so far. Thanks

Check the 2 threads for the HD PVR in the HDPC section. "Search is your friend".

If the analog hole is ever closed I will simply insert the HDFury2. Monoprice has the price down to $148 and dropping as we speak. This device is to valuable to reject for that reason only. It will record an excellent HD program regardless of copy protection scheme. The drawback is that it is cumbersome in it's present form, and the software that comes with it is not top shelf. It is not full functioned and easy to use like your DRV STB. However, you can make a copy of any program, store it on your computer or a flash drive, and then take it with you to play elsewhere provided you have the software installed. very near the flexibility we all enjoyed in the days of the VHS.

For those that have this device installed - let me ask a question. can you make adjustments to the brightness, color saturation, Hue and contrast via the controls that are within the ArcSoft software? I cannot, those adjustments are inactive on both computers on which I have installed the HD PVR, one running XP, the other running Vista. For me this is the only disappointment I have found, and I have as yet found a solution or work around.

For those that have this device installed - let me ask a question. can you make adjustments to the brightness, color saturation, Hue and contrast via the controls that are within the ArcSoft software? I cannot, those adjustments are inactive on both computers on which I have installed the HD PVR, one running XP, the other running Vista. For me this is the only disappointment I have found, and I have as yet found a solution or work around.

Yes. In the capture application, if you click on the "device settings" button I think it is, it has sliders to adjust color, brightness, etc for recording. It's either the device settings button or format settings button. At least for me, they are not grayed out and I can adjust them.

On my system the controls within the playback routine are grayed out, as are yours (and inactive of course). The controls within the capture or record routine seem to be active, the slider bars function, however they have no effect on the finishd recording.

The problem, for me is, I have a late model Sony 52" LCD TV, and those same controls are made inactive for the "PC" input. Hence I have no control at all when playing my HD PVR recordings. The colors on every recording I have made so far are very over saturated. This looks like it is going to be a real problem because I have spent much time with Dell without finding a solution and it has been almost a week since I emailed Hauppauge about this problem. They responded saying they would get back to me, but I am beginning to wonder. Any other suggestions?

Thanks

The moderator on Hauppauge's UK forum says that these controls have never worked. I have been following this product for over a year looking for things like this, have read many reviews, and never seen anything that reveled this shortcoming. IMO this is a knock on Hauppauge - to have chosen TME as their software to include for their product knowing the picture controls didn't work. And perhaps explains why tech support at Hauppauge has not returned my emails.

The moderator on Hauppauge's UK forum says that these controls have never worked. I have been following this product for over a year looking for things like this, have read many reviews, and never seen anything that reveled this shortcoming. IMO this is a knock on Hauppauge - to have chosen TME as their software to include for their product knowing the picture controls didn't work. And perhaps explains why tech support at Hauppauge has not returned my emails.

Choosing TME really has very little to do with it. TME is a freebie and simply lays on top of the Hauppauge HDPVR.

The lack of controls on the capture side of the equation is a result of the way Hauppauge decided to implement the chipset. I don't use TME to record rather choosing to build a recording graph under GraphEdit. Using GraphEdit completly bypasses TME and uses the Hauppauge drivers directly. Even using this approach adjusting these controls has no effect. But to be honest that's fine with me.

I would not recommend adjusting recording controls in order to some how balance playback PQ for a specific kit. Rather I would rely on the default recording settings Hauppauge has chosen (they are very good) and then adjust settings when playing back to fit your needs. The HDPVR recordings do not require TME for playback. It records h.264 to either a .ts file or an .m2ts file. These files can be played back by software players that allow for such adjustments.

nextoo, can you suggest a software package that can playback the m2ts files

Media Player Classic is free and works pretty good.

Media Player Classic (http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/index.html)

It may work for you. Here are the adjustments you may be looking for.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/7331/adjustments.jpg

You need to set output to VMR9 for the color controls to work. Here:

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/7513/adjustments2.jpg

The Media Players classic would not play the files at all on my system - black screen. It did recognize the M2TS files, but would not play them. I have also tried to play them on Media Player 11 (Vista business 32bit) with the Registry patch for TS files installed, and that version played the files, but they were very jerky - simply couldn't keep up with 1080i screen changes. I also tried to play them on Corell's Win DVD player without any luck. That program couldn't even recognize the M2TS files. They advertise their product will play them, and I have read reviews from others that claim the WIN DVD will play them in good fashion, but, again, not on my system. So far the only player I have found that will play the files is the Cyberlink Power DVD 9, and, that program does an excellent job. However it costs $70. I am in he process of trying the Sage TV package that Hauppauge suggest as a third party vendor.

After experiencing the frustration of recording and playback via the new Blu Ray std, I have a new found respect for how difficult it must be to market software for this task. And, evidently there must be a distinct difference in methodology between Arcsoft, and CyberLink and Media Player, Win DVD, and Sage TV products. They all claim they will play the files, but the latter three need more horsepower than the former two. My stytem has the T7200 2GHZ Core 2 Duo processor, The Sage TV, and (evidently) the Media Player and Correll Win DVD require a 3GHZ processor or better. My new found respect is that the ArcSoftware isn't so bad and would in fact be great, like Cyberlink Power DVD, if they had the ability to control the brightness etc.

Finally it might be interesting to some to know that the Media player 11 with the TS file patch installed also lost control of Brightness, contrast, saturation etc, only when playing the TS files.

Thanks nextoo and ak3883

Kckay - I think I would look at your PC setup as opposed to the various players you are testing.

I suggested Media Player Classic because it is a free player and should do what you require. It does playback m2ts files. If it does not for you then you have something hosed in your PC.

Here are a few pics that show Media Player Classic playing back "The Mummy" recorded using the HDPVR from a satco STB. It is an m2ts file. As shown in the pics.

Each pic has different color control settings.

Here is the first. With the color settings in Media Player Classic set to the defaults.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/4826/firstm.jpg

Here is the second pic with the color saturation set to 0. Notice it is in black and white - zero color saturatiuon.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6100/seconde.jpg

And finally a pic with the color control bars maxed out.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9458/thirdm.jpg

So it does work. I suspect you may need to spend more time on how your PC is setup as opposed to looking at individual playback software.

Also I should add that Media Player Classic is not a Microsoft product. It has no relationship to Microsoft Windows Media Player.

nextoo, I am drawing a blank with Media Player classic. I have played with many of the hundreds of variables within the program including the settings you show above - but nothing but a blank screen. M2ts files are listed as a viable file, and the program does find and list the M2ts files I want to play. But after clicking on them I get only a "PLAY" blue box in the upper right hand corner of the black screen. All other standard files I have tried play normally. I have no idea what parameters I might change within Windows. And, I am not sure I would be interested in making any changes there anyway. Could very well be something obvious, One obvious thing is that this is Vista. Even though the program is touted as supporting Vista, I have experienced problems. The most common problem is simply that you need to relearn all over again, how to use your computer. Microsoft has changed everything - once again. And, evidently in the coming months they will be doing it again with Windows 7. Last night I spent 3 hours relearning how to partition and format an external drive. So it goes with Microsoft.

I might try down loading the 64 bit file version. And I might try downloading the stand alone filter - if I had any idea what a stand alone filter WAS. Or if I had any idea how to choose from between the many different filters available.

I would appreciate any other suggestions.

Kckay,

This is an old thread, but just stumbled upon it. The problem is with MPC's internal matroska filter. You need to disable it and use the original matroska filter. Download Matroska splitter and install it. During install it will ask whether to disable MPC's internal one. Click Yes on it. Reboot the machine.

also, you may need to install ffdshow codec. I use it to decode h.264. I can play both .m2ts and .ts without any problems. PM me if you need to know more.

I hooked my unit up today and I cannot get the remote to work. I tried changing batteries with no success. Is there a special way to activate the remote?

I hooked my unit up today and I cannot get the remote to work. I tried changing batteries with no success. Is there a special way to activate the remote?Did you install the necessary software on your computer? Is it running? The remote controls your PC, not the HD PVR.

Did you install the necessary software on your computer? Is it running? The remote controls your PC, not the HD PVR.

Thanks a lot for the advice. It is now working fine.
Steve.

I hope some of you are still monitoring this thread. Can this PVR be used w/o using it as a loop through? For example, I can split the output of my cable settop box to the PVR. However, I don't need to use the output to go to my tv. So I don't need to do this

Cable STB ----> HD PVR------> TV (HD PVR connected via USB to PC).

Can I record the shows from my cable box if I do

cable STB -----> HDPVR (HD PRV connected via USB to PC).

Thanks

Yes, that's similar to how I have mine set up. I use mine only for archiving programs that I previously recorded on my DVR, not for "live" TV watching.

However, there's a reason why you might want to use the pass-through anyway: to monitor the recording process. I don't need that because I use EyeTV software (on a Mac) which displays what's being recorded in a window on my Mac's screen. I don't know if the Windows recording software which comes with the Hauppauge also has that feature.

Yes, that's similar to how I have mine set up. I use mine only for archiving programs that I previously recorded on my DVR, not for "live" TV watching.

However, there's a reason why you might want to use the pass-through anyway: to monitor the recording process. I don't need that because I use EyeTV software (on a Mac) which displays what's being recorded in a window on my Mac's screen. I don't know if the Windows recording software which comes with the Hauppauge also has that feature.


Sweet. Thanks very much. Since I'll be "replaying" what's already on my DVR, if something goes bad, I'll just replay it on the DVR. Not worth ordering two 50' component cables! :)

just got my hd pvr set up on my new htpc and I have to say this is pretty amazing. The quality is much higher than any recordings I have ever made in the past so I am definitely happy. I have no experience yet with pctv tuner cards yet so I have no comparison. Quite pleased to eb able to pull some shark week and paladia off tonight. A ZZtop performance and Clapton with Cream doing White Room.

Running an i7 920 with 64bit Windows 7 and all the software installed perfectly and recordings are smooth with no jitter. Excellent quality.

I think people need to remember minimum system requirements are Dual core CPU 2.0Ghz or faster
# Graphics with 256MB memory (or greater)
# Sound card
# USB 2.0 Port

these are pretty high minimum requirements for this kind of recording. Someone on the first page asked if a laptop will handle this and I just don't think many laptops can.

Just hooked up the htpc two days ago so I have not monitored cpu and gpu usage yet... but I am sure it is pretty high and I do have a feeling Windows 7 64 bit is taking advantage of the extra gpu and RAM that 32 bit Windows is not utilizing.

I know in the latest driver 1.5.6 there was some folders/named 64 bit so this must have some effect on smooth recording I am sure.

will report back...this is too much fun...

I think people need to remember minimum system requirements are Dual core CPU 2.0Ghz or faster
# Graphics with 256MB memory (or greater)
# Sound card
# USB 2.0 Port

these are pretty high minimum requirements for this kind of recording. Someone on the first page asked if a laptop will handle this and I just don't think many laptops can.

Those requirements only apply if you're using capture software which tries to decode the H.264 Transport Stream. If you're using something that doesn't (such as GraphEdit), the requirements are quite insignificant.

Sweet. Thanks very much. Since I'll be "replaying" what's already on my DVR, if something goes bad, I'll just replay it on the DVR. Not worth ordering two 50' component cables! :)

If you ever did want to do the loop through, you could always get a really long (50 ft) USB cable and have the 1212 by the DVR/TV. Do they make 50 ft USB cables?

Nevermind, the max length of a USB2 cable is 5 meters (16ft).

Those requirements only apply if you're using capture software which tries to decode the H.264 Transport Stream. If you're using something that doesn't (such as GraphEdit), the requirements are quite insignificant.

You are absolutely right. I was simply making a comment that I don't believe a laptop will smoothly handle streaming high def video to your laptop "after" decoding in the HD PVR. Any unsmooth transfers is probably due to the laptop hiccup...


At any rate, if it does work smoothly on a laptop, I am definitely sure most laptops will be forced to a crawl if you want to do any editing out of commercials or other edits or transcoding afterwards. Sure you can pull the bits of your STB, but can you do anything with those bits or with any efficiency for that matter after recording?

Earlier I hooked up my Denon DVD player to the HD PVR to see if it will pass the bits there... nice to have a back up of my favorite DVD's if any of them get scratched:) It definitely passes it over ready for capture which I expected. Hooked up the same as an STB, component and optical pulled 6m/bs bit rate and Dolby Digital in 720 x 480 res... Grateful Dawg(Garcia & Grisman) This was a pleasant surprise. It just seemed logical to try it considering it is just an analog bitstream really...

I should have said that I first tried my Pioneer BDP-23 and it did not pass the stream through the HD PVR. This I expected as well. I do not expect it can pass through just because BD protection is not easy to get through. Not at this point anyway... Seems like an endless battle that has been going on since the birth of the CD... We just want to watch or hear the content we pay for where and when we want it... Not much to ask for really...

Well, I am about to hook the Pio BD player back up and try something a little different. It does not seem it would make much sense that the analog pass through could handle a Pioneer Blu Ray Player set to 1080p . Since the Hauppage HD PVR only passes 480, 720p, and 1080i this makes logical sense as well. But if I switch the resolution to 1080i on the Pioneer BD player will it pass it through? It basically gives you an error saying the device is not ready even though the BD player is playing the disc. I am not getting my hopes up as I am sure this is simply a BD spec protection issue...

Other things I have noticed with the HD PVR:

Windows Media Player 11 in Windows 7 will play all the codecs from the HD PVR in WMP 11...

But Windows 7 Media Center will not see the files despite this...

You can upload DVB Link and that is supposed to be an option...I am giving the free trial a whirl tonight...

What I really want to do is be able to burn a Blu Ray disc on Blu Ray media to grab as much bit rate as the source is feeding... that would be nice.... 2 hours of video as blu ray player compatible on a 4.7gb DVD if that is what the Hauppage site states must be a low bit rate. I can't imagine it being the 13.5m/bs that we are recording.

I love the HD PVR, great piece of gear... Not much bad to say... The only thing that bothers me is it is a single tuner and it won't allow us to watch a different cable channel when you are recording. So if you change the channel you stop your recording. A buddy at work is giving me a Hauppage Clear QAM/OTA tuner to use so I can watch something else while I am recording...stuck with clear QAM channels though...May have to get another HD PVR hooked to another htpc to handle the load:)

You are absolutely right. I was simply making a comment that I don't believe a laptop will smoothly handle streaming high def video to your laptop "after" decoding in the HD PVR. Any unsmooth transfers is probably due to the laptop hiccup...


At any rate, if it does work smoothly on a laptop, I am definitely sure most laptops will be forced to a crawl if you want to do any editing out of commercials or other edits or transcoding afterwards. Sure you can pull the bits of your STB, but can you do anything with those bits or with any efficiency for that matter after recording?

My circa 2007 Asus laptop can decode 1080p H.264 perfectly fine. As long as the software is smart enough to use the decoding hardware built into the NVidia 8600 in it. Pretty much anything with an 8300+ or newer or an HD3200+ or newer will have hardware H.264. Editing is perfectly tolerable as long as you us an editor that works with the GOPs and doesnt't just try to re-encode it. Yeah, H.264 encoding of any appreciable quality takes a very long time, even on relatively fast desktop hardware. Although I've been able to produce entirely watchable content with 6mbit one-pass H.264. Though it might only work for me since my service with Charter is so painfully overcompressed...

As for copy protection and DRM, the media industry has bought and paid for our government. Don't get your hopes up for ever being able to fairly use content you pay for.

So I was able to get a DVD player to transfer the video through the HD PVR but I was unable to transfer a BluRay disc. I could not even transfer a DVD Video Disc through the Blu Ray Player...

One problem I am having now is my HD PVR all of a sudden will not recognize the IR Blaster any more. It was working fine and now it says there no IR Blaster hooked up which is obviously not the case. There is a FAQ about this on the Hauppage website but the link for the fix does not work. Anybody know what is going on here. This thing is worthless if I can't schedule recordings in advance.

Several months ago, in this thread, I asked for help playing back my HD-PVR files on my laptop. I was unable to find a capable player other than the ArcSoft TME software (that came with the HD-PVR) and the Cyberlink Power DVD9 software. Those were the only players I found (and the only I still have found) that can play the files. Unfortunately the ArcSoft TME has no controls for Brightness, Color saturation, Contrast etc. and the CyberLink Power DVD 9 costs $100 (but works just fine). My laptop seemingly met the minimum requirements as stated by Hauppauge:
1) Core 2 Duo CPU
2) Graphics card / 256 MB Memory

“adude” came along on June 12 and led me through a trial and error process (via private messages) and showed me how to set up Media Player Classic in order to play these files. We experimented with a host of Media Player variables in an attempt to play the files. There are so many permutations and combinations it is not worth attempting this without having a good understanding of what each does. Adude is the man for that job. Here is the out come of those exchanges:
1) Media Player Classic in general cannot be setup to play the files (on my computer).
2) Media Player Classic can be made to play the files (on my computer) by but only at the expense of a complete loss in all other menu systems both in Media Player and in the Windows operating system. We found that by choosing the VMR-9 renderless (renderer) with direct3D activated the files would play just fine. Unfortunately once a file was started you could do nothing else except sit back and enjoy or stop the computer by brute force - unplugging it and dropping the battery – no menus available what so ever. (Actually a “Ctrl C” should stop it).

So what was the problem with my computer? Other people are evidently playing these files with Media Player Classic, why can’t I?

We feel sure it is the graphics card, or lack thereof, based on the fact that the problem on my computer is the unacceptable amount of “tearing” which is symptomatic of an underpowered graphic system. I am using a laptop that on the surface meets the minimum requirements. But the graphics card is not one of the high quality video cards. It is only “chipset” that makes use of unallocated system memory. By choosing the VMR-9 renderless renderer option, all of the looping (the menus) within volatile ram is apparently stopped while the file is played to utilize all available horsepower of that underpowered chipset (I think).

Others have found that playing these files is more difficult than recording them. All of my files play just fine with Cyberlink DVD 9 and ArcSoft TME. Which brings up the question. Why would the files play just fine on my laptop with the above software – the video chipset is the same? I can only speculate – I will leave that to others. Perhaps adude knows. And if you happen by and catch this reply, adude, please be aware that the computers I mentioned, have never arrived (Blame it on the economy), but they are still expected.

I must add, I have been to frugal to pay the $100 for the Cyberlink software, but apparently I will pay the same amount for the new Western Digital Media Player. This device is hardware with an HDMI connection to the TV. Hence I will regain control over Brightness, Color Saturation, Contrast etc that I lost when connecting my computer to the TV PC connector via a VGA cable. It also has a USB port for connection to any outboard HD that contains the files. And here is the good part - it also has a remote so you can switch programs from the easy chair – a natural for the Hauppauge HD-PVR.

And finally, you might be interested in the fact that I have been through (3) 25 foot long VGA cables trying to make a 1080i connection between my computer and my TV without success. All three were advertised to have this capability, and all three worked for a while, but after a month or so would only pass a 1280 or 1440 (horizontal pixel) file. Only my old trusty high quality 6 foot long VGA cable will consistently transmit the HD-PVR M2TS files. Another reason to consider the WD media Player.

Why didn't you just use the free VideoLAN (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) software to play the files? That's what I use for casual viewing of Hauppauge HD PVR captures.

If you want to use Windows Media Player, then quality is heavily dependent on your graphics card and the installed Directshow filters. Even if you've got the necessarily filters installed (i.e. the Cyberlink software), that doesn't necessarily mean Windows Media Player is using them. There's a lot that can go wrong with Directshow filter configuration under Windows, as you've gathered by now. You should find some troubleshooting help (or enough information to get you on the right track) in the AVS' HTPC forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26).

It often requires a substantial investment of time and effort to get the desired output from a PC, which is why so many prefer standalone solutions like the DTVPal DVR, TiVo, Moxi, and/or cable/satellite supplied DVRs. Those that do stick with a HTPC tend to treat it as a hobby.

Hi Folks:
Here's a software solution so that you can get the HDPVR working in Media Center with HD.

I can't wait to try it. :)

dvblogic.com/hdpvr.php

I could have sworn that there was a huge thread, several hundred posts, about this product, and now I can't seem to find it. Does that sound familiar to anyone here?

I could have sworn that there was a huge thread, several hundred posts, about this product, and now I can't seem to find it. Does that sound familiar to anyone here?

found it:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=974885&

And an even better one, the official owners thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16551168&highlight=zip#post16551168