Hauppauge WinTV HD PVR (H.264) screenshot - Page 68

Just a quick question for anyone with the answer:

Can the HD-PVR be used on a vista 64-bit platform? (does it come with working drivers?) I'm really interested in purchasing it.

Thanks!

Right after I posted the above, I sent Haup. an email asking, if you are going to ship my order today, please charge me again for the difference and change shipping to next day so I will get it Friday, instead of having "2 day" shipping take 4 days. Happily, Dorothy was both sympathetic, and able to accommodate; so I actually got my new unit a couple of hours ago.

It is a C2 rev unit. I have not taken it apart yet, but I can hear that it definitely has a fan running during capture. It also has the bling lights (not that I wanted them, really; but I got em); I haven't noticed anybody else mentioning that they got a unit with the lights?

For a first test, I just swapped it in place of my C1 unit and tested a couple of 20 minute captures; one with ArcSoft and one with my own capture sw. Both captures looked OK on the PC; then I remuxed these for PS3 using H1R and streamed to PS3 from TVersity; and again, both looked OK, no stuttering, in sync, expected bit rates, and even 120x FF works.

I swapped my C1 unit back in just in time to start capturing the next movie in my regular schedule. Now I'll be setting the new unit up in another room, hooked up to a development PC and fed by my XBOX360/HDDVD; and it looks like I'll finally have a chance to do some systematic comparison of the encoding options and bitrates, and also to work on the more "dangerous" features in my sw.

For unit #2, it's "so far, so good"

I have to agree with the reasoning... so much that I may consider doing the same. After I decide whether or not possession of one seems likely to be a felony.

Of course that's what he's saying.


He's implying that most monitors use the same HDCP key and that most HDTV's use the same key. I doubt this is true. Keep in mind, his interest is in selling the HD Fury. What's likely, in my opinion, is he's stolen keys from devices with large production runs. So it's unlikely that the keys will be revoked for quite a while -- because to do so would screw a lot of people with certain model monitors and HDTVs.

Do a WhoIs on hdfury.com -- all the contacts are:

0755-28125555 fax: 0755-28122222
fengrun garden
shenzhen guangdong 518109
cn

If you get one of these and you live in the USA you better hope the MPAA never gets hold of their sales and shipping records. Remember what DirecTV did to everyone who bought a smartcard programmer:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07...ocent_techies/

They eventually dropped the practice after being defeated in court:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/12/d...grammers-brea/

Yes it will work. Acrosoft Total Media Extreme will not work. I have vista 64 bit and use the hd pvr...............Brian

Thank you Brian,

What is "Acrosoft Total Media Extreme" used for anyway?

All i need to simply do is convert the files that are created from the HD-PVR into somehting i can edit in sony vegas.

A google search seems to show that HDFurys have been available for over a year. Haven't heard of any legal issues.

Why bother with China when you can buy them at MonoPrice.com for $80?

Because they don't have any and there's not ETA:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/se...hdfury&x=0&y=0

OK, they do have the DB9 version. Maybe they're just waiting for the new version with component output.

Billsan101: Arcsoft TotalMedia Extreme is the capture program, Playback program, and conversion program for the HDPVR. In other words, if it won't run on Vista64, then you will need to find a capture program (sagetv, etc) to use to capture your programs.

Thanks for the prompt reply, but i truely hope this works, i hate these workarounds.

Did a bit of googling on this, microsoft says it works, so i hope its just Brian

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/com...=32-bit&vd=all

Well, there are two versions of Arcsoft TME, the "HDPVR" lite version, and the full retail version, so if the lite version doesn't work for you, you can download the full version trial from Arcsoft. Hopefully it will work for you. I've quit using Zoomplayer and power dvd since I got it.

Forgot to mention, with the hdpvr software, you have a scheduler program that's runs, then calls arcsoft to record. Then you load the arcsoft player to play your recordings. Sagetv isn't a workaround, its a full fledged DVR software server, that allows you to use the hdpvr (or two), USB ATSC tuners, etc. You can record multiple programs at once, depending how many tuners you have, and watch recorded shows, music, pics, etc...while recording. Its actually one of the best all in one media center softwares. You can also get "placeshifter" software to view your hdpvr recordings over your network on another computer, or their hd media extender which does the same thing without the computer...just plug it a network cable on the network your hdpvr computer is plugged into, and plug in the hdmi cable to your hdtv. Worth looking into if you have any of those needs. Just for archiving tho, the arcsoft works great.

Looks great in all, but all i want to do for the moment is record my ps3 while im playing and convert to a readable media file for sony vegas or movie maker. Can sage simply do this if the included software doesn't work?

2 points:
1) He's selling it as a device to hook up non-HDCP compliant analog monitors so his intent is not sell the device for piracy but to allow legacy equipment to Display hd content.

2) I think it would be pretty hard to prove you are using this device to commit a felony. They would need probable cause to allow the courts to issue a warrant. Good luck if you are just going by the simple purchase of this item.

Without doing too much research, he's also getting distributers for it. Unless they are real stupid (and they might be) I don't think they would want to sell an illegal device.

Can the argument be made that the HD-PVR is an illegal device since it circumnavigates the intent to stop the copying of HD content in HD quality?

Yes, sage will record manually, and convert to various different formats if the arcsoft doesn't work on your machine.

For TotalMedia Extreme:

* Windows XP SP2/Vista 32
* Pentium EE 3.2 GHz or equivalent, Intel Core Duo or equivalent
* 120 MB free hard disk space
* 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)

For Blu-ray and HD DVD playback:

* Blu-ray or HD DVD drive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8400 and above, or AMD(ATI) HD2400 and above.
Notes: AMD(ATI) graphic cards are only supported on Windows Vista 32 at this time. Please contact AMD for updated drivers.
* 256 MB graphics card memory or above
* HDCP graphics card output (DVI or HDMI connection)
* HDCP compliant display input (DVI or HDMI connection)

For BD creation:

* BD recordable drive
This is from the arcsoft website, I never tried the full version. The lite version will record, but I can't get it to play, so I use pdvd 7.3 to play the files from the hd pvr. I will have to try the trial of arcsoft, since micro says it will work?..............Brian

I just want to pop the lid off of my unit permanently but I have not seen any descriptions how to do it.

Do I need to take off the top half by getting at the screws at the bottom of the unit, or can I just carefully pry off the top somehow?

I have a C1 unit that works fine but I think keeping the lid off would be a good idea. I don't want to void the warranty in case it does go bad down the road

In the USA the DMCA makes it illegal to circumvent encryption (with a few exceptions; viewing, timeshifting, and maintaining a personal library aren't included):


And don't think you can weasel out of a lawsuit by arguing that a simple device can bypass the encryption so it wasn't "effectively controlled". The term is defined in the DMCA:





Simply the fact that it decrypts encrypted video is probably enough:


Source: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/1201.html

Don't you just love it when corporations are allowed to write our laws?!

As I understand it DirecTV was shot down on the smartcard programmer suits because the device had significant other uses. I don't think the same argument can be made for the HDFury.

From having taken my C1 unit apart (6+ weeks ago) I would say you can't just pry it off without damaging it, it fits on too tightly. I pried off the rubber pads on the feet; removed the screws; then the lid comes off easily. The lid was a three-piece assembly, snapped together and held together with a bunch of little mating tab-and-slot features cast as part of the plastic pieces, I don't know proper name for them. I took all three pieces of the lid apart: first I separated the outer rim from the clear plastic/upper lid subassembly using a couple of thin metal shims to hold two adjacent tabs out of their slots, then the whole thing popped apart with a little pressure; then I used a wide flat fork handle and (the same shims? a pocket knife?) to pry the clear part loose from the silver upper lid at one corner, then it too popped apart. I set the topmost opaque part aside, snapped the other pieces of the lid back together, and screwed it back together. The net effect was to have removed only the topmost part - what looks silver. I fashioned a new upper lid from part of a RadioShack project box and mounted a fan in it.

That's what I did. I don't recommend that you do it. In parts of the process, I felt I was very likely to break a part of the lid. If you do - well, I warned you: it will surely be your responsibility, not mine.

warpdrive:

There's a blog entry about this here. I did a similar mod myself. Just take your time...

- Peter

Were you thinking that he was still talking about the HDFury because the HD-PVR does not decrypt anything. It copies unprotected video.

S

thanks. I will probably do a similar thing.

Oh, yes, sorry. I thought he was still talking about the HDFury. The HD PVR, since it has non-infringing uses (recording non copyrighted component video) and doesn't decrypt anything would likely not be in violation of the DMCA.

The SCOTUS betamax decision made recording video for your own personal viewing legal but it was only for purposes of time shifting and a single viewing. It did not allow for personal library building. So techinically, building a library of copyrighted recording with the HD PVR would be a copyright violation. But, like with beta and VHS tapes, the MPAA isn't going to come into your house to see what you have on your shelves. At least, not until they get the laws changed to allow it!

The Betamax decision provides an interesting look into how the court comes to majority decisions. A few facts;

1. The court actively debated the issue of "librarying" when discussing the case. We know that there was a significant division among the justices regarding the legality of librarying (archiving). Some felt that it was explicit copyright violation, while others felt that as long as it was a personal library it was fine.

2. The final decision completely avoided the issue of librarying. The decision only dealt with non-infringing use ( time shifting). The justices made an active choice to not rule on archiving in order to come to a decision on time-shifting.

3. As it stands today the law regarding archiving video programming is not settled. Some recent decisions regarding internet audio downloads suggest that the justices are still split on the issue of what is a copyright violation and what is not.

Outstanding writeup would be an understatement. I really admire your attention to detail. It must have taken hours to writeup. Many thanks.

Bob, I doubt that phelmers intended to take credit for ARogan's blog... I think he was just providing the link.

Yeah, what the_tom said. Thanks should go to arogan for the writeup and phelmers for posting the link.

That's what I have been doing. However as of Recently. It's getting allot worse. Mid Show color would just drop out for no reason. It's the Red input it seems.

Going have to call Hauppauge up and get a replacement. I can't keep dealing with this.

The Betamax decision was 5-4 by a court with a different composition than exists today. Today's court includes new appointees who feel their values outweight precedent, and they would probably not rule the same way if the same facts were presented to them.

So, I discovered something which may be of interest to those waiting for the update to the HD PVR which will support 5.1 audio. I imported some 720p MPEG-2 clips with 5.1 audio into the full version of Total Media Extreme, and found that when I made discs from that content, TME discarded the 5.1, and instead downmixed/re-encoded the audio to 2.0.

I couldn't find any settings to change that, so I headed over to the Arcsoft forum and there I found posts from people complaining about that very thing. Make me wonder what will happen when the update to HD PVR comes along. Will it be moot to anyone using TME to author discs? Something to think about.

FWIW, I put the same MPEG-2/5.1 file into Toast 9 on the Mac, and the 5.1 audio was retained on the resulting disc.