[ralphcramdon]

But some questions for anyone who may know --


I have a P4 2.8ghz single core (HP D53) -- XP sp3 and 2 gb memory.


My goal is to record from the component outputs of my Comcast box (720p) and not live video but the movies etc I have already recorded to it's own DVR).


Will my hardware suffice? Don't care how efficient because I'll just set it to capture and walk away -- but don't want any stuttering or mishaps.


Then -- it's my understanding I can actually burn to a standard DVD at 720p and get up to 2hrs record time? And then these DVD's are playable on a blu-ray player?)


No problem recording from the Comcast DVR? It doesn't have to be live video does it?


THANKS.

 

[DeanP66]

You should be able to do what you want with that setup because the Colossus card has a hardware encoder so it won't strain your computer's resources. Just make sure you have a PCI-e 1x slot on your motherboard.


As for DVD burning, to get 2 hours of 720p footage on a DVD or DVD-DL, you probably have to decrease the recording bit rate down to between 6 and 9 MB. This might be perfectly acceptable to you, but if it's not, you could always record to Blu Ray blanks and increase the bit rate all the way up to 20 MB if you want. Of course, this will also require a Blu ray burner and the use of other software to make your disk. The Showbiz software that comes with the Colossus will only let you burn DVD or DVD-DL disks. It will not work with Blu ray disks. However, there is a great FREE progam called MultiAVCHD that can do everything you need to do, which includes authoring your recorded file with motion menus (if you want) and creating the final file. It can also be set up with ImageBurn(a great free burning progam) automatically to burn the required files to a blu ray blank.


There is a bit of a learning curve with MultiAVCHD however. It has all kinds of options and so you have to really play around with the settings to learn it well. Just make sure you use a RW blank until you get comfortable because you're probably gonna make many mistakes until you finally streamline it the way you want it.


I use my Colossus like you, just to offload content(football and hockey games) to disc and discovered that because of the length of my games (2.5 to 3 Hrs), DVDs simply weren't a great option. Using Blu rays gives me plenty of room and I can record at a really high bit rate.

 

[ralphcramdon]

Dean -- thanks a lot -- so no problem recording stuff I've recorded with the Comcast DVR, doesn't have to be live sounds like.


Only reason I ask is that seems to be a flaw with that firewire setup.


Nice to hear I'll have the option to get a blu ray burner if need be.


I would imagine that a lower bit rate will be fine with me -- seriously, I even enjoy a quality 480 picture much of the time.


Looks like best price is Amazon on these cards. Looking forward to getting it installed.

 

[Zon2020]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ralphcramdon /forum/post/20867655


Dean -- thanks a lot -- so no problem recording stuff I've recorded with the Comcast DVR, doesn't have to be live sounds like.

That's all I do with mine. I use my Directv DVR to record things, and the things I want to save I use my Colossus to capture from the DVR.


The Colossus doesn't care what the source is. It can be live or anything else that is produced through the component outputs.


The capture file is as good looking as the original. My DVR does 1080i from the component outputs, and I usually record at a bit rate of between 14 and 19. But then, I just store the stuff on the hard disk. I don't bother burning to disk.


Why not just get a large internal or USB hard disk for storing your capture files? It will be cheaper and easier than burning DVDs or BluRays.

 

[DeanP66]

I use Directv as well and don't even bother with the component inputs. I just use the HDMI for both picture and 5.1 sound.


As for storing the files to a hard drive, I do keep a backup of the finshed file on my 2 TB green drive. I just prefer to make Blu rays for the portability factor. I've been recording games for the last 9 years and they're all on DVDs and Blu rays.


ralphcramdon,


Amazon is definitely your best bet for purchase. That's where I got mine. I've even put up a review of the product on their site.


The only problem you may have is if you try to play the recorded file on your PC. Your hardware probably won't be able to play it. You can still record no problem, but playing takes much better resources. I've got a Core 2 Duo 4400 with 2 GB of DDR2 memory and a Nvidia GT 430 graphics card. It plays flawlessly. My laptop has a faster processor Core2Duo T6600, 4 GB of DDR3, and integrated intel graphics and it stutters when I play a recorded file. The built in video is the problem. I can still capture to it, but the playback is terrible.

 

[Zon2020]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DeanP66 /forum/post/20868993


I use Directv as well and don't even bother with the component inputs. I just use the HDMI for both picture and 5.1 sound.

I have chosen to just leave my HDMI output connected to my AVR and TV and not to switch cables when I want to record something, especially when the finished product from the component/optical is indistinguishable from the original Directv picture/audio. So the HDMI output of my DVR goes to my AVR while the component/optical go to my Colossus and the HTPC is in turn connected to the AVR by HDMI. Works well and no hassle.

 

[ralphcramdon]

Ok thanks much -- at least I can store the files for future playback when I get an updated PC.


Final question -- Does the Colossus capture "on the fly" or does it buffer and take longer to capture than the movie lasts?


For example --


1.5 hr movie = 1.5 hr capture time?

 

[Zon2020]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ralphcramdon /forum/post/20869835



1.5 hr movie = 1.5 hr capture time?

This is correct.

 

[ghostlobster]

Just curious, what interface are you going to be using for the recording and playback? The reason I ask is because XP is extremely long in the tooth when it comes to h.264 playback, which is what you'll be generating. I mean, the OS is 10 years old! Also, as mentioned before, your video processing power is what really matters when it comes to playback, also, I don't think that a single core CPU is going to cut it either (for playback.)

 

[DeanP66]

ghostlobster,


You bring up a good point about XP. Windows media player won't play back H.264 files on XP (I don't believe). Windows 7 plays them great as long as you've got a decent video card. For playing back the finished files (captured, edited, and authored with menus), I use PowerDVD11.

 

[Mrkazador]

Windows Media Player on WinXP can play H.264 without a problem, you just need the correct decoder and splitter.


Coreavc

Haali Media Splitter

Ac3Filter


You can substitute AC3filter and Coreavc with FFDSHOW if you like.

 

[ralphcramdon]

Just want to capture for now and go to DVD or hard drive. Eventually, I'll upgrade the PC possibly for playing back the content I have on the hard drive.


My main intentention is to get a lot of these TCM classics recorded. Many are now in HD and there will probably be a time when some butthead decides TCM needs to change format or something -- or they start playing commercials, God forbid.

 

[dstarlin]

Quick question, I'm looking at using this to capture movies off of my DVR for playback across apple TV(2). Can the Colossus capture to MP4 or M4V- at 720p? I believe it is an H264 Codec(?). I have an AMD 1075 X6, with 4GB of memory, Radeon HD4670 so I can play back direct if need be. Thanks.