Want to capture high definition television on your home theater PC, but don't feel like shelling out $1000 or more on CableCard tuners that only work with Windows Vista? Hauppauge is preparing to launch a $250 box that will capture 1080p video from a cable or satellite box and automatically transcode it to H.264 video for storing on your PC.The Hauppauge HD PVR connects to your set top box's component or "YPrPb" output, so what you're capturing is an analog signal. You'll need to use an IR blaster to let the USB TV tuner change channels.
When you combine the analog source with the fact that your video will be compressed, it's safe to say that you won't get the same kind of video quality with the HD PVR as you would with a true CableCard tuner. On the other hand, the HD PVR is going to be a lot cheaper than the competition. And while CableCard tuners only work with Windows Vista Media Center, Hauppauge has a good track record of putting out TV tuner cards that work with everything from BeyondTV and SageTV for Windows to MythTV for Linux.
[via Brent Evans]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2008 @ 7:50PM
Scott said...
I think this is a great idea! Sure, you're re-encoding compressed video which can lead to artifacts, but my guess is that it will be more than acceptable to all but the most discerning eye. I'd gladly trade off some quality to be free of all the DRM restrictions that come with just about every other HD PVR option out there.
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3-05-2008 @ 11:30PM
jarkhd said...
I have been waiting for a device that lets Mythtv users record digital cable and this is certainly it. Cable Labs seems to be bent on never allowing cable card use on anything but Vista on specialized media center pc's. It is my opinion that the cable providers will take the lead and also get rid of analog cable to reclaim bandwidth making this product becomes extremely important. I reviewed this hardware on my site. http://jarkhd.blogspot.com/
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