Hauppauge HD PVR Detailed Review

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It CAN:

• Record HD programs from a set-top tuner over-the-air, cable or satellite using component video connections.

• Record in 5.1 surround sound or stereo

• Burn the recorded shows in Blu-ray format to DVD (either standard DVD’s or Blu-ray disks)

• Play the recorded program in HD

• Schedule programs for recording

• Change channels on the set-up tuner using IR blasters

• Allows you to watch the program as it is being recorded via component video (HD) or composite (standard def) and in 5.1 Dolby or stereo)

• Convert a recorded program to several different formats.

It CAN’T

• Actually tune cable, over-the-air, or satellite stations. Th HD-PVR is not a tuner. It relies on the set-top box for the HD signal.

• Record using a DVI or HDMI connection.

• Store recorded programs (the PC’s hard drive is used for storage).

• Work without the USB connected PC running

• Time-shift programs while they are being recorded unless you are using Windows 7 Media Center

• The first thing you want to do is download the latest driver update from Hauppauge and update the Arcsoft Total Media Extreme software to record, burn and play Dolby Digital 5.1. You should be prompted to do the Arcsoft Total Media Extreme update automatically the first time you open the application.

• The HD-PVR records in a standard Blu-ray format (AVCHD), hence no transcoding is required to burn a Blu-ray DVD. This cuts down “burn” time by a factor of at least three.

• AVCHD codec allows recording of 1.5 hours of HD, at the highest bit rate, on a regular dual layer DVD. A 2hr HD recorded a 9MBits sampling makes a file just right for a DVD Double Layer (DL) disk.

• The Arcsoft application includes a very simple file editor that allows you to exclude parts of a file (such as commercials) from you AVCHD "burn". However, if you use the editor, the software recodes the video and the time required to make a disk increases by a factor of 3x. There is also a rumor that you loose the Dolby Digital 5.1 if you edit in the middle of a file, but I have not tested this yet.

• No Blu-ray burner or discs are required to actually make a Blu-ray compatible DVD. Standard or DL DVD’s can be used. However a Blu-ray DVD player (including a PS3) is required to view the created DVD.

• You can choose the file format, all types of compression rates (standard creates a file about 4GB for a 1 hour program), and specify the length of the program you want to record.

• The included scheduler program integrates with TitanTV for advanced scheduling of programs. The controlling PC and scheduler program must be active to start a recording.

• The supplied Hauppauge remote control does not work with the bundled software, but it will integrate with BeyondTV and SageTV.

• The early versions of the HD-PVR box ran quite hot, however new firmware has fixed this problem.

• You will need at least a dual core 2 Ghz or better processor to play the recorded programs. A Pentium 4 processor or better to record and burn a Blu-ray formatted disk.

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$188.67 with free shipping!

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