Hauppauge HDPVR-1212 Owner's Thread

mike50

This thread is reserved for the owners of the subject device. The aim is to share our experience with this specific High Definition Video Recorder for Windows XP and Vista. Emphasis should be on results(what works and does not), best capture settings and tradeoffs, problems with the hardware and software, solutions, compatibility with sat and cable set top boxes, new available drivers and software for better results...

mike50

My experience with this HDPVR is limited as i received it only a few days ago. Mine is the C2 version made in Malaysia. So far, i had a few problems with the audio via digital optical cable. These were solved by limiting the AC3 codec SPDIF sampling rate at 32 vs 48. So far, i have done only a few 2-3 min captures of 1080i HD cable at various settings. I have yet to find the ideal one. PQ is rather good(close to that of the source). However, there is always a fine multicolour horizontal line that shows at the bottom of the video after capture. This is somewhat annoying and i would like to find out how to avoid it. Any ideas?

AllenDB

I got mine today. It will be hooked up to an old Shuttle box and a DirecTV HD sat box. Sure hope default quality settings work. I currently record HD using MYHD, Fusion and HDHomerun devices and never had to set quality values. Guess I'll see.

videojanitor

Since this is a new thread focusing on solutions for the HDPVR, I thought I'd re-post some of the information that I put in the "other" thread which may be helpful to some.

I found out early on that the software bundled with the HDPVR is a custom version of Arcsoft's "Total Media Extreme." It's a little crude, but it largely does what it needs to do, namely capturing the HDPVR stream and them allowing you to burn it to regular DVD media as an AVCHD disc, for playback in a Blu-ray player.

However, if you have a Blu-ray burner, this version DOES NOT support burning to Blu-ray discs. To get that functionality, you'll need to upgrade to the "full" version of "Total Media Extreme." Fortunately, once you register the bundled version,your account with Arcsoft should show that you can upgrade at a price that is significantly lower than the retail price of the full version.

If you upgrade, you will run into a problem though -- there won't be any audio in the capture window. I found the solution to that to be to re-install the BUNDLED version, but install to a different folder so as not to blow out the full version. Although this puts the majority of the program into the folder you select, it also replaces some files in the Windows folder, and this seems to be what brings the audio back. That's the only purpose to the re-install -- you will not use the bundled version, so make sure any shortcuts you've got point to the original install of the full version.

But, just to be clear, you don't need a Blu-ray burner to make DVDs with HD content. The only reason to use Blu-ray discs is because of the increased capacity, which does come in handy if you want to record at higher bit rates and/or store longer recordings on one disc.

wokwokabc

Capture from devices which don't put a fine multicolour horizontal line at the bottom of the frame. The problem is in your source. Or it might be a problem with your player.

mike50

The source(HD cable) does not show it on my Sony 50A2020 SXRD HDTV. I get same problem with ArcSoft Player, PowerDVD and Media Player Classic. Are you saying that this problem may be inherent to some batches of the HDPVR-1212?

wokwokabc

No, the problem is in your HD cable box or the broadcaster. You don't see it on your TV because your TV hides the edges of the frame from you. It's called overscan. It has been a property of television since its inception. Some of the newer HDTVs have a mode where they do show you the entire frame. You will often see garbage at the edges when you use this mode. Broadcasters and cable companies "know" you won't see it so they don't worry about it.

iluvmovies

Spent a couple of days to reload and try different
things. The problem is when i load Arcsoft for HD PVR i lose the 5.1 SPIF audio output from Windows media player 11 for HD 5.1 recorded files ( sat pci ).

The arcsoft codecs are changing the media player
decoder.

Any ideas ?

Next on the list is the dual format drive from lg.

rebkell

I'm pretty sure Arcsoft took over my audio decoder priority also, every time I open up a graph, it has Arcsoft HD Decoder for the audio, and Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.3 for the video decoder at least this happens for all ts files.

wokwokabc

Try downloading Radlight Filter Manager (or some other filter manager) and lowering the merit of Arcsoft Audio Decoder in the DirectShow Filters section.

ncinsguy

i see it sometimes during recording but during playback it's not there.

--Sclaws

I've had the 1212 (C2) for some time and have not had any recording problems with it...however I've also refrained from much recording due to a lack of 5.1 audio. Doh.

lsdavinci

So has Hauppauge/Arcsoft come up with the patch that allows for PCM multi-channel recording? I'd like to wait for that before recording unless the fix seems like a long time off.

ARogan

Repost from the other thread for easier reference:

Hauppauge HD PVR
I wrote up a little review with:
- lots of photos
- lots of capture and playback tests
- samples to download
- step by step fan mod with temperatures
- filter graph information
- rcTVCap - command line recording utility with source code. (thanks the_tom with helping me a bit by letting me play with your app)

replayrob

As long as you have a dual core processor the capture should be OK. Playback on the other hand, seems to depend on too many variable to predict the outcome from one computer to another.

ncinsguy

u don't need a dual core for capture, i use a athalon 2.0 ghz single core and it works fine.

mike50

According to Hauppauge, their next driver will suppor/allow 5.1 audio.

hubick

My HD-PVR is mostly working for recording and playback with SageTV 6.4.5 beta.

The first trick was to make sure it was using the Arcsoft decoder for playback, as per:
http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...4&postcount=14

Running the HD-PVR with the 1.0b drivers still locks up during some longer (> 2 hr) recordings, requiring a power cycle of the box. I find I have better luck overall if I don't max out the bitrate. I'm running the unit in a ventilated area with the lid off to avoid reported heat problems.

The other issue I'm having is with an inaccurate timeline when skipping around in longer recordings, where the playback is actually further along than SageTV indicates.

wokwokabc

How long did it take Hauppauge to deliver a PVR-150 driver that didn't overmodulate audio and didn't blow out whites in PAL video? Even after AvsForum members diagnosed the probem and told them exactly what was wrong and what needed to be changed. Over a year. There are no programmers at Hauppauge who know anything about video or their hardware anymore.

replayrob

You must be pretty close to maxed out during capture (using the included Arcsoft capture program) with a single core CPU?

wokwokabc

It doesn't matter. The display of the video may fall behind and get jerky. The capture module display may even lock up requiring a three finger salute to terminate it. But the saving of the incoming TS stream to a file continues until the capture is stopped or the program is terminated. The saved file is fine. That's been my experience.

clemsonfn

I wanted to share with the forum the result of my week long trials on this unit, in case anyone else was experiencing the same problem.

My goal was to capture a 90 minute file, edit the commercials out with H264_cutter, divide the finished video into chapters on a DVD-R disc, and confirm playability on my 3 Blu Ray players.

After burning about 30 discs, this is the only thing that works for me on the following Blu Ray players:

LG BH200
Samsung BDP1400
Playstation 3

1) Edit the captured TS file in h264ts_cutter
2) Burn the edited file as a BDMV onto the hard drive using TME
3) Take our the master m2ts file (BDMV, Stream, 00001.m2ts)
4) Use that file as the video file in TME, setting up chapters, menus, etc., and burning it as a BDMV onto the hard drive
5) Burn the resulting BDMV and CERTIFICATE folders onto a Data Disc using TME

This combination is the only way I could get the DVD not to stutter after the H264ts_cutter edits or completely lock up when I tried to advance a chapter on my Samsung. The other two players are a little more forgiving.

I'm going to send copies to a couple friends to see if they can confirm this works on a Sony 301, Panasonic BD30, and a Denon BR player.

ncinsguy

+1 all of the above

JJamez

That hasn't been the case for me with a mobile Sempron 2800 (1.6GHz). It does fine with 720p at the default bitrate (8mbs), but when I bump it up over around 10mbs and above (cbr), I get jumps that are in the output file itself (not a playback issue). Every 20-30 seconds the playback will jump ahead maybe 10 seconds or so.

So I think there's definitely a correlation. Most people are probably using a more powerful processor and it won't be a problem, but mine is teetering right on the edge. I'm using the laptop because my desktop is not close enough to the HDPVR, TV, etc..

All that said, there are workarounds which enable capturing with virtually no processor usage - first is to set up a graph in graphedit and capture with ARogan's rcTVcap. I guess its a fairly complex procedure for some, but straightforward if you have the patience to follow the directions. The second way is a little easier I guess, but definitely a little kludgy, is to install ProcessorExplorer and turn off the thread in the ArcSoft capture software that controls the preview and is hogging all the processor power.

First method: http://blog.arogan.com/2008/06/haupp...odel-1212.html

Second: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...r#post14239018

With either method I can successfully capture at any bitrate without issue.

mike50

I just did my first capture of a full 1hr50min movie from a cable box at 1080i and default settings(constant 9/13.5Mbs).

The C2 unit did not overheat. I played the resulting TS video file(6.77G) with Media Player Classic(MPC), Window Media Player11(WMP11), PowerDVD7(PDVD7) and ArcSoft TotalMediaTheater(TMT). In all cases, there are some video glitches( jitter anywhere on the screen and intermittent noise/flashes at the bottom). Also, the sound is out of sync and breaks down with MPC and WMP11.

My system: Window XP(sp3), Intel core2(2.13GH processor), NVidia 7600GT 256Mb PCI video card, Pace551 HD cable set top box, Sony 50A2020 SXRD HDTV.

dv8shun

I'm going to go out on a limb and say maybe it's your video card? I'm no expert by any means, but I think the 8xxx series of cards are much better at h.264 playback. Maybe someone else can elaborate?

replayrob

Sounds like the "frame jump" issue discussed in the other Hauppauge thread (it goes on for a couple of pages): http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post14232267

I also recall someone posting about flashes at the bottom of the screen, but I can't find that post.

ncinsguy

the problem is your settings...with default i got the same results for HD content bump it up to the max and constant and they will play fine...for SD programs i drop it to 7.0 avg to save disk space on those file...my settings get me larger files but the result looks as good as the original. do 1 min test files at different settings, you may get the results that ur looking for at lower bitrates

AllenDB

I installed the box and software on my fastest machine, my old Shuttle box Athlon XP 2700+ at 2.2 GHz. Scheduled a recording and when it came time to record up popped a box saying it cannot run TME. Called support and quickly found out that SP2 is needed. For several reasons I cannot, at the time, install SP2 on the Shuttle box.

Installed the HD PVR on my older machine, a Sempron 2800+ running at 1.6 GHz. Scheduled a recording and when the start time arrived up popped the something or other that recorded the video. It was 1080i and the processor was maxed out. The image in the monitor appeared to be even and steady. Now I'm searching the drives to find where the .ts file was written.

Where in the h--- did the file go???

Found it under Documents/blah/blah/blah......

I also asked if there was a way to specify a recording folder and they said no. This won't be a real problem because my scheduling app will specify a folder but during testing I wish I could drive it someplace else.

rebkell

Open up Total Media Extreme and then click on Record Video, down at the bottom there will be a Save to: and whatever that location is, is where it saved the file.