Hauppauge
HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition High Definition Game Capture Device with HDMI
In and Out and Real Time Passthrough for Use with PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
This one is for all the girlfriends out there trying to find their gamer bf the perfect gift-get the Hauppauge HD PVR 2!!! I know NOTHING about video games, or any of the accessories, and I did a TON of research on capture cards so I could buy my bf the best one. He absolutely loves this capture card! He's been using it non stop :) 5 stars in my book!
If you use a mac you have to buy different software which costs around $30 so your mac can find the hd pvr. If you are a ps3 user you can record in 1080i not 1080p but I believe it can be converted. This is a brilliant product and I highly suggest buying 1 if you are serious about recording your gameplays
I love the quality it displays and how easy it is to work, My one major issue is that when you don't restart your computer at times and you unplug the HDMI IN/HDMI out cable it doesn't work. Other then that I think this is perfect. Remember if your screen goes black just reboot your computer. Good luck.
I gave this a try as an option to replace my Blackmagic Intensity Pro capture setup and was happy to find the quality is, while not quite on par, definitely good enough for those looking to do some capture for YouTube. Setup was dead simple - install software and away you go.
Our son loves his Xbox and now he loves being able to record his game playing. He earned his own money for this item and is very proud of it,
I expect this to be quite lengthy so I separated into sections for anyone reading. I hope Hauppauge also notices this and answers my few questions near the end.
---
Part 1: Delivery & Setup
Alright, how to start this out... I have been looking at HD PVR's for a few years now, mainly the Hauppauge HD PVR which it seems every user on YouTube was picking up at the time. Well I had a lack of funds for fun items in my life and settled for the $10 EasyCAP which in my opinion is easilyCRAP, but for people who want to try their hand at YouTube because they enjoy providing content for others I highly recommend trying your best with what you're given.
Anyways onto the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition. This year, I decided I finally was going to splurge and get a PVR. I have kept my eyes open and looked at quite a few products around the price range I set for myself but didn't find anything that interested me as much as the PVR 2. I ordered it on December 26th with next day for $3.99 (Prime is a great investment if you haven't checked it out).
Upon delivery, I noticed the packing by Amazon seemed a bit loose, in fact if it were banged from any of the 4 longer sides it would have damaged the product, but this is not a Hauppauge issue it was just how Amazon shipped it. The product came in a nice and neat green/black two tone box, very easy to open with the cardboard inset being a quick pull with the PVR separated by a divider from the cables.
Came with all listed cables (x2 HDMI 6ft, x1 PS3 Component, x1 PS3 Component Adapter, x1 USB 9ft, & x1 Power Supply), neatly packaged in sealed plastic, the driver/software disc was tucked away against the product itself and all was well.
Directions were all very easy to follow and the hook up was not a hassle at all, I was streaming to the ShowBiz software in under 10 minutes.
---
Part 2: Running & Performance + Pros/Cons
It seems to run very well, not many hiccups or anything detrimental to running the hardware/software itself. Quiet product overall and provides great quality.
Feel free to poke around my new videos, they all use the HD PVR 2 on YouTube
Pros:
- Quiet
- Easy to setup & run
- Recording is a breeze
- Great quality
Cons:
- Netflix will NOT work on 360: Microsoft implemented the HDCP requirement and this ruins the ability to watch Netflix with the "passthrough" as it will not play a video. You would think just notifying the product to break connection upon Showbiz boot would be enough.
- One Touch Recording Button: I have a cat, and he likes to climb around like most cats. He frequently hits the button and there is no way to disable this that I have found, it is quite annoying.
- Freezing: This now occurs about once a day, maybe it is the beta drivers but when there is no source or I remove the source and exit capture mode it locks up my PC until I hard boot it.
- No On/Off: Maybe they designed the product to remain on 24/7 but an option in Showbiz to turn it off with one click would be nice.
- No tutorial on software use: They sort of help you along but to get the best quality you are going to need Google and even then it will not be much help.
- No ability to Live Stream built in: XSplit and other methods do not work with the HD PVR 2 yet according to their Facebook, further research on their site provided me with "StreamEez"? Which apparently is their in house Streaming program.
- YouTube upload seems pointless and buggy: It only uploads in 720p which if I record in 1080p30 I am down-scaling instead of recording at 720p60, it also froze when I attempted it.
Editing software is virtually pointless, think of it like Windows Movie Maker it is essentially that. If they were to offer a standalone capture program with more sophisticated settings with the ability to only see the "Basic" until you clicked "Advanced" they would be way better off in my opinion. But I am not them, these are just my ideas and opinions.
Those are my main problems with the product so far but for me those are not a deal breaker, it runs well and I am willing to stick with the product to see what comes out of Hauppauge in the software department.
---
3. Conclusion
The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 is a great buy for those who know what they are doing and enjoy putting out content for others, it does have flaws but if you can deal with them then you will be happy with the product itself, their software & drivers seem to be getting constant attention which is nice to see and I do give this a 5 star rating even with my large list of cons because those are not something everyone will deal with.
Also if you are just getting into YouTube and have the mindset of "I can't wait to make money." stop right there and wait till you are mature enough to enjoy putting out content for users to view for the fun of it and not with the incentive of making money, it is hard to do and that will ruin your attitude when it comes to the content you put out as there is no passion behind it.
No121Else: Long review! Here are some comments:
- Netflix will NOT work on Xbox360
Comment: HDCP is designed to prevent the recording of premium content such as premium movies. Sometimes there is a legitimate reason to record content on the Xbox360 which is protected. If so, you can use the Component video connector in the Xbox. Though I have not tried to record Netflix, at home I use Component video to connect my Xbox to my HD PVR 2 (I had the original HD PVR and I'm using the same Component video cables).
- One Touch Recording Button
Comment: we install a Windows service to control the Record button. This service can be managed (turned on and off) in the Task Manager (lower right hand corner of your Windows desktop) under the service "TV Services".
- Freezing
Comment: if you can contact our technical support department, they should be able to help you. There is no reason for your HD PVR 2 freeze at all. I keep my HD PVR 2 at home running 24/7 (when the PC is removed, HD PVR 2 goes into a low power standby mode just to support pass through) and have not seen freezes even after about 6 months of use.
- No On/Off
Comment: when you shut down your PC, the HD PVR 2 goes into a low power standby mode (similar to the power down mode of one of the low power DTA cable boxes). This is done so you do NOT have to disconnect all of your gaming cables when you remove the USB cable or remove your PC.
- No tutorial on software use
Comment: good point. There is not a lot of information on Showbiz. That being said, one of the HD PVR 2 customers has made a number of very good YouTube videos on Showbiz. I'll find some links and put them at the end of these comments.
- No ability to Live Stream built in
Comment: Hauppauge has developed a program called StreamEez which comes in both a consumer and pro version. The consumer version is for Twitch and Ustream while the Pro version is for professional RTMP video streaming. You can find StreamEez on our Support page under the StreamEez tab. There is a free download and a YouTube tutorial.
- YouTube upload seems pointless and buggy
Comment: The built-in upload to YouTube today only supports up to 720p. Most of the people who run YouTube channels keep their videos at 720p since 1080p causes some problems with some customers when trying to play back. Most professional YouTube channels limit their videos to 720p for the same reason. That being said, if you exit Showbiz you can upload to YouTube at 1080p directly to your YouTube channel via a Internet browser. Keep in mind some people will not be able to play videos at 1080p.
Tutorial on using Showbiz to edit (four part series):
https: // www. youtube. com/watch?v=Gk7oP9tD0Jk
Buy Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition High Definition Game Capture Device with HDMI In and Out and Real Time Passthrough for Use with PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 Now from Amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment