Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR Video Capture device

**rbinck** · 10-19-2008, 04:58 PM

For those of you that are interested in this device, I have a detailed report here: Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR Video Capture device

This little box will allow the input of HD material to your computer. It interfaces through component inputs so the quality will be somewhat degraded, but I haven't seen much, if any, degradation. It creates h.264 TS files that can be edited with h.264tsCutter software.

Finally a device that will allow the archiving and commercial stripping of programs recorded to a satellite or cable DVR.

GymBrat98 · 03-11-2009, 05:08 PM

I just bought a My Book 1TB HDD, I needed it anyways.
After reading all of your threads about both products, I want one of them.

The WD can only be connected through HDMI, so does that mean I can't store/record my premium channels? The Hauppauge has the component, so that would not be an issue, yes?
I have a 7216 Moto STB. It is hooked into my HDTV, as I only have two HDMI inputs. I have a 3 Port Smart HDMI Switch, I have room for one more HDMI.

The Hauppauge seems like the right choice for what I want it to do.
I'll have to buy it next week, since it's double the price of the WD.
If I'm wrong, please tell me. I will buy that puppy/WD tonight. I'll get it by Fri.

Thanks

**rbinck** · 03-11-2009, 05:29 PM

To record your programs from your DVR you will need the Hauppague PVR device and a computer. You can hook your USB drive to the computer to record the shows on instead of the internal hard drive.

If you have your computer connected to your HDTV then it is used to play back the recordings, otherwise the WD player would allow the recordings to be played back. So the answer may be to get both eventually depending on whether your computer is to be used as the player or not.

GymBrat98 · 03-11-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbinck

To record your programs from your DVR you will need the Hauppague PVR device and a computer. You can hook your USB drive to the computer to record the shows on instead of the internal hard drive.

If you have your computer connected to your HDTV then it is used to play back the recordings, otherwise the WD player would allow the recordings to be played back. So the answer may be to get both eventually depending on whether your computer is to be used as the player or not.

Thank you Rbink.
Can I have hdmi, and component running at the same time from my STB? I have heard you can, and you can't. BTW, while researching these products I saw the HDF blog, what a great wealth of info.

**rbinck** · 03-11-2009, 09:12 PM

Some STBs will allow both and some won't. If yours dosen't then you will need to use component with the Hauppauge.

GymBrat98 · 03-11-2009, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbinck

Some STBs will allow both and some won't. If yours dosen't then you will need to use component with the Hauppauge.

What are your thoughts on the provided software for the 1212, ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater? Did they fix the surround sound issue? There's still a ton of stuff I have to read about this product before buying it.

The reason I asked about both component, and HDMI is because I thought I read somewhere that the 1212 only has component, and no HDMI. Since my STB is hooked into my TV, via HDMI. I would have to use component to go into the PVR. If my Moto STB lets me, if not then I am screwed. The more I read, the more I want the Hauppauge.

sprkeng · 03-11-2009, 10:53 PM

Hi GB:

I bought the WD TV because I have a lot of AVI movies and pictures on my WD 1TB external hard drive and I really like it. It's better than connecting my laptop to the HDTV.....the one thing I don't like about the WD TV is their menu, one has to have all their files named properly to recognize which is which and you'd better not lose the remote, the box doesn't come with any buttons to manually operate it.. and you have to have the remote fairly close to the device, I've got it to work as far as 6' to 8' away. I have used it with RCA and HDMI cables, of course HDMI makes for a better PQ and AQ. The photo view screen is very good the images are shown very crisp and clear. All in all I feel I made a good investment. BB had it for $99 and I was fortunate to have a $20 rewards coupon at the right time.

GymBrat98 · 03-11-2009, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sprkeng

Hi GB:

I bought the WD TV because I have a lot of AVI movies and pictures on my WD 1TB external hard drive and I really like it. It's better than connecting my laptop to the HDTV.....the one thing I don't like about the WD TV is their menu, one has to have all their files named properly to recognize which is which and you'd better not lose the remote, the box doesn't come with any buttons to manually operate it.. and you have to have the remote fairly close to the device, I've got it to work as far as 6' to 8' away. I have used it with RCA and HDMI cables, of course HDMI makes for a better PQ and AQ. The photo view screen is very good the images are shown very crisp and clear. All in all I feel I made a good investment. BB had it for $99 and I was fortunate to have a $20 rewards coupon at the right time.

Thanks for respsonding Sprk

Have you viewed a 1080i movie on your WD, from HBO, or Starz, record, and playback?
Or do they downconvert it. Would the WD work with my Harmony remote? See I think the Hauppauge Arcsoft software would keep the folders in line, so I wouldn't have to.

**rbinck** · 03-12-2009, 10:47 AM

The 1212 does only have component inputs and also regular A/V input on the front for a camcorder. They are not allowed to use HDMI inputs due to DRM copy protection. The component inputs do a great job.

Back to the difference to the two devices. The WD TV HD player is just a player, it does not record and the 1212 is just a recorder input box, it does not play videos. Once you record them then you can use your computer or the WD player to play them. I have the 1212 hooked up to a computer that I use to record the programs to one of several USB drives. On my HDTV I use a computer to playback the movies.

I use the WD TV HD player on my wife's HDTV and I will copy the movie she wants to watch onto a 40GB USB drive that is attached to the WD player. For photos I use a 2GB USB stick to load photos for her to view.

The WD should work with your Harmony, but you may have to learn the codes.

There is a firmware update for the 1212 that fixes the optical input for 5.1 surround.

There is a firmware update for the WD TV HD player that fixes many of the file extention issues.

sprkeng · 03-12-2009, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbinck

The 1212 does only have component inputs and also regular A/V input on the front for a camcorder. They are not allowed to use HDMI inputs due to DRM copy protection. The component inputs do a great job.

Back to the difference to the two devices. The WD TV HD player is just a player, it does not record and the 1212 is just a recorder input box, it does not play videos. Once you record them then you can use your computer or the WD player to play them. I have the 1212 hooked up to a computer that I use to record the programs to one of several USB drives. On my HDTV I use a computer to playback the movies.

I use the WD TV HD player on my wife's HDTV and I will copy the movie she wants to watch onto a 40GB USB drive that is attached to the WD player. For photos I use a 2GB USB stick to load photos for her to view.

The WD should work with your Harmony, but you may have to learn the codes.

There is a firmware update for the 1212 that fixes the optical input for 5.1 surround.

There is a firmware update for the WD TV HD player that fixes many of the file extention issues.

rb:

Where do I find instructions on updating the WD-TV? I searched through the WD web-site no luck...and I'm not sure if I downloaded the right update...

**rbinck** · 03-12-2009, 12:15 PM

http://support.wdc.com/download/wdtv...FW_1_01_02.zip

The file I downloaded was a zip file named WDTV_FW_1_01_02.zip from link above.

You unzip the file and place the wdtv.bin and wdtv.ver files on the root of your USB drive. Then reboot the player by unpluging and pluging the power. Follow the menu instructions on the TV to update.

Edit: Here are the release notes: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/wdtv/...senotes101.pdf

sprkeng · 03-12-2009, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbinck

http://support.wdc.com/download/wdtv...FW_1_01_02.zip

The file I downloaded was a zip file named WDTV_FW_1_01_02.zip from link above.

You unzip the file and place the wdtv.bin and wdtv.ver files on the root of your USB drive. Then reboot the player by unpluging and pluging the power. Follow the menu instructions on the TV to update.

Thank you RB...

I connect my WD-TV to my 32" HDTV with the HDMI and I did see a difference. Do you see any difference between using the RCA and the HDMI? My Samsung 32, I connect to, is only 720P, I haven't tried it on my Sony 46" 1080P where I suspect it wouldn't make a difference quality wise.

**rbinck** · 03-12-2009, 12:58 PM

The HDMI is much better. It is going to depend on the source files though. What are you playing?

sprkeng · 03-12-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbinck

The HDMI is much better. It is going to depend on the source files though. What are you playing?

I'm playing music (wav/mp3), movie files in AVI format, home videos from the Aiptek Camcorder (mov) format?, and jpegs.

**rbinck** · 03-12-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sprkeng

I'm playing music (wav/mp3), movie files in AVI format, home videos from the Aiptek Camcorder (mov) format?, and jpegs.

AVI would indicate downloaded files or files from a camera and they may not be of HD resolutions. I use files recorded from OTA in mpeg2 (.ts) or h.264 recorded by the Hauppauge 1212 (.m2ts) so they are all HD. Those make a big difference between HDMI and the RCA.

10-19-2008, 04:58 PM	#1
rbinck Administrator Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 16,884	Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR Video Capture device For those of you that are interested in this device, I have a detailed report here: Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR Video Capture device This little box will allow the input of HD material to your computer. It interfaces through component inputs so the quality will be somewhat degraded, but I haven't seen much, if any, degradation. It creates h.264 TS files that can be edited with h.264tsCutter software. Finally a device that will allow the archiving and commercial stripping of programs recorded to a satellite or cable DVR.

03-11-2009, 05:08 PM	#2
GymBrat98 HD Is Off Da Hook! Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 7,654	Hauppauge HD PVR, or WD TV Media Player? I just bought a My Book 1TB HDD, I needed it anyways. After reading all of your threads about both products, I want one of them. The WD can only be connected through HDMI, so does that mean I can't store/record my premium channels? The Hauppauge has the component, so that would not be an issue, yes? I have a 7216 Moto STB. It is hooked into my HDTV, as I only have two HDMI inputs. I have a 3 Port Smart HDMI Switch, I have room for one more HDMI. The Hauppauge seems like the right choice for what I want it to do. I'll have to buy it next week, since it's double the price of the WD. If I'm wrong, please tell me. I will buy that puppy/WD tonight. I'll get it by Fri. Thanks

03-12-2009, 12:15 PM	#11
rbinck Administrator Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 16,884	http://support.wdc.com/download/wdtv...FW_1_01_02.zip The file I downloaded was a zip file named WDTV_FW_1_01_02.zip from link above. You unzip the file and place the wdtv.bin and wdtv.ver files on the root of your USB drive. Then reboot the player by unpluging and pluging the power. Follow the menu instructions on the TV to update. Edit: Here are the release notes: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/wdtv/...senotes101.pdf Last edited by rbinck; 03-12-2009 at 12:49 PM..

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03-11-2009, 05:29 PM	#3
rbinck Administrator Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 16,884	To record your programs from your DVR you will need the Hauppague PVR device and a computer. You can hook your USB drive to the computer to record the shows on instead of the internal hard drive. If you have your computer connected to your HDTV then it is used to play back the recordings, otherwise the WD player would allow the recordings to be played back. So the answer may be to get both eventually depending on whether your computer is to be used as the player or not.

03-11-2009, 09:12 PM	#5
rbinck Administrator Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 16,884	Some STBs will allow both and some won't. If yours dosen't then you will need to use component with the Hauppauge.

03-11-2009, 10:53 PM	#7
sprkeng HD Rocks Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southwest Washington Posts: 2,266	Hi GB: I bought the WD TV because I have a lot of AVI movies and pictures on my WD 1TB external hard drive and I really like it. It's better than connecting my laptop to the HDTV.....the one thing I don't like about the WD TV is their menu, one has to have all their files named properly to recognize which is which and you'd better not lose the remote, the box doesn't come with any buttons to manually operate it.. and you have to have the remote fairly close to the device, I've got it to work as far as 6' to 8' away. I have used it with RCA and HDMI cables, of course HDMI makes for a better PQ and AQ. The photo view screen is very good the images are shown very crisp and clear. All in all I feel I made a good investment. BB had it for $99 and I was fortunate to have a $20 rewards coupon at the right time.

03-12-2009, 10:47 AM	#9
rbinck Administrator Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 16,884	The 1212 does only have component inputs and also regular A/V input on the front for a camcorder. They are not allowed to use HDMI inputs due to DRM copy protection. The component inputs do a great job. Back to the difference to the two devices. The WD TV HD player is just a player, it does not record and the 1212 is just a recorder input box, it does not play videos. Once you record them then you can use your computer or the WD player to play them. I have the 1212 hooked up to a computer that I use to record the programs to one of several USB drives. On my HDTV I use a computer to playback the movies. I use the WD TV HD player on my wife's HDTV and I will copy the movie she wants to watch onto a 40GB USB drive that is attached to the WD player. For photos I use a 2GB USB stick to load photos for her to view. The WD should work with your Harmony, but you may have to learn the codes. There is a firmware update for the 1212 that fixes the optical input for 5.1 surround. There is a firmware update for the WD TV HD player that fixes many of the file extention issues.

03-12-2009, 12:58 PM	#13
rbinck Administrator Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 16,884	The HDMI is much better. It is going to depend on the source files though. What are you playing?