Customer Reviews

AVerMedia MTVUHDDVR Avertv HD USB Digital Video Recorder

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I primarily bought this to record video games while playing them. I did some recordings and used the video editing software. The quality (720p) is nice and the video was as I had expected and hoped. The interface is simple and easy to use. It is great for what I want it for. Now onto the flaws that I have encountered. First off - the most annoying one which may be a problem with my box in particular. The component connection coming in from the video game source often loses one of the color connections making it look awful. Unfortunately it is captured this way and it simply takes me just slightly moving the box or touching the cables to fix (I have tried different sets of cables). Second problem for you gamers out there. The software seems to have a problem adjusting when the source adjusts resolutions. Example is on the PS3 - I am on the XMB screen prior to loading the game, but once the game loads it adjusts the resolution. At this point the capture screen goes gray and doesn't seem to pick up the source video anymore. If you started your recording prior to starting the game, you would be recording gray the rest of the way. The last problem I had seems to be a software issue, but I can't be sure. I plugged an HDMI cable in for output. NOTE: The HDMI cable is NOT for passthrough to be used during recordings. It is only for media playback. I cannot however playback any media other than what I have recorded directly through the box. Granted it looked great on my 55" 1080p 120Hz LCD, but I could not playback any other video files even though it is supposed to be able to. Everytime I hit the button to output to HDMI, I get a gray screen. Despite submitting a support ticket going on a month ago, they continuously tell me that they are researching the problem. This was a big selling point for me and a bit of a disappointment. Final thoughts - it is solidly built and seems to be well priced for what it does compared to competition. The processing of the capture on the box takes the load off of the PC while allowing you to store and edit directly on the computer. I do recommend the product for it's ease of use and quality per price, but want to warn gamers of the above issues that I encountered. Good luck!

This product would be fantastic i this company had a shred of customer service. My DVR is obviously defective. It shuts off after 2-5 minutes of use every time and nothing will change that. I've tried on 8 different occasions to contact their customer service department. This includes, leaving voicemail, sending email, and posting on their help forums. I have had no replies.

The product would be great if it worked. What I have seen it produce is very high quality and frankly just looks damn good.

Do not buy this if you want any amount of decency or support from the company. I assume not all of these arrive DOA, but this is a chance that you should not have to worry about with a product that costs almost $200.

Once you figure out how it works and get it to work with all of the updates and other downloads required to use it, it's perfectly fine. Took me two or so days to get it up and running, but that's no big deal. I bought it to record video games from my Xbox and PS3, and it does just that perfectly! Xbox can't display at 1080p/1080i with component cables, so obviously the recorder doesn't do well with that. However, PS3 component cables can go up to 1080p, and the thing records in 1080i just fine and it looks really nice! The 720p on Xbox is also very good quality, and I've gotten several compliments on how my videos look.

The biggest problem I have with it is how it records. It saves the files in .ts, which is not compatible with my editing software. It comes with a file transfer program, and it takes about two hours per hour of recorded footage. It can only transfer to 30 frames a second, so Call of Duty or Super Meat Boy (games that run at 60 frames per second) videos aren't as smooth as they could be. That takes a lot of time to do, switching file types, and makes you wonder why they didn't make the box record in a more friendly file type in the first place. Also, I have to put a cloth over the light at night so it doesn't light up my whole room.

I've been using this since October 2010, and have recorded a TON of videos with it. It doesn't get too hot and can record for at least 6 hours (longest I've recorded). Overall this cap card has really nice quality and is easy to use.

When I bought this product I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for. This product is great for capturing gameplays from my Xbox 360 in HD and putting it onto my hard drive.

I would recommend this to anyone looking to have some fun and possibly upload YouTube videos as I do!

If you are interested in a Capture card for recording xbox 360 game play or recording your favorite tv shows, this is for you!. My son records and plays in hd on his xbox 360 then puts them on youtube. He has used many different capture cards and this one seems to be on of his favorites. The software is easy for him to use and was very easy to setup!It is a great price for an hd cap card! Very cool looking and very light. I recommend this to anyone that doesn't want to spend over 300$ on a Capture Card.

The product has a pass through which could be used to record gameplay from a PS3, Xbox 360, or Nintendo Wii, but it has issues with flickering at times. Customer Support insists it has to do with my computer graphics card even though I am not even using my computer at the moment. I guess I will try out the Hauppauge HD PVR.

I've been using the Avermedia USB HD DVR to record gameplay off of my xbox360. I decided to go with this one over the Happauge just becuase it was 20 bucks cheaper, considering im on a bit of a budget. What I found was that the device was great for recording in HD, and VERY easy to use. The reason I didnt give it 5 stars was that in comparison to the quality of the Happauge, the quality is slightly inferior, with less detail. Another thing I didnt like was the fact that the Avermedia can only be used with the supplied program, Totalmedia Extreme 2, nothing else. Where as the Happauge can use the supplied Totalmedia Extreme 1 program (which i believe is the cause of the slightly better quality) and a number of others, including the mac exclusive Eyetv3. Overall, the device is still GREAT just because of its reliability and simplicity, but if you are not on a budget, I would still recommend the Happauge over this one.

It is not without some flaws I'm afraid. For all you first time buyers I highly recommend you already have the latest pc's if not, go buy another one. Here's a list of what you should have.

1. The latest pc with up to date specs, high processing power, lots of ram and the most recent video graphics card.
=============================================================================================================
2. A usb hard drive to store up lots of space. I have an 1.33 tb drive. Very pricy but I'm sure they make them higher now. The .ts files it records in are quite large so you better have the space to store those videos.
=============================================================================================================
3. A tv that supports up to 1080i but you should already know that.
=============================================================================================================
4. Two small high velocity fans. One for your pc and one for the avermedia hd dvr. Why because both will get very hot while recording.
=============================================================================================================
5. Component cables that plug in to your video game systems. Component cables come with the avermedia device just so you know.
=============================================================================================================
It can be recorded from a laptop just so you know. That's what we use when I record on my girlfriends laptop. She bought hers years after mine so she has a better one that will work for this device. I can say for sure this is much more favorable over the hauppauge hd pvr which refuses to operate. I purchased it twice and got my money back and yet it is a piece of garbage so don't buy that everyone. Also avoid roxio game capture as that too will be a waste of money. It can record hd tv programs but I never got around to using it. Can you record from a blu ray disc? Yes but only up to 1080i. The software used to record to your pc is total media extreme 2. You might see some twitches on the screen but that is normal and when you playback the video, the twitches won't be there. A three second delay will be present while recording but that is perfectly normal. Just mute your pc while you record and it won't be a problem. Here are my complaints for the device.

Interlace is present after playback when recording in 1080i. This can be annoying but converter software can correct this matter.

It can ONLY record in .ts format. The device should have had the option to at least record in mp4 format. It comes with converter software but you have black border bars after processing and you can't edit them out. Therefore I recommend you use the software sony vegas pro 9 (build 563) or xvid4psp to convert the .ts files to your choosing. Xvid4psp is free but vegas pro is not. Sorry I cannot provide details on how to obtain build 563 as it is the only version of vegas to accept .ts files. Google is your friend. These programs will edit out the black border bars and interlace lines but you will find better results with sony vegas pro.

Now you might be asking what resolutions does it record in? Just 480i, 720p and 1080i. So for those of you out there who want to record using your Nintendo Wii at 480p you will be disappointed. However you can still record in 480i.

Overall, Avermedia hd dvr is the best recording device out there currently on the market and it is highly recommended over the inferior Hauppauge hd pvr. Perhaps one day the company will make one that supports 480p and 1080p. It about close to $200 but it's worth the price. For those three minor complaints is the only reason this only gets four out of five stars.

This is an excellent choice for video capturing. It's easy to install and the results are amazing, truly crispy crystal-clear HD. I would give this 5 stars if it weren't for one flaw it has, and that is the file format it saves videos to.

It saves videos as a TS file, which is really difficult to work with if you plan on doing any editing on your videos, especially involving cutting/splitting. There is however a video converter that comes equipped with the program, but after converting your videos, you lose picture and sound quality. They still look good, but certainly lose the dazzling true HD look of the original format. Instead of forcing us to convert our videos to other formats, why not just allow us to capture them in those formats?

I love this product. Capturing videos and uploading them to youtube has become my new hobbie. I just wish they had made so editing wouldn't have to result in loss of quality.

Just to start off, I use this for the xbox 360 only. I'm building a gaming website and need something like this, so I figured I would save like $30-40 from buying the Hauppage. I'll start with my issues I have had.
It took me forever to get it to even read my input output, set up took forever to get it to actually record. Then I had to learn how to add in commentary as well as convert the videos to files I could actually use because nothing supports .TS

After finally taking a day or two to set it up to work properly and getting everything set, I started recording a good amount. This normally wouldn't be a problem because it was recording fine. But, every so often it seems like it just shuts off or something. It doesn't literally shut off, but what it does is the screen flashes black. It will be black anywhere from a split second to like 5 seconds. Now for me if I'm in the middle of online play or doing something with the xbox 360 I don't want it turning black when I'm shooting someone or running through zombies (COD: blackOps) It does this a good amount of time and I can't get it to stop at all.
If anyone knows how to fix this problem that would be great. I've looked all over online and maybe I'm not searching the right things, but nobody has mentioned this. It might be my tv or my box, but I'll look into it more and let you guys know how it goes.