Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Product Description
The AVerTV HD DVR - is a High Definition / Analog video capture card. It's equipped with HDMI and through the included dongle cable, Component, S-Video and Composite Video input interface. Allowing users to connect to their Cable/Satellite Set-Top-Box, Gaming Console and HD Video recorders to capture High Definition and Analog video content on their to PC. The package includes our AVer MediaCenter software application with advance software encoding algorithm engine and built-in schedule recording features. Users can capture HD video,up to 1080i,and save it in MPEG 2 or H.264 file format (which can be use to playback under iPod or PSP gaming device) as well as program start and end times of TV shows from HD Cable/Satellite Set-Top-Box.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 72 people found the following review helpful
By prestond
Amazon Verified Purchase
Ok my system specs are:
Gateway DX4200 1.8GHz QuadCore with ATI Radeon HD 3200 video card with 4 gig ram running windows vista x64
The card installed easily, it takes a pci-e slot so make sure that you do have a pci-e slot available. I also made sure my ATI video card had the latest drivers installed.
First, there is no windows Media Center (mce) interface offered for this card, they advertise that fact so no surprise there but dont mistake their Avermedia Center software for any resemblence of proper gui experience if you have used other media centers (MCE, XBMC, Mediaportal, Boxee, etc). It works but its lack of windows media center capability, its garish and harsh colors that burns the retina and lack of documentation (the included on disk user manual leaves much to be desired) makes the experience awkward and puzzling at times. You can eventually figure it out via trial and error...this effort however is on your time and dime.
Avermedia's defense for no windows mce interface is that Windows MCE only uses tuner devices and this is a capture device, but other products seem to have jumped that divide quite successfully (ex. Monsoon Hava product, Hauppauge HD PVR). I also understand that not all customers use windows media center or have access to it. But to limit your market potential (because thousands of mce users out there are looking for a reliable and robust high definition capture device) for lack of mce capability and having to rely on their proprietary bothersome and totally lacking software, I have to drop them a star on the review.
When I installed the software and ran the application, Live TV is fine, but I beleive they just dump that video stream straight to the video buffer, however when recording at 1080i the software playback was slightly jerky especially on camera pans in the scene. I reinstalled the shark codecs for vista to see if that made a difference, tried various resolutions in both the software and in the set top box (STB) and even down to 480p the video was jerky on playback and played with these differnt configurations for a few hours, but no joy even at the lowest of resolutions. After a while, when I tried to change the resolution back to higher value it was stuck at 480p and eventually the application froze and I could do nothing more. Couldn't change it and trying to rerun the wizard it just wouldnt reset, the software has no reset to default settings, I was essentially locked out. So I uninstalled the software and reinstalled it.
Voila! It worked fine then after the 2nd reinstallation...
I did have to set the resolution down to 720p with this second reinstall and that seemed fine for my hardware. If you consider this capture card you really should ensure that you have a pretty strong cpu if you want to record at 1080i....like a dual core 3 Ghz. I plan on no timeshifting or PIP functionality so that doesnt require stronger cpu. As the video encoding is handled via software you must use fairly strong pc.
I tested recording scheduled program and it started recording within a few seconds of the set time...just a little off by a few seconds. So you can schedule a day, time and duration of recording. But with no tuner interface or channel changing capability you must make sure that your STB is pre-tuned to the desired channel.
Overall the card performs as advertised...if you have a powerful enough pc and can stomach their software. I think it would be easy enough for them to include a color change palette capability in a future release...and hopefully a generic non-proprietary api driver that can be accessed by other windows programs.
I think most purchasers of this product should expect to record in 720p resolution unless they really have the cpu with the guts enough to handle this card. For my own reasons, it was my initial intention to record only in 720p so I am satisfied with that capability.
Update 3/22/2010
Been using this card now for over a month and with the setting of recording at 720p its recording movies off my cable box just fine. It seems to interfere with the Windows Media Center (MCE) running so I must ensure that MCE is disabled when setting up a recording. And also you need to be sure when recording that you have the Avertv Media Center up and running or the recording wont take place. I take the recorded mpg file in 720p format and run it through Windows Movie Maker to create wmv format file, its smaller size and the picture looks great. I still wish for MCE integration but this works ok as long as I run either the MCE or the Avertv Media center but not both at same time.
Also as a hint you may want to use smaller bitrates...you can use the reference bitrate standards either in Windows Movie Maker or google on the web. For example, I record at 720p at 6900 bitrate which matches Windows Movie Maker XBOX 360 720p High Definition. With this bitrate I can stream via wireless G to some media center extenders in remote rooms that dont have wired ethernet (aways try to use wired ethernet for streaming hi def) and the picture is not too bad.
Update 3/28/2010
For some reason the Avermedia Center screen goes blank for the video source, you see the Avermedia center, you can access the controls and there is audio, but no video. Seems that I toggle the source selector from component to composite to s-video to component and so on a few times and that straightens it out. There is no rhyme or reason to this occurring, I have not installed any new software. Once I get it working again, it stays working, and is ok after that, but do not schedule a recording without confirming that you have video and are on the right channel, probably time for me to uninstall the software and reinstall it.
Update 6/30/2011
Still using the card and software, I dont seem to have the screen blank issue as reported above. If you get the card be sure to do get the latest software updates from Avermedia site, do not rely on the CD. Seems like there is an update that will allow the Aver MediaCenter software to change it from the glaring orange yellow colors to color you desire but I havent really looked for it. After win 7 upgrade, the software and performance leveled itself out and its become very stable. They fixed a lot of memory leak problems with win 7 so that makes use of the card more robust. Again even with win 7 you do need a reasonably powered computer. Do not expect to use this card with a Pentium 4 with any real performance. Also I see in the comments that requires a clarification, this particular card has no tuning capability. Its a capture card to capture the output from a source with either non-encrypted hdmi source or component hd output with 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. There is no channel tuning lag per se as if you are using a set top box its how fast your box changes channel. I dont think there is a lag thats at least noticeable, video output capture is video output capture...any lag is in your own set top box.
I do wish it still had MCE interface and/or at least Dvblink capability.
Gateway DX4200 1.8GHz QuadCore with ATI Radeon HD 3200 video card with 4 gig ram running windows vista x64
The card installed easily, it takes a pci-e slot so make sure that you do have a pci-e slot available. I also made sure my ATI video card had the latest drivers installed.
First, there is no windows Media Center (mce) interface offered for this card, they advertise that fact so no surprise there but dont mistake their Avermedia Center software for any resemblence of proper gui experience if you have used other media centers (MCE, XBMC, Mediaportal, Boxee, etc). It works but its lack of windows media center capability, its garish and harsh colors that burns the retina and lack of documentation (the included on disk user manual leaves much to be desired) makes the experience awkward and puzzling at times. You can eventually figure it out via trial and error...this effort however is on your time and dime.
Avermedia's defense for no windows mce interface is that Windows MCE only uses tuner devices and this is a capture device, but other products seem to have jumped that divide quite successfully (ex. Monsoon Hava product, Hauppauge HD PVR). I also understand that not all customers use windows media center or have access to it. But to limit your market potential (because thousands of mce users out there are looking for a reliable and robust high definition capture device) for lack of mce capability and having to rely on their proprietary bothersome and totally lacking software, I have to drop them a star on the review.
When I installed the software and ran the application, Live TV is fine, but I beleive they just dump that video stream straight to the video buffer, however when recording at 1080i the software playback was slightly jerky especially on camera pans in the scene. I reinstalled the shark codecs for vista to see if that made a difference, tried various resolutions in both the software and in the set top box (STB) and even down to 480p the video was jerky on playback and played with these differnt configurations for a few hours, but no joy even at the lowest of resolutions. After a while, when I tried to change the resolution back to higher value it was stuck at 480p and eventually the application froze and I could do nothing more. Couldn't change it and trying to rerun the wizard it just wouldnt reset, the software has no reset to default settings, I was essentially locked out. So I uninstalled the software and reinstalled it.
Voila! It worked fine then after the 2nd reinstallation...
I did have to set the resolution down to 720p with this second reinstall and that seemed fine for my hardware. If you consider this capture card you really should ensure that you have a pretty strong cpu if you want to record at 1080i....like a dual core 3 Ghz. I plan on no timeshifting or PIP functionality so that doesnt require stronger cpu. As the video encoding is handled via software you must use fairly strong pc.
I tested recording scheduled program and it started recording within a few seconds of the set time...just a little off by a few seconds. So you can schedule a day, time and duration of recording. But with no tuner interface or channel changing capability you must make sure that your STB is pre-tuned to the desired channel.
Overall the card performs as advertised...if you have a powerful enough pc and can stomach their software. I think it would be easy enough for them to include a color change palette capability in a future release...and hopefully a generic non-proprietary api driver that can be accessed by other windows programs.
I think most purchasers of this product should expect to record in 720p resolution unless they really have the cpu with the guts enough to handle this card. For my own reasons, it was my initial intention to record only in 720p so I am satisfied with that capability.
Update 3/22/2010
Been using this card now for over a month and with the setting of recording at 720p its recording movies off my cable box just fine. It seems to interfere with the Windows Media Center (MCE) running so I must ensure that MCE is disabled when setting up a recording. And also you need to be sure when recording that you have the Avertv Media Center up and running or the recording wont take place. I take the recorded mpg file in 720p format and run it through Windows Movie Maker to create wmv format file, its smaller size and the picture looks great. I still wish for MCE integration but this works ok as long as I run either the MCE or the Avertv Media center but not both at same time.
Also as a hint you may want to use smaller bitrates...you can use the reference bitrate standards either in Windows Movie Maker or google on the web. For example, I record at 720p at 6900 bitrate which matches Windows Movie Maker XBOX 360 720p High Definition. With this bitrate I can stream via wireless G to some media center extenders in remote rooms that dont have wired ethernet (aways try to use wired ethernet for streaming hi def) and the picture is not too bad.
Update 3/28/2010
For some reason the Avermedia Center screen goes blank for the video source, you see the Avermedia center, you can access the controls and there is audio, but no video. Seems that I toggle the source selector from component to composite to s-video to component and so on a few times and that straightens it out. There is no rhyme or reason to this occurring, I have not installed any new software. Once I get it working again, it stays working, and is ok after that, but do not schedule a recording without confirming that you have video and are on the right channel, probably time for me to uninstall the software and reinstall it.
Update 6/30/2011
Still using the card and software, I dont seem to have the screen blank issue as reported above. If you get the card be sure to do get the latest software updates from Avermedia site, do not rely on the CD. Seems like there is an update that will allow the Aver MediaCenter software to change it from the glaring orange yellow colors to color you desire but I havent really looked for it. After win 7 upgrade, the software and performance leveled itself out and its become very stable. They fixed a lot of memory leak problems with win 7 so that makes use of the card more robust. Again even with win 7 you do need a reasonably powered computer. Do not expect to use this card with a Pentium 4 with any real performance. Also I see in the comments that requires a clarification, this particular card has no tuning capability. Its a capture card to capture the output from a source with either non-encrypted hdmi source or component hd output with 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. There is no channel tuning lag per se as if you are using a set top box its how fast your box changes channel. I dont think there is a lag thats at least noticeable, video output capture is video output capture...any lag is in your own set top box.
I do wish it still had MCE interface and/or at least Dvblink capability.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By Phil
Amazon Verified Purchase
I really wanted to get better capturing capabilities than just standard def, being that my DVR is HD. After reading the reviews, I thought it was worth taking the risk to buy this capture card since the other options for HD capturing cost at least twice as much.
I plugged the card into a PCI-e slot and downloaded the drivers directly from the website. Didn't even bother with the CD. First off, I abandoned HDMI immediately since as soon as I chose HDMI on the Aver MediaCenter source list, a dialog box pops up from the software stating I don't have HDCP.
So I chose what the manufacturer recommended for most HD sources: use the component video. I was able to output standard definition from my DVR, and even std def widescreen and the card had no problems. Once I bumped it up to 720p, the video started stuttering. I couldn't understand why since the other reviewers were able to get at least 720p, and I would have been happy with just 720p. I also tried 1080i. Forget that, I thought, since as soon as I enabled it on the DVR, I get a black flickering screen.
I called tech support and I was given the standard things to try: download latest drivers and software for the capture card and video card, both of which I tried but made no difference. But the tech guy suggested to switch PCI-e slots. I have x1, x4, and x16 slots and I originally plugged the capture card on the x1. Then I plugged it into the x4 slot and bam!, no more stutter at 720p. Then I wondered, maybe 1080i? Bam!, clean, stutter-free video at 1080i. I can only assume that the card is moving so much data in HD that the x1 slot didn't have enough bandwidth. The card is now sitting comfortably on a x16 slot.
Now I can capture in full 1080i with no stutter. The Aver MediaCenter software is good enough for my purpose since I don't need anything fancy for recording or scheduling. All I want is an HD capture to file. I use Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 (utilizes multi-core and i7) for editing out the commercials and burning onto DVD.
Thanks AverMedia tech guy.
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Intel i7 920
6 GB RAM
nVidia GTX 260 (896MB)
Intel DX58SO motherboard
I plugged the card into a PCI-e slot and downloaded the drivers directly from the website. Didn't even bother with the CD. First off, I abandoned HDMI immediately since as soon as I chose HDMI on the Aver MediaCenter source list, a dialog box pops up from the software stating I don't have HDCP.
So I chose what the manufacturer recommended for most HD sources: use the component video. I was able to output standard definition from my DVR, and even std def widescreen and the card had no problems. Once I bumped it up to 720p, the video started stuttering. I couldn't understand why since the other reviewers were able to get at least 720p, and I would have been happy with just 720p. I also tried 1080i. Forget that, I thought, since as soon as I enabled it on the DVR, I get a black flickering screen.
I called tech support and I was given the standard things to try: download latest drivers and software for the capture card and video card, both of which I tried but made no difference. But the tech guy suggested to switch PCI-e slots. I have x1, x4, and x16 slots and I originally plugged the capture card on the x1. Then I plugged it into the x4 slot and bam!, no more stutter at 720p. Then I wondered, maybe 1080i? Bam!, clean, stutter-free video at 1080i. I can only assume that the card is moving so much data in HD that the x1 slot didn't have enough bandwidth. The card is now sitting comfortably on a x16 slot.
Now I can capture in full 1080i with no stutter. The Aver MediaCenter software is good enough for my purpose since I don't need anything fancy for recording or scheduling. All I want is an HD capture to file. I use Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 (utilizes multi-core and i7) for editing out the commercials and burning onto DVD.
Thanks AverMedia tech guy.
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Intel i7 920
6 GB RAM
nVidia GTX 260 (896MB)
Intel DX58SO motherboard
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By W. Ball
Amazon Verified Purchase
I am using the AVerMedia AverTV HD DVR to allow me to view and record DirecTV satellite HD on my PC, something for which there are almost no other options (See my discussion of other options in the 4th paragraph). So far, it is working quite well just with the included AVer MediaCenter software. Surprised me a bit considering the many other reports of trouble posted here.
I'm using the component outputs of my DirecTV HR24-100 receiver into a breakout cable provided by AVerMedia. It's fruitless to try to use the HDMI output due to HDCP which would at least block recording if not viewing. That's not AVerMedia's fault. I might try it later just to verify this. [UPDATE 01/28/11: Well, surprise, I can view, timeshift and record my DirecTV via HDMI into the AVermedia card.] I'm using the R/L analog audio outputs into the breakout cable as well. Very little setup later and the AVerMedia MediaCenter is displaying a 1920x1080 image that matches the raw DirecTV output very nicely. I switched the recording option from the default MPEG2 setting to H.264. I see some complaints that the maximum bit-rate is too limited, but H.264 at 15000 kbps seems excellent. I checked the file properties of the recording and it shows 13,579 kbps for video. Even the running banner on CNN and FOX was rendered and recorded without any stuttering. Note that I have a fairly fast system based on an Intel Core i5-750 and an ATI HD 5770. While rendering live TV the AVerMedia software consumes only 7% of CPU cycles. Turning on timeshifting raises this to 20% at "best" quality. Recording to H.264 uses about 40-45% of CPU cycles at maximum settings and produces excellent recordings. Recording MPEG2 at maximum settings only consumes 20% of cycles but the recording showed some A/V synchronization problems. That might be relieved by other settings. AVerMedia also offers an XVid option for recording which produced a nice recording although the live image became jerky during recording and CPU utilization was 45%. Finally there is an "iPod" recording option producing a 320x240 H.264 recording at about 800 kbps and consumes no more CPU cycles than watching live TV (7%).
Over all the software is stable. I did manage to crash it once after doing a whole bunch of manipulations (changing settings repeatedly) while making the observations in the previous paragraph.
The options for watching and recording DirecTV or Dish satellite TV on a PC are limited. There are no PC-based tuners like there are for cable or OTA TV. Others have used Hauppauge's HD PVR 1212. I tried that. It's very good for recording from a set-top box via component and optical or analog audio, producing very nice 1080i hardware accelerated H.264 recordings. However, it's painfully inadequate for viewing live TV or timeshifting with limited and clunky Windows MediaCenter or Sage TV support. Another option is the Slingbox Pro-HD. This works exceptionally well for live viewing and timeshifting, and offers placeshifting as well, but there are no workable options for recording Slingbox to the PC. There are some third-party recording applications but none work with the new HD version. Still, Slingbox's SlingPlayer software is so good with its smooth included EPG and IR-blaster remote control, timeshifting and placeshifting, I'm tempted to keep it and only use the AVer TV HD DVR to record occasional shows to the PC. However, the AverTV HD DVR is more than adequate for viewing and timeshifting as well as recording, so it would be smartest to just buy that and be happy.
I'm using the component outputs of my DirecTV HR24-100 receiver into a breakout cable provided by AVerMedia. It's fruitless to try to use the HDMI output due to HDCP which would at least block recording if not viewing. That's not AVerMedia's fault. I might try it later just to verify this. [UPDATE 01/28/11: Well, surprise, I can view, timeshift and record my DirecTV via HDMI into the AVermedia card.] I'm using the R/L analog audio outputs into the breakout cable as well. Very little setup later and the AVerMedia MediaCenter is displaying a 1920x1080 image that matches the raw DirecTV output very nicely. I switched the recording option from the default MPEG2 setting to H.264. I see some complaints that the maximum bit-rate is too limited, but H.264 at 15000 kbps seems excellent. I checked the file properties of the recording and it shows 13,579 kbps for video. Even the running banner on CNN and FOX was rendered and recorded without any stuttering. Note that I have a fairly fast system based on an Intel Core i5-750 and an ATI HD 5770. While rendering live TV the AVerMedia software consumes only 7% of CPU cycles. Turning on timeshifting raises this to 20% at "best" quality. Recording to H.264 uses about 40-45% of CPU cycles at maximum settings and produces excellent recordings. Recording MPEG2 at maximum settings only consumes 20% of cycles but the recording showed some A/V synchronization problems. That might be relieved by other settings. AVerMedia also offers an XVid option for recording which produced a nice recording although the live image became jerky during recording and CPU utilization was 45%. Finally there is an "iPod" recording option producing a 320x240 H.264 recording at about 800 kbps and consumes no more CPU cycles than watching live TV (7%).
Over all the software is stable. I did manage to crash it once after doing a whole bunch of manipulations (changing settings repeatedly) while making the observations in the previous paragraph.
The options for watching and recording DirecTV or Dish satellite TV on a PC are limited. There are no PC-based tuners like there are for cable or OTA TV. Others have used Hauppauge's HD PVR 1212. I tried that. It's very good for recording from a set-top box via component and optical or analog audio, producing very nice 1080i hardware accelerated H.264 recordings. However, it's painfully inadequate for viewing live TV or timeshifting with limited and clunky Windows MediaCenter or Sage TV support. Another option is the Slingbox Pro-HD. This works exceptionally well for live viewing and timeshifting, and offers placeshifting as well, but there are no workable options for recording Slingbox to the PC. There are some third-party recording applications but none work with the new HD version. Still, Slingbox's SlingPlayer software is so good with its smooth included EPG and IR-blaster remote control, timeshifting and placeshifting, I'm tempted to keep it and only use the AVer TV HD DVR to record occasional shows to the PC. However, the AverTV HD DVR is more than adequate for viewing and timeshifting as well as recording, so it would be smartest to just buy that and be happy.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Works pretty well
Came with up-to date software which installed fine. Initial test with the HDMI connection were very favorable. Read more
Published 2 days ago by VC Geezer
2.0 out of 5 stars
Seems like a beta version
I get fairly regular BSODs when using it with windows 7 x64. I tried using it with some non AVerMedia software and found a bug in the x64 driver, I reported it to AVerMedia, and... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Greg C.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hot Item
[The Good]
For those of you wanting to capture game footage or put your face on your gaming stream, this will definitely get the job done. Read more
For those of you wanting to capture game footage or put your face on your gaming stream, this will definitely get the job done. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Carl Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works great, could use a little redesigning.
This card works great, software is a little finicky, but it does work. One port is for hdmi input, and the other is for an adapter supplied that converts the hdmi 5 rca plugs into... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Kaelan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great software - Could be better
I have been using my Video Capture Card for the last 3 days and have been delightfully surprised at its ease of use. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Hogtrough
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Picture I have ever seen in HD on a PC
This product works great with my cable box. My suggestion is to NOT load the CD disk software, but go to their website, (Listed on the CD) and look for the updated software and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bobby Carnicom
5.0 out of 5 stars
excelente
lo
recomiendo
a todas
excelente
gracias
es lo mejor
q me ha pasado
gracias
gracias
gracias
grascias
gracias... Read more
recomiendo
a todas
excelente
gracias
es lo mejor
q me ha pasado
gracias
gracias
gracias
grascias
gracias... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Javier Moreno
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not capturing true HD-Maybe
I need to spend more time troubleshooting but I have not been able to capture an image over 480p. I have been on vacation and not able to do a follow up yet. Read more
Published 2 months ago by David Falk
1.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible in analog mode - factory help is lacking, 2-3 day response...
Not as advertised. works well in digital (HDMI mode) but horrible in analog (s-vid and composite) modes. Read more
Published 2 months ago by john malvaso
3.0 out of 5 stars
AverTV
This product would probably work better in a different PC. The picture while recording was so unbearably lagged and slow that I could not use this product. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michael Arnold
