I am extremely pleased with the performance and quality of this HD Video Capture device. Notice I did not refer to this as an HD "PVR" because I am not using it for time-shifting/timer recording purposes.
I bought this little gem to capture HD video that I'd previously recorded to my internal & external hard drives on Dish Network vip622 satellite PVR/receiver. I'm using the 1212 to "back up" my recordings so that I don't loose my collection should I choose to end my Dish Network service at some point. The recordings I've done so far have all resulted in excellent quality and I cannot detect any degradation in video or audio quality from the original Dish recordings. If you are looking for a device to record HD Satellite ... I highly recommend this HD PVR. For use as a PVR to record live shows or to use as a timer based recorder, I defer to others who have used the device in this manner. Although I am extremely pleased with this device, there are two "cons", 1) the device only comes with a quick start manual, for any other info/help, you are on your own, 2) the price of the device seems very high (probably because there are few competitive devices available). At this price I expected a clear and complete manual for successful operation instead of just a guide to "quick setup".
My HT/PC/AV/Network set up:
- 1212 input is Component video in & toslink (optical) audio in directly from my Dish Network vip622 receiver.
- I am not using the "pass thru" component out or toslink (optical) out (I'm using splitters to route both video and audio directly to the 1212 and my Sony AV receiver.
- 1212 is attached via USB to an MSI Wind Netbook (so definitely the 1212 can be connected to a low end PC) Note: I'm only using the 1212 as a capture device and I move all output to my other high end PCs for any editing, the video files are also moved to my NAS for playback using a Mediagate MG800HD network connected media player that is part of my HT setup.
A few things that I've found to be true of the device as I'm using it:
1. my first attempt at recording was a complete failure because I set the bit rate to max (13.5) variable and tried to record to .mp4 format. The resulting file was filled with artifacts and the audio was only 2 channel stereo. About 5 minutes into the recording, the audio suddenly got out of sync with the video ... bottom line, I deleted the file and tried again.
2. my next several recording all turned out to be perfect, the video was a crisp as the original, and I was able to preserve the 5.1 audio in the original recording. To achieve this I set the recording format to .ts (instead of .mp4), set the bit rate back to the defaults (9.0 constant), turned off "Hardware Acceleration" and "View While Recording". The first two changes effected the settings inside the 1212, the latter two changes I did because I was using a Netbook as my "connected" PC that didn't have enough juice to handle the overhead. Caution: if you use .mp4 or .m2ts formats you will loose the 5.1 audio. Also be aware that recording in any HD format at 1920x1080 like I am doing will require a lot of storage space. Currently I have 5 PCs and a NAS so my network has about 13 terabytes of storage available.
3. All my recordings have been manual and at first I was bothered by the seeming lag when I first started the recordings (clicking capture) but after checking the beginning of the recordings, they actually started the moment I hit "capture". It seems that only "pass thru" and/or the view on a PC shows this momentary lag, it is luckily not part of the recordings themselves. Since I'm not using "pass thru" connections, this is not a problem for me. Once you click "Stop" the file is on your hard drive.
3. I've been very successful at editing the .ts files with a free tool called "Smart Cutter Portable". Using this program I am able to cut out commercials and such while preserving the high quality video and 5.1 audio. the tool does not re-encode the entire .ts file, it only needs to re-encode the start and end frames. Very slick, and recommended as a nice add on for the 1212. Again, I cannot comment on the Arcsoft software that is included because I haven't used it ... I will say though that there are much better (aka more user friendly and feature rich) "free" and "pay" tools available.
I could write a book about this great device, but I won't ... let's just say that if, like me, you are looking for a device that can record from HD satellite sources this is it.
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4.2 out of 5
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659 global ratings
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All it takes is research, parts, and knowledge for this product
I've had the original HD PVR for 5 years now. Well everyone needs to understand regarding compatibility, whether its modern consoles, retro consoles, VCRs, or Digital TV. Let's breakdown the facts.HD PVR is a high-def capture card with Component, Composite, and S-VIDEO Input. It's bundled with several accessories such as the AC Adapter, USB Printer Cable, Installation Disc to name a few. Compatible displays are 480i~480p for NTSC, 576i~576p for PAL, 1080i and 720p.Nowadays this is how I want you to setup your HD PVR.Never use the installation disc that came with the HD PVR, you need to download and install Hauppauge Capture from the manufacturer website while it's turned ON and plugged to USB 2.0 (or 3.0) port because it still works on Windows 8.1. Will it work on Windows 10 next month?You might need a Video Distribution Amplifier (Component, Composite, S-Video?) and its AV cables for a few reasons, you don't have to use the Component Video output on the back HD PVR because what if you have technical problems with your TVs? What if you still don't have an HDTV?Connect a video cable (hooking up a PS2, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, PS3, cable/sat provider) to the distribution amplifier before you connect two more to the TV and HD PVR. That's the way setups should be.However, if you're going to hookup a PS2 to the HD PVR, beware that not all PS2 games are 480i because I've seen a few games that uses 240p in some parts of the game, WWE SmackDown SYM and Namcollection are some of the examples but it'll handle PS2 games fine but not PS1 due to the 240p resolution.Speaking of retro game consoles, you need a used DVD Recorder because it's also an 480p upscaler if I'm gonna record some gameplay footage of the old NES, N64, Super Famicom, Mega Drive, there's already Youtube tutorials for that.
Top reviews from other countries
Nukemaster
Working good for me so far. Easy to setup.
Reviewed in Canada on July 5, 2014Joe
Finally, a product that works to my expectations
Reviewed in Canada on August 27, 2012BARTHELEMI jm
I was most pleased with this converter
Reviewed in Canada on March 31, 2016
