Component or HDMI capture

[jeffareid]

Is there any PC based hardware to allow capture of component or HDMI video of a hi-definition video?

[jggimi]

I went to our HDTV forum, and looked in the FAQ (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=76655). I found this question:What kind of hardware do I need to start capturing HDTV? Chek (sic) out this list: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=76654

I am moving your thread to that forum, for any further followup.

[morph166955]

saddly no...i went looking a few months ago and i have a viable solution but it requires alot of R&D on my part and i havent had the time or knowledge to do it.

reality right now, for HD you can only do it over the air. Some people have figured out how to pull it via the firewire port on the HD cable boxes, i have no idea how this is done so i wont input on that or even say its possible.

in my book, with the current hardware availible to the public for a reasonalbe cost (NOTE: HD component capture hardwire IS availible, saddly its well over $1500 for the cheapest stuff), is to custom build something similar to the old rf modulators but for ASTC transmissions (or DVB, i dont know whats easier). I have a rough block diagram drawn up of what you need to do it, and i have gotten the first two thirds scematically done (right now it takes a hdmi/dvi input w/ hdcp and outputs it to a raw signal, my choice RGB or YPbPr or a few others pending what chip i end up using in the end, it then takes the raw signal and pipes it to an mpeg2 encoder so that it becomes a mpeg-ts type signal). my problem is finding out how to actually convert that raw signal to an astc signal and pipe that to a coax so that it can be wired into any of the astc cards out there like my fusionhdtv5usb. i have all the paperwork on it but its over a thousand pages and i just havent had the time to sit down and read through it to draw up a step by step on what has to be done from start to finish. That (along with my new software, see the AVC secion of this forum for my post there) are my two pet projects for the summer. My ultimate goal is to sell this box to the population reasonably so that we can do HD to the computers, but i make no promises of accomplishing either a working version or a cheap version...right now to do the hdmi-> raw im looking at about 5 chips but im sure the astc stuff takes alot of chips i know.

Give it 6months, you will see something from someone to do this. Wait till cable cards really come out and ATI's OCUR to be released with Vista MCE and then we will all be happy.

[jeffareid]

pull it via the firewire port on the HD cable boxesAdobe premier can record hi-def from 1394 interface if it thinks there's a camcorder attached. It works with the Sony HC1 camcorder. The manual for the HC1 states that it can only input via the 1394 interface, I may try that.

Should be devices to do this in the near future, as the FCC (USA) shot down the requests for a law banning devices that can record and replay hi-def signals.

[Latexxx]

Adobe premier can record hi-def from 1394 interface if it thinks there's a camcorder attached. It works with the Sony HC1 camcorder. The manual for the HC1 states that it ca

There are PC programs which can record all non-encrypted content from firewire. No matter if it appears as video camera or not.

[jmac698]

There's lots of ways to do this:
a) on-air or QAM, from tuner cards such as DVICO Fusion 5. You can record all OTA (over the air) and some cable channels, unencrypted, of QAM. www.divco.com
b) Firewire. If your satellite/cable box has this connection, you just need a driver for windows xp and a recording applicaiton. The result is in a type of mpeg2 called a transport stream, and there's lots of tools to manipulate that.
www.thegreenbutton.com get the firewire STB (Set Top Box) driver. Install, when you plugin your box, it installs like any other windows device, and is listed like eg DCT64xx avc device.
Then run DCT record (available from eg www.videohelp.com/tools), press play on box (or just tune to a channel), hit record on the app, and the status and numbers start changing, showing the current time/bytes recorded/channel number. Hit stop, the resulting .ts file can be played with hdtv pump dx filter installed, or vlc player, etc.
c) there *IS* a cheap component recording card. It's called the sweetspot.
http://www.pluggedin.tv/s.nl;jsessionid=ac112b1f1f43a9b78ea859c942ada4dec074d7701717.e3eTaxiNaN0Te34Rb34SahmLah50n6jAmljGr5XDqQLvpAe?sc=2&category=19&it=A&id=10
USD $230
d) EVERY tuner card can record component (also camcorder through firewire can be used as a capture card). I know becuase I (re)invented the technique. It turns out that you can trick a composite input connection to record parts of component video, however only one color at a time. In other words, you have to record the same video 3 times (therefore it must be recorded or aired 3 times), then put the 3 togther (which is actually 3 colors) to create the final version.
You need to know about avisynth and be an intermediate computer user. There is no simple tool to do this (at least until pixelinfo filter is finished).

http://forum.doom9.org/archive/index.php/t-107923.html
note: it is also possible to record 480p video with ANY capture card, but I have not explained how to do this.

[guada 2]

Hello jmac698,

Could you confirm that:
note: it is also possible to record 480p video with ANY capture card, but I have not explained how to do this.

:thanks:

[jmac698]

Yes I can confirm this, I have made a cap.

Experiment
Try this; just set your device (DVD, Set Top Box) to output 480p, and observe the result. On two TV's and 2 capture cards I tried, I did see an image, but with a black bar in part of the screen.

How it Works
480p has the same timing as 480i, but almost exactly double speed, so now there's two images on your screen and each is "skinny".

You see, line 1 but half the length, followed by a black line, followed by line 2 at half length, continuing down the (even) lines for 240 lines, then back to the top of the screen on the odd lines, are lines 1-480 of the NEXT (progressive) frame.
111111______222222
1a.1a.1a.1a________2a.2a.2a.2a
3333333______4444444
....
479.479.479____480.480.480

In Practice
Now all that's left to do is unscramble the ordering of the lines, and you have a b/w 480p image.
The key is to combine this with my Component4All technique, which does the cap three times with each of the colors of component. Then put the 3 480p streams together for a beautiful, 480p color picture.

Limitations
There appears to be two limitations.
1) Since the lines are "skinny" you lose resolution. No problem, the C4All Technqiue always doubles resolution, so you don't lose anything in the end.
A source mpeg2 used in satellite and digital cable in many countries only stores half the color pixels, ie a 720x480 image only has 360x240 color pixels, but each color pixel is double wide to make 720. So if we can cap only 360 pixels, we are still reading every color on the line.
2) We are losing the sides of the image. This is true, because the black vertical bar of HSYNC pulses is almost the middle of the screen. I have to explain that at the end of a video line is a blank area of black, and in this black area is a special signal which means, "Start the next line now". Because of the double speed of 480p, now we are able to see this special signal in the middle of the screen, and it takes room and causes some real pixels to get lost.
This could be filled in with yet another cap in 480i with that area only filled in with interpolated pixels from one field, or you can use a setting on your device for "4:3 image on 16:9 TV", which centers the image leaving pillarboxing on the sides. Now you cap the full image.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Well... for std-def component captures you could always get yourself one of these: -

http://www.pluggedin.tv/s.nl/it.A/id.10/.f

It also offers an optional SDI input connection, so with the aid of one of these: -

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/KD-SDI1080P.htm

...you're sorted for loads of input possibilities ;)


Cheers