Hauppauge WinTV-PVR ... looking for comments

[FulciLives]

Hello :)

I'm looking for a video capture card that has analog inputs and can handle both NTSC and PAL video.

Doing some snooping around I have found the following product that seems to me to be very interesting:

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR (PCI card)
Here is some info from the Hauppague (http://www.hauppauge.com/index.htm) web site:

WinTV-PVR-pci includes:
125 channel cable ready TV tuner
Composite/s-video input to connect to VCR or camcorders
High quality MPEG2 video and audio encoder
dbx-TV stereo decoder (Nicam stereo decoder in Europe)
FM stereo radio receiver
IR remote control


MPEG record specifications:
MPEG1 record at 1150K bits/sec (video CD data rate)
MPEG2 record datarates: 2MBit/sec full D1 and half D1, 4MBit/sec full D1 CBR (constant bit rate) or VBR (variable bit rate), 6Mbit/sec full D1 CBr or VBR, 8Mbit/sec full D1 CBR or VBR, 12Mbit/sec full D1 CBR or VBR
NTSC format* at 29.97fps: Full D1: 704x480, Half D1: 352x480, MPEG1: 352x240
PAL format* at 25fps: Full D1: 704x576, Half D1: 352x576, MPEG1: 352x288
Audio sampling: 32, 44.1, 48 KHz
Chroma sampling: YUV 4:2:0
Video file format: .MPG
MPEG file tested compatible with: MediaStudio 6.0, MyDVD and DVD MovieFactory DVD authoring applications

* The WinTV-PVR-pci has a TV tuner for either PAL or NTSC (specific to your region). Composite or S-Video inputs can be from either PAL or NTSC.

Here is the direct link to the WinTV-PVR Datasheet page:

http://www.hauppauge.com/html/wintvpvr_datasheet.htm

I like this product because it can capture direct to MPEG2 with Hardware encoding but according to the web site it can also capture in AVI format. So, if I'm not mistaken, that means you can capture using ANY video codec such as the popular Huffyuv. At least I think this is correct. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyways, in short, I was wondering if anyone has one of these and can perhaps comment on it.

I would like to use it for video capture with the final outcome being the creation of a DVD-R (don't have one yet but will probably get the Pioneer A04/104). My captures will be analog video input (some VHS and S-VHS tapes, LaserDiscs and direct cable feed for TV recording). I'm looking mostly for MPEG2 DVD creation to back up my large collection of rare (and in many cases import) videos so quality is what I am after. But for TV recording I might try DivX 5.x since I've fooled around a bit with that format for making back-ups of ripped DVD Videos. Since this device says it can capture AVI I am assuming I can make DivX files from my captures.

Thanks in advance for any comments!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Some of the old videos I intend to copy have copy protection on them. I have heard that some capture devices strip this while other's are affected by it. Anyone knows how this product handles videos with copy protection aka Macrovision?

[dergenski]

Hi, I have one of those and its not that bad. It does record directly to mpeg2 but you are limited on settings. (full until about 4 mbits then down to half and u cannot ajust the audio quality 224 i think). just remember to use the latency patch for via motherboards else it could cause stuttering video.

It does not like my new dual athon system but works fine on my dual P3 and works great on single CPU systems.

It does capture avi upto 720x480 and on a 1900+mp it takes up about 80% of 1 processor to do divx at 640x480 (slowest no other settings).

I would recommend for your purposes only if your video sources are extremely clean. It does make decent TV captures but works best with DVD like broadcasts(digital TV).

I hope that helps

[fisix]

same comments as above. if you have the disk space, i'd consider just getting the wintvgo ($50) and capture to disk using huffy. best quality, much better than what the card puts out using the onboard mpeg2.

you can buy a really nice, big hard drive for the price difference.

-fisix

[FulciLives]

Hello :)

If I understand it correctly, the WinTV-PVR can record the same as the WinTV-GO in that you can record with Huffyuv or whatever other codec you wish to use BUT that the WinTV-PVR also allows you the option of Hardware MPEG2 since it adds MPEG2 hardware encoding which the WinTV-Go lacks.

Otherwise aren't they more or less the same?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[fisix]

yes, that is the only difference, but i don't think you will ever use the on board mpeg2 capture because the quality isn't nearly as good as capturing directly to huffyuv or just raw video. in my experience, the hardware mpeg2 quality was just too poor, so i paid extra for something i never use.

maybe it might be worth it to get the fm radio upgrade instead of just the wintv go (my pvr also has an fm radio), but if you are more concerned with quality i'd just get the wintvgo and capture to huffy.

so, to summarize:

if you don't care about fm radio, and have the disk space to capture to huffy, get the wintvgo $50

if you want the radio, get the wintvfm (or wahtever its called), i think it costs $80

if you want a remote AND the fm radio, then i would consider getting the PVR over the wintv theater because i've heard it's hard to get proper sound from the wintv theater to work in third party software, which is most like what you will use to capture.

if you really need a bad looking hardware mpeg2 solution, then i guess get the pvr.


don't buy any USB based solutions, only PCI.

-fisix

[fisix]

one thing, i don't know for sure if the wintv go does stereo sound. the hauppauge website says no, but i think the wintvgo i use does. i know the pvr i have does. stereo sound is something worth paying for.

-fisix

[n00b]

ello

nope go only use mono, the wintv model 747(europe) is nice :)

[lark]

did i understand you correctly:
you want a card that can handle BOTH ntsc AND pal?

does hauppauge really support this?
are there any cards that do?

regards
t :)

[fisix]

most cards can handle pal and ntsc input and output, just not on the channel tuner input (cable tv connection). you have to use the composit or svideo input.

-fiz

[lark]

yep, that's what i meant.
the tuner on the card is normally EITHER ntsc OR pal
and won't be able to handle both...

regards
t :)

[mclare]

do not under any circumstances get this card ....

the video capture quality is crap even at the highest bit rates...
the card captures video that is oftern too sharp and too high a contrast so the video can look like an unsharp mask has heavily been applied to it.

It cant handle fast motion scenes at all well the picture breaks up into squares.

it is too limiting in what can be altered and the video capurered is not compatable with most programs and has to be recompresed via a little program suppled to be vcd compatable. this takes longer that
what cinemacraft takes to compress an avi file at full res to mpeg2.

The list just goes on and i have this card and dont use it.

I use a pinnacle mjpeg dc10+ to capture full quality to avi and then convert this to what ever is needed and it gives far better quality.

If you want mpeg2 capture i've heard of the dazzleII DVC pci card and its supposed to be better then the hauppage.

that siad also i have heard good comments about the wintv pvr 450 from hauppage aswell.

[dergenski]

I dont agree completely with you, I will admit the direct to vcd compatable recording is not good in any capturing environment(to many blocks) but when capturing at 12mbits it is like looking at the original broadcast. It mainly has to do with the source and the latency on your motherboard. before installing the via pci latency patch on my board, the recorded video would skip(i think it did not encode the b frames right). After installing the patch, i have had no problems.
y would u capture directly to vcd anyways? It always seems to work better if i capture at an extremly high quality then use tmpg or something to create a vcd compatable stream. That way i can tweak the filters. They always seem to come out better this way.