Hauppauge WinTV HD PVR (H.264) screenshot and pre-order link

[mayamaniac]

I can't wait till someone or Brent gets the HD-PVR and do a full review of it with SageTV.

I just tried the two HD-PVR clips from ftp://ftp.shspvr.com/download/moive_clip/hd_pvr_clip , but neither plays on the HD Extender nor the SageTV Clients. I'm using 6.4.3 and latest beta firmware on the HD-100. Is there anything I have to do first to get them to play?

[Brent]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

I can't wait till someone or Brent gets the HD-PVR and do a full review of it with SageTV.

I just tried the two HD-PVR clips from ftp://ftp.shspvr.com/download/moive_clip/hd_pvr_clip , but neither plays on the HD Extender nor the SageTV Clients. I'm using 6.4.3 and latest beta firmware on the HD-100. Is there anything I have to do first to get them to play?

mayamaniac,
those two clips are working fine for me on the HD100 extender. What firmware and SageTV versions are you using?

I'm using SageTV 6.4.3.171 Windows Version
STX100 firmware 20080519 0(although the test files worked in the previous beta version as well)

My client PC has trouble with the audio, but video works well.

[Brent]

In the spirit of sharing, I thought I'd share this excerpt from an e-mail I received from Hauppuage this afternoon in response to my question an hour before (really quick response) on when my order of the HD-PVR might be shipped out.

Originally Posted by e-mail from hauppauge

Thank you for your order for the HD-PVR. There has been a slight delay in the manufacturing of this product but we expect to be able to ship your order by the end of next week. At that time, you will be receiving UPS tracking information from QuantumView at the close of business on the day your order ships.

I'm in the second group based on the prior e-mails from Hauppauge and mine is set to ship out by the end of next week. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict my HD-PVR will be shipped out either this coming Friday or Tuesday. Hope I'm right - I'm very ready for this thing even if it is a little buggy to start......

By the way, on or near the date of shipment of these things, I'll have a post on my blog attempting to answer as many questions as possible regarding the HD-PVR. I've accumulated quite a list of Q's as well as Answers. If anyone has any questions on their mind I should address let me know here or by PM'ing me.

[karpodiem]

Originally Posted by Brent

In the spirit of sharing, I thought I'd share this excerpt from an e-mail I received from Hauppuage this afternoon in response to my question an hour before (really quick response) on when my order of the HD-PVR might be shipped out.



I'm in the second group based on the prior e-mails from Hauppauge and mine is set to ship out by the end of next week. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict my HD-PVR will be shipped out either this coming Friday or Tuesday. Hope I'm right - I'm very ready for this thing even if it is a little buggy to start......

By the way, on or near the date of shipment of these things, I'll have a post on my blog attempting to answer as many questions as possible regarding the HD-PVR. I've accumulated quite a list of Q's as well as Answers. If anyone has any questions on their mind I should address let me know here or by PM'ing me.

Brent, do you happen to have ESPN HD your home? I would love to see how this thing fairs with recording HD sports.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by karpodiem

Brent, do you happen to have ESPN HD your home? I would love to see how this thing fairs with recording HD sports.

Slightly OT, but I noticed the past few weeks that Comcast has been sending ESPNHD and AEHD to my house in the clear, my HDHR can pick them up. Wonder how long that will last

[Brent]

Originally Posted by karpodiem

Brent, do you happen to have ESPN HD your home? I would love to see how this thing fairs with recording HD sports.

I do happen to have ESPN HD. Sports is one of those things I'm most looking forward to with this thing.

I'll be sharing my experiences with it as soon as it arrives. I'm guessing that on ship date there will be a lot more information released on it as well.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by m1abrams

Slightly OT, but I noticed the past few weeks that Comcast has been sending ESPNHD and AEHD to my house in the clear, my HDHR can pick them up. Wonder how long that will last

If only I could get that. I used to have several channels like that in the clear (QAM) but alas Time Warner now leaves me with only the local channels.

[jrog]

Originally Posted by m1abrams

Slightly OT, but I noticed the past few weeks that Comcast has been sending ESPNHD and AEHD to my house in the clear, my HDHR can pick them up. Wonder how long that will last

Didn't check for that, but yesterday I got a letter from Comcast that they were moving more analog channels digital only, and they were reducing ESPNHD, DiscoveryHD, MojoHD, TNTHD down to the basic digital HD tier, instead of making me pay an extra $12 a month just to get those channels. The only one left in the extra tier is National Geographic HD. Doesn't make much sense to me. I'm in the Boston area market.

[Paranoid666au]

Brent. My main question would be AC3 5.1 though the optical in. Would that be up to the software on the PC?

[jrog]

Originally Posted by Paranoid666au

Brent. My main question would be AC3 5.1 though the optical in. Would that be up to the software on the PC?

All indications so far, are that the hardware encoder chip takes the digital bitstream coming in and embeds it with the video without altering it. That way, if it's 5.1 coming in, it's 5.1 coming out, unaltered.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Paranoid666au

Brent. My main question would be AC3 5.1 though the optical in. Would that be up to the software on the PC?

Originally Posted by jrog

All indications so far, are that the hardware encoder chip takes the digital bitstream coming in and embeds it with the video without altering it. That way, if it's 5.1 coming in, it's 5.1 coming out, unaltered.

I think jrog is correct. 5.1 is NOT yet supported in Arcsoft, the software that comes with the HD-PVR although Hauppauge has said it will be eventually. They haven't come out and said it, but I think 5.1 will depend on the software which means SageTV with the HD-PVR should handle 5.1 just fine I think.

Great question by the way and it's already on my Q&A draft post

[sleonard]

From a few recent posts at AVS forum I'm guessing that it is the driver software that doesn't yet support 5.1. If so, then Sage will not be able to overcome this until Hauppage addresses this in a future driver release.

S

[Brent]

Originally Posted by sleonard

From a few recent posts at AVS forum I'm guessing that it is the driver software that doesn't yet support 5.1. If so, then Sage will not be able to overcome this until Hauppage addresses this in a future driver release.

S

Just saw that post on AVS forum - looks like we'll have to wait for 5.1 unfortunately.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by Brent

Just saw that post on AVS forum - looks like we'll have to wait for 5.1 unfortunately.

This just kind of rubs me the wrong way. I don't mind beta testing a work-in-progress product like SageTV. But it really irritates me when a company releases a product essentially unfinished. Pass-thru 5.1 AC3 audio should be supported right from product release. Not when they feel like it's ready. The product should be released when the drivers are fully functional.

Based on what I've gathered from the test clips that have been passed around the audio is actually converted to 2 channel AAC and not AC3 as is indicated in that post. Maybe that is configurable in the driver or maybe that was another unfinished thing they were working on.

Nonetheless, I get the distinct impression that this is an unfinished product being rushed to market. This makes me glad that I didn't order one and will wait till it is feature complete before doing so.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

I get the distinct impression that this is an unfinished product being rushed to market. This makes me glad that I didn't order one and will wait till it is feature complete before doing so.

I'll be shocked if there aren't several little things like this and some bugs in the functionality with SageTV and BTV. Yes those of us early adopters will be basically doing the larger beta testing for Hauppauge, but I for one am willing to do so as long as it gives me the basic functionality I need and as long as it is updated fairly quickly. If you're not the early-adopter/beta-tester type, this device will probably not be for you. Just my early opinions since we don't have it in our hands yet....

I still can't wait to get mine.

[BFisher]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

But it really irritates me when a company releases a product essentially unfinished.

However, look at all the fuss created here when they missed their goal date by a couple weeks. They are doing their best to meet both expectations, and as long as they feel it's something that can be fixed in field, it doesn't surprise me they opted for a "get it out there and we'll update everyone in a couple weeks" approach. That's one of the benefits of a LAN connection on a box like that...

[othy]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

Nonetheless, I get the distinct impression that this is an unfinished product being rushed to market. This makes me glad that I didn't order one and will wait till it is feature complete before doing so.

I agree and I'm not too thrilled at the thought of essentially paying to be a beta tester. Of course, I understood that would be the situation when I pre-ordered.

Here's how I look at it (or rationalize it, depending on your perspective!): I can't get non-OTA HD content any other way. So for me, HD content with 2-channel audio is better than no HD content

Tim

[CanadianEh]

Originally Posted by othy

Here's how I look at it (or rationalize it, depending on your perspective!): I can't get non-OTA HD content any other way. So for me, HD content with 2-channel audio is better than no HD content

Tim

I agree with this as well... I'd rather have HD channels with sub-par sound options instead of no cable-based HD channels at all

[karpodiem]

slightly OT as well, but I would have to say between this and the 3G iPhone, I haven't been more excited about a consumer electronic device in years.

[jrog]

Originally Posted by karpodiem

slightly OT as well, but I would have to say between this and the 3G iPhone, I haven't been more excited about a consumer electronic device in years.

well, the iPhone, and 3G version for that matter, are just evolutionary devices. I have an iPhone, and love it, so don't get me wrong, but it's just the same thing we've had for a long time, but better.

IMO, the HD-PVR is much more revolutionary, as people have talked for years about being able to build a Tivo or DVR or whatever that can record Component HD Video, easily and at a price that's reachable for the masses, and it simply hasn't existed. This is the first of it's kind, and hopefully other companies will produce similar products as well.