Hauppauge Colossus HD-PVR

[Chriscic]

Yea... I mean how many delays were there on the HD-PVR? How many months late did it ship vs. first estimate?

That's a rhetorical question by the way The answers are "several" and "several months."

[wayner]

I believe the non-rhetorical answer is about two months. If I remember correctly it was supposed to ship by the end of Q1 2008 but it actually shipped at the end of May http://hd.engadget.com/2008/05/30/ha...-now-shipping/

[mistergq]

any word if they will be releasing a new driver for HD PVR be able to record mpeg-2?

[mikejaner]

Originally Posted by mistergq

any word if they will be releasing a new driver for HD PVR be able to record mpeg-2?

I believe it's chipset is not capable of recording to MPEG2, so no.

[Chriscic]

Originally Posted by wayner

I believe the non-rhetorical answer is about two months. If I remember correctly it was supposed to ship by the end of Q1 2008 but it actually shipped at the end of May http://hd.engadget.com/2008/05/30/ha...-now-shipping/

Actually as I recall the intial ship date was supposed to be Feb. Of course it doesn't matter, just feeling a*** today I guess

I did read (think on mising remote) that the max bitrate was still 13.5Mbps. Wonder why this is. Not that HD-PVR quality isn't good, but was hoping for more. Since different chipset in the Colossus surprising the ceiling is exactly the same. Guess since they ported over the same drivers.

[sleonard]

I think the bitrate of the USB HD-PVR is artificially limited by either firmware or driver. The chip is capable of much more. (I recall the original '08 CES announcement of 35? or 45? Mbps).

They are probably doing the same thing with the Colossus.


S

[Taddeusz]

They might actually be limiting it so you can't make near perfect recordings. 13.5Mb for H.264 is actually quite good. If you went higher than that you'd be getting into the realm of Blu-ray and I doubt the TV companies want that. 13.5Mb equates to approximately 0.217 bits per pixel which is about 1/2 to 1/3 that of the average Blu-ray. They generally vary between 0.4-0.7 bits per pixel.

[stanger89]

You can throw as many bits at TV recordings as you want and you'll never "come close" to Blu-ray. The problem isn't the HD PVR it's the source.

[SHS]

stanger89 that so ture but you still can't get it though heads there is major diff.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by stanger89

You can throw as many bits at TV recordings as you want and you'll never "come close" to Blu-ray. The problem isn't the HD PVR it's the source.

Nonsense.. bigger numbers are ALWAYS better.. that's why I always convert my 5Mbps H.264 streams from Dish network to 20Mbps H.264 to improve the quality......

[wrems]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Nonsense.. bigger numbers are ALWAYS better.. that's why I always convert my 5Mbps H.264 streams from Dish network to 20Mbps H.264 to improve the quality......

[rrhorer]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Nonsense.. bigger numbers are ALWAYS better.. that's why I always convert my 5Mbps H.264 streams from Dish network to 20Mbps H.264 to improve the quality......

Of course, you are right. Upconversion, done right (or even half right), will add pixels in a way that purposely deceives our eyes into seeing an much improved image. The arguement that missing information (i.e., pixels) cannot be created form thin air (OTA for some) is simply not true -- it's a matter of how the new information is created. And, whether it will approach Blue Ray quality is a matter of individual perception. I have to put on glasses just to enjoy DVD quality; so, anything more than a 5Mbps H.264 would probably be wasted on me.

[stanger89]

We're not talking about upconversion.

[rrhorer]

Sorry; I thought Fuzzy was.

[tvmaster2]

any more release date rumors? I noticed Hauppauge products going on sale a lot lately . . . making way for the new card?

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by rrhorer

Sorry; I thought Fuzzy was.

Not seriously.

[rrhorer]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Not seriously.

Don't I feel like a dumb a__. I did understand their point and agree with it - it doesn't make sense to record at a higher bit rate if there's no more info to record. What I completely screwed up was your response. For me to understand, you'll have to be less subtle and not use humor. Ah, what the he__, if you ever get to Fountain Hills, Arizona, I will buy you a beer. Just forget I ever made this dumb reply.

Riley

[Chriscic]

Originally Posted by stanger89

You can throw as many bits at TV recordings as you want and you'll never "come close" to Blu-ray. The problem isn't the HD PVR it's the source.

??? You can make the source Blu-Ray itself if you like.

[stanger89]

Huh? Why would you do that?

[jptheripper]

Okay back on topic. I have seen a couple of blogs where beta testers have prototypes working in sage. Anyword on the stability vs. HD PVR?