HDMI

[vanchie21]

Ok guys I'm looking to buy a card with HDMI input. What is the cards that sage can support or does it support HDMI input. Interested in feed back here and interested if anyone has done it?

[wayner]

I think your two main options are the Hauppauge Collosus / HD-PVR2 or the BM-1000 type of encoders. I believe the Hauppauge products may not support HDCP connections - but you may be able to get around this with devices that "break" HDCP, which I think used to include HDMI splitter. The HD-PVR2 was not originally supported in Sage but that may have changed.

The BM-1000 don't appear to care about HDCP and are network encoders which many people have come to prefer as you can put them anywhere and "move" them from system A to B pretty easily. See this thread: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63177 You will notice at the end of that thread some discussion of 4K capture. If you are interested in capturing 4K then the newer models may be of interest, but they are much more expensive.

Here is an article on "bypassing" HDCP but it is a few years old. https://www.tweaking4all.com/home-th...p-hdmi-signal/

[vanchie21]

Well I currently have 2 digital tuners for OTA functions, and the cable boxes my cable company have has hdmi outputs, I would just like to be able to use that instead. that way I can separate OTA and Cable hdmi inputs. Thanks for the input too.

[wayner]

I would suggest the BM-1000 tuners, although I have never used one. Several folks are using them. You could also see if you can get an older cable box with Component (YPbPr) outputs and then use the original HD-PVR.

I have exactly what you describe - two cable boxes and an HDHR OTA tuner. The cable boxes have Component outputs connected into HD-PVRs - the original one - model 1212. The other issue with cable boxes is that you need a tuning method - like an IR blaster to change channels on your cable box, or serial or firewire if the box has those inputs.

[Melancholy Man]

I purchased a Hauppauge Colossus capture card and it came up on the list of available sources on Sage TV but it did not work with my DirecTV box. I did not try changing any filters or decoders, so maybe it could work. Does anyone know if it is possible to make a HDMI capture card work with Sage TV? Or is the answer in the settings?

Thank you,

Dan

[texneus]

Colossus HDMI capture works just fine in SageTV. Couple things to try to get it working...

Make sure your STB Output is plugged into the input (not the passthrough) port on the Colossus. Very easy mistake to make. Been there, done that.

Make sure your STB is outputting 1080i or less. 1080p won't work on Colossus and it's not likely your service actually broadcasts that anyway.

Unlike OTA, Colossus encodes in H.264, and if audio in is stereo PCM, it encodes that to AAC. If you haven't already you need setup the proper decoders. If Vista or win7, you can use the built in MS DTV-DVD decoders, otherwise you need to install one (LAV is popular). In setup you need to pick the correct H.264 decoder, and for audio somewhere their is an option to use directshow which should pick up whatever AAC decoder you have (either built in MS ones or LAV). Somewhere there is another "switch" to enable h.264 timeshifting. Turn that on too.

If still nothing you probably have HDCP issues. Link above might help.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by Melancholy Man

I purchased a Hauppauge Colossus capture card and it came up on the list of available sources on Sage TV but it did not work with my DirecTV box. I did not try changing any filters or decoders, so maybe it could work. Does anyone know if it is possible to make a HDMI capture card work with Sage TV? Or is the answer in the settings?

Thank you,

Dan

Most cable boxes use something called HDCP to copy protect their HDMI ports. The Colossus will not record from sources with HDCP. You need to use a device that strips HDCP (many cheap HDMI splitters do this).

Edit: fixed typos- meant to type HDCP, not DHCP.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Tiki

Most cable boxes use something called DHCP to copy protect their HDMI ports. The Colossus will not record from sources with DHCP. You need to use a device that strips HDCP (many cheap HDMI splitters do this).

That's one of the advantages of the BM-1000/3000 devices - they seem to ignore HDCP. Maybe that is one you can only buy them on AliExpress direct from China?

[trk2]

Originally Posted by Tiki

Most cable boxes use something called DHCP to copy protect their HDMI ports. The Colossus will not record from sources with DHCP.

I hate cable boxes that automatically assign IP addresses to HDMI ports.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by trk2

I hate cable boxes that automatically assign IP addresses to HDMI ports.

I hate autocorrect

[reggie14]

My 2 cents: I have a one of the HDMI network encoders discussed in this thread. Specifically, I have a U8 8501H-HDMI-E, which I think is the same thing as the BM3000.

I previously used an HD-PVR with component video. I've never used a Colossus (although I've had one sitting in a box ever since I preordered it). So I can't compare the HDMI network encoder to the Colossus, but I can compare it to the HD-PVR.

The HD-PVR video quality and HDMI network encoder quality both had issues, but in different ways. The HD-PVR video was smooth, perhaps since it actually works on the 59.94 frame rate, but I swear I had issues with ghosting. The HDMI encoder doesn't have the ghosting issues, but does seem a bit more jittery. I'm guessing that's because of the 1080p30 output.

What's the tiebreaker? The HDMI network encoder has been much more stable. The HD-PVR seemed to stall about once a week, requiring me to power cycle the unit. The HDMI encoder has never had problems once I got my issues with OpenDCT worked out.

[wayner]

The other advantage of the HDMI network encoder is that HDMI is preferable to Component video for various reasons - it is nice to have one slimmish cable vs a triple RCA cable -plus optical. I would expect future STBs to not have Component video.

The second thing is that there is a future path here as we are starting to see 4K HDMI network encoders. They are 2X as expensive but if you want to get 4K TV content into SageTV this should work.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by wayner

The second thing is that there is a future path here as we are starting to see 4K HDMI network encoders. They are 2X as expensive but if you want to get 4K TV content into SageTV this should work.

You'll want to do a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether its worth the extra cost of a 4K encoder. Getting in on 4K requires:

• a 4K-capable encoder, about twice as expensive as a non-4K
• a 4K TV
• a 4K/HEVC-capable SageTV client, meaning you can't use an HD300
• a 4k-capable STB
• 4K content, which is awfully sparse as the moment

Further, using 4K with SageTV probably means giving up on HDR, which might actually provide a more noticeable improvement over current HD video streams than the increase in resolution.

My thought is that it probably doesn't make sense to get a 4K encoder until everything else is lined up, or you reasonably expect that it will be lined up imminently. I'm pretty skeptical we're going to see much recordable 4K content in the near future.

[wayner]

I realize all of that Reggie and I don't have a 4K TV yet but I will in the near future.

My cable company does have 4K boxes available and the content I care about, sports, is available in 4K in many instances. This will be the third season that all Toronto Blue Jays home games will be broadcast in 4K, about 3/4 of the Toronto Raptors home games are in 4K and about half of Toronto Maple Leafs home games are in 4K. The is a little bit of other content in 4K as well.

I won't be able to use my beloved HD200/300s but I could use PC clients or AndroidTV devices.

Once I start getting new TVs that will be 4K I want the option of capturing 4K in SageTV.

[vanchie21]

Well thank you all for the info. this has given me alot to look at, and I may be going with colossus sorry for spelling.

[KryptoNyte]

Which cable company provides your cable TV service for the STB's you have now, and are you looking to have premium channels like HBO or Showtime available in Sage?

[wayner]

Originally Posted by vanchie21

Well thank you all for the info. this has given me alot to look at, and I may be going with colossus sorry for spelling.

What are you going to use to get around HDCP?

[Melancholy Man]

Got the Colossus 2 capture card working. Bought a splitter to eliminate the HDCP copy protection and didn't even need it with my DirecTV boxes. Thanks all for your input.

Regards,

[vanchie21]

I am not sure yet on the copy rights thing, and I am not looking for the HBO or any other premium services right now. I will probably use a splitter to eliminate the hdcp protection, But maybe I don't need it yet but we will see.

[KryptoNyte]

What company is providing your cable service