Wide World of Women

Hi guys, I've been capping in SD for awhile and I'm finally ready to take that big step and try to cap in HD, could you please tell me what hardware/software I need to make this happen?

I'll be getting an HD PVR and will be recording from cable. And would it be possible to burn these programs to a disc?

MacBook Pro
Processor: 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

Thanks for any advice

You'll need Elgato EyeTV 3.1 to record the shows to your Mac with an HD-PVR. It's not free either. $80 according to Hauppauge's support page. I recommend looking through their FAQs page if you haven't already: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hdpvr.html

You should definitely be able to burn the programs you record to a disc but you should beware of the size of HD recordings; 1 hour could be as much as 5GB.

Thanks Chris I forgot to mention that I live in Canada, will that affect what I have to buy? And there's a 3.4 version of eyetv out, do I get that one instead? Please be patient with me, if I ask anymore stupid questions?

Do I buy this?
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/H0863 ... TY3ODQ5OTY
or this
http://store.apple.com/ca/product/TR373 ... TY3ODQ5OTY

My main goal is to record HD & SD from my HD PVR, will these do or am I totally off base? Btw this is the HD PVR I'll probably be getting:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/category/sh ... 05fed1en01

Hmmm... When you said HD-PVR, I automatically assumed the Hauppauge HD-PVR, which is what some of the members here use to capture HD broadcasts. Here's the product I'm referring to: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116030

I think I may have thrown myself into a fairly complicated situation. But I'll try to lead you the right way the best I can.

I'll try to make this post as short as possible so I'll list each of my concerns/suggestions in order.

1. That Shaw cable box should be a good start to get HDTV reception.

2. Those two tuners you listed will tune over-the-air HD channels (local channels mostly), but if recording HD cable channels is what you're looking to do (and I'm sure that's what you'd want to do), then these tuners aren't what you want for that particular purpose (otherwise you'd be stuck with dumbed down analog quality video for those channels, but that's another topic).

3. There are a few methods to capture HD cable channels from a cable box to your Mac (or a PC for that matter). One would be to use the firewire method but the cable box you chose does not seem to have a firewire port so we'll exclude this method (I'm not sure if this method can even be done on a Mac anyway). Another method could be to capture the shows through the HDMI port using devices like the ones that Blackmagic Designs and a few other companies make, but I should say that this is a method unfamiliar to me. A third method would be to exploit the "analog hole" with devices like the aforementioned Hauppauge HD-PVR or the AverMedia USB HD-DVR, which capture HD shows through component outputs on the back of your cable box (probably the most practical method).

I need to mention that I'm neither Canadian, nor do I use a Mac. Heck, I don't even use any of the methods I mentioned above to record HD cable channels (I use an ATI DCT on Windows 7 for HD cable channels, and another tuner for OTA channels). But hopefully this is informative enough to get you started.

Thanks Chris for your detailed response

I was wondering does the AverMedia USB HD-DVR have a version for the Mac, I see the version is only for Windows users? And is this what you're talking about?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6815100052 (though it seems its for Windows only )
and is this helpful as well?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... _-15100040


But again thanks for the info to get me started, I'm a little more informed now

Looks like my response wasn't as detailed as I thought since I forgot the AverMedia HD-DVR isn't compatible with the Mac (not that I know of anyway). Good catch!

You listed the Volar Max, which, unless you plan to cap only local over-the-air HD channels (not sure exactly what channels are local in Canada, but that would mean only NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.), then you'll run into the latter issue I mentioned in point #2 from my last post (which means degraded picture quality when capturing cable channels). It's a little perplexing to go into the specifics, but again, that brings me back to the Hauppauge HD-PVR; it is designed specifically to overcome this issue that otherwise you'd have to use a CableCARD tuner for (like my ATI DCT). But CableCARDs aren't in use in Canada.

Honestly, TV tuners and capture devices are really finicky and it's nauseating to go into the pros and cons and the importance of getting the proper device for your particular purposes, especially when it comes to recording digital cable channels in HD. Different cable systems in different regions also play a big part in it but that's another issue I'd rather not go into.

Looks like the Hauppauge HD-PVR is your best bet.

I think you're right, I don't have too many options out there
So if this what I have to buy?
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/ ... 94ac15en02

And do I need anything else to record HD cable channels, because you mentioned EyeTV 3.1 in your 1st post or is the Hauppauge hd pvr all I need for my Mac?

http://download.cnet.com/EyeTV/3000-136 ... 99183.html
http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmen ... -3.en.html

And once again thanks

You've pretty much got it. You'll need to use the Elgato EyeTV software to record shows on your Mac with the Hauppauge HD-PVR.

Hope all goes well!

Hi Chris, I just caught this while searching around Eyetv, it was just released May 24th and I know you don't use a Mac, but since you're more computer/electronic literate than I am I was wondering should I wait for this to be available in Canada to buy or am I better with the Hauppauge and Eyetv?

http://forums.elgato.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7929
http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmen ... t1.en.html
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/24/elga ... e-to-your/
http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-100 ... ?tag=mncol
http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1832 ... TY3ODQ5OTY

See, you're starting to catch on now!

As far as I know, both devices perform the same function, which is to capture high definition video from set-top-boxes through component video outputs. Since the Elgato device is new, I can't say much else about it other than that (especially since I'm not a Mac user), but it's made specifically for the Mac and that's definitely a big plus for you.

I'd go either way, but with the Hauppauge device, you'd have to spend extra for the Elgato software to get it to work on Mac. On the other hand, you could get Elgato's own product that works natively with Macs, but you say it's not currently available in Canada. I don't want to decide for you, so I'll leave the decision to you.

Thanks Chris, for your input Though I did find out the EyeTV HD doesn't record 2 programs at the same time which stinks but I do still find the it attractive to purchase based on it's compatibility with the MAC and with the EyeTV software coming with it. I shall do more research on this but as of right now it looks like we've got a winner

I don't know if this is bad news but will the Hauppauge HD PVR and EyeTV HD end up being expensive paperweights based on this decision even though I live in Canada?

http://www.siliconvalley.com/opinion/ci_15120168

These discussions of blocking the analog outputs have been going on for a few years now. And it's also another problem with me being in the US and you being in Canada as I can't say for sure how or if this will effect you.

I'd suggest asking around at the AVS Forum. They're far more knowledgeable on these sort of subjects than I am. Hope you find you're answers.

I am in the same boat as Kyuubi, making the jump to HD on a mac and looking for an easy way to record/archive and cap clips on a mac.

Kyuubi, could you update us on your decision and how it is working out?

Thanks

Hi , everything's going great now once I found out what I needed, if you've already got your HD DVR, you're all set, I bought the EyeTV HD at my local apple store, it did cost a couple hundred but at least you get the EyeTV hardware included.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1832 ... TY3ODQ5OTY

The only problem with this is the stupid Infrared Remote Control that comes with it, but I manually type in the channel I want to record anyways other than that, all is well.

Remember to get the VLC player if you already haven't as it makes capping your programs easy.

http://download.cnet.com/VLC-Media-Play ... ?tag=mncol

I haven't made the jump to HD yet but am about to, and I've pretty well given up on my old recorder.
So all you bought was the HD reciever box (from your cable or satellite company), and the EyeTV HD box?
I keep hearing people talk about the EyeTV HD and EyeTV hybrid and I'm not really sure what the difference is.

I would love to know what your set up is like with this system and how it is hooked up to your television and computer.
Do you always have to leave your computer on for recordings?
What are the files like, (I have read they can be quite large?) and what format does the recorder save them in.
Is it easy to edit and trim clips, is this done with a third party program or is it built into the recorder?
Like if I recorded a show and then wanted to delete certain parts to create a highlight reel sort of thing.
Anything else I should be aware of when first hooking it up or other extras I may want to purchase?

Sorry for all the foolish questions, I just found out about this from this thread and have been searching around the net for more info and would love to hear some feedback on it.

Sorry about the tardy reply