Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Review

The popularity of Youtube shows no signs of fading as people share funny, educational and often entertaining videos. The gaming audience has always utilised the platform as it allows them to share integral gaming moments with a wide audience. Similarly, if you get stuck on a game level, the chances are that someone has completed it and uploaded a walk-through guide. Recording in-game content has never been that straightforward with a wide audience resorting to recording the video with a camera. Many console games do have a 'theatre mode', or similar, but you can't then save that content to a computer or upload it directly to Youtube. The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 is the latest solution to this problem, and has the potential to be a popular device with a very wide audience. The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition records high definition video from either a Sony PlayStation 3 or Microsoft Xbox 360 onto a Windows laptop or desktop PC. It should allow gamers to make video recordings of their best moments in the latest High Definition formats, as well as giving them the option to upload their favorite game videos to YouTube. Technical specifications Hardware encoder H.264 AVCHD high definition video encoder, with record resolution to 1080p Recording datarate: from 1 to 13.5 Mbits/sec Recording format: AVCHD (.TS and .M2TS) plus .MP4 Video down conversion: from 1080p to 720p No delay HDMI passthrough: HDMI in to HDMI out - up to 1080p Component Video in to HDMI out - up to 1080i Input/output connections HDMI in, from HDMI sources without HDCP such as Xbox 360 Component video in, with stereo audio S-Video and composite video in, with stereo audio HDMI output Size: 6 in wide x 6 in deep x 1.5 in high Power: 6V at 1.6 amps Weight: .75lb / .34 kg / 12 oz Bundled software applications ArcSoft ShowBiz, with these features Video capture for recording video game play Trim your videos Upload videos to YouTube System requirements Laptop or desktop PC with 3.0 GHz single core or 2.0 GHz multi-core processor Microsoft® Windows® 7 (32 or 64-bit), Windows Vista or Windows XP Service Pack 3 TV set with HDMI input 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended) Graphics card with 256 MB memory Sound card 220 MB free hard disk space CD-ROM drive (for software installation) The packaging for the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is a vast improvement on the HD PVR Gaming Edition we saw nearly a year ago. It has a cool gaming graphic on the front which highlights the product, explaining that it is possible to record from either Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. The back of the box explains the features in more detail, and explains the new feature which allows for no-delay HDMI video passthrough. Hauppauge include a standard 6V power adapter for this device. Also included is a good collection of cables; including 2 HDMI cables, a USB 2.0 cable and a component cable specifically for the PS3. There is also a fairly short set-up guide, a 'customer letter' from Hauppauge themselves, as well as a CD which includes both the drivers and bundled software. The company bundle high grade USB and HDMI cables with the product, both of which are long enough to travel from console to PC. The PS3 component cable is of a high quality, and all the jacks are colour coded. If you wanted to use a different device other than the PS3 via the component cable, you can, as they have included an adapter and not just one straight cable. The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 has been completely redesigned from its previous incarnation and now looks quite stylish with a black finish. It also features a green LED that lights up 3 sides of the device. On top of the device is a button, which is used to start and stop the capture software. The back of the device features a power socket, a USB socket, an A/V socket, and the HDMI In/Out connectors. The bottom of the device features plenty of holes to allow air to circulate. The device doesn't feature any screws so we didn't take it apart. The capture software by Arcsoft hasn't changed much over the years. The first screen allows you to alter the capture settings (there was no input at this point). For instance, you can save the file as either .M2TS or .TS or .MP4 There are several device options including altering the video standard available from the Device Settings button. There is a large range of options under Format Settings; allowing you to alter resolution bit rates and much much more. Unfortunately, the page is clearly set-up to be viewed on a 1080p monitor as it cuts off the bottom part of the page which has the Apply, Ok and Cancel options. On the edit page you can review and make adjustments to the video you have just captured. While these options aren't that comprehensive in terms of video editing, they give you most of the options that you would want before uploading a video to Youtube, for instance. On the produce page you can create finalised HD files, or upload straight to Youtube (once you have set it up). We tried to test the Hauppauge device thoroughly. The videos on this page are captured from the Sony Playstation 3. We did test with the Xbox 360 as well however, and it worked perfectly. Below are 3 videos captured using the Hauppauge device, all of these were recorded with the default settings. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfj8lxtTgv8'] The first video we recorded was from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. The quality is clearly good, although there is a small freeze in the video after the gun has fired. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRGpl_YHm4Y'] We tried to the use the Hauppauge device as realistically as possible, so I played a 2 v 2 face off match, and while we may have resorted to 'camping' in the one room, it did show the recorded game play is smooth, even if our internet connection wasn't that great. A good test of a device like this is Gran Turismo 5 as it has really high quality graphics and requires smooth rendering. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XD_QqQJt8k'] The quality of this video is certainly good, but there was a definite flicker on several of the menu screens before the race loaded. There are also several freezes visible during the race, which we didn't notice with our Call Of Duty videos. The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is packed with features. It can record in three different formats, all of which can be uploaded to YouTube. It also features a 'no-delay' HDMI pass through, and can downgrade resolutions to 720p or even 420 x 270. Negatively, the maximum capture rate is 30 frames per second. In term of appearance the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 is a significant improvement on the previous version, elegantly designed and somewhat understated, in black. The LED strip is not only functional but gives it a distinct look. The capture button however could be better, it feels rather flimsy and didn't always stop the recording when pressed. The gaming performance is superb when using the HDMI passthrough (only possible with Xbox 360) or using component in to HDMI out (Playstation 3). There is literally no delay or visible lag even when starting to record and you will soon forget that the video is passed through the Hauppauge device before going to the TV. Again this is a significant improvement over the previous version. The fact you can still game at 1080p (or 1080i for Playstation 3) and record at a lower resolution is brilliant as this doesn't compromise your gaming experience and does mean the output files are much more manageable. We do have a few concerns with the recording function. Firstly, the output on the computer is three to four seconds behind that of the live gameplay. This isn't in itself a problem, but when you press the capture button there is a small delay until it starts to record, meaning you could miss a second or two from the start of the gaming session. We tested this device with several games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Gran Turismo 5 and while the captured videos were clearly of a good quality, they aren't quite as crisp and smooth as the original game play. When we recorded from Gran Turismo 5 the menu screens always seemed to flicker slightly ... not a problem on the live content. There are also a few glitches and freezes in the recorded files we captured but this may be isolated to our Windows system. There are a few other concerns with the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition. The software does take a while to load and recognise which resolution is being used... it appears to crash for a few seconds each time. It is going to be difficult to position the Hauppauge box anywhere convenient, as it's always going to have to be close to the TV. As such, you are going to have to get off the sofa, press the button, and then start the game. Why not include a remote with the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition? We aren't impressed that the software is strictly designed for 1080p resolutions. While many gamers will have a 1080p monitor or TV there may be some that don't. Several pop up configuration dialogue boxes will have the lower buttons omitted, if you aren't running at 1080p. You may want to run the computer output to a secondary monitor so that you don't have to keep switching the TV source each time you want to alter a setting or replay game footage. If only the option windows had incorporated scroll bars. Looking into the price of this device AriaPC are stocking it for £142.39 inc vat. This is however, a lot of money, and will only target a select audience with a higher level of disposable budget. Pros Record at 1080p from Xbox 360 or 1080i from Playstation 3. No-delay HDMI passthrough. Easy to set-up software for editing and uploading. Cons Capture button feels cheap. Captured video freezes occasionally. Nearly costs the same as the consoles. Record quality isn't as good as game quality. Requires a computer for game capture. Kitguru says: Well worth a look if you need to record video for Youtube and other platforms. Expensive however.

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Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Review

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