Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition

The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition ($169 direct) is a video capture device designed specifically to grab game footage for reviews, guides, Let's Play videos, and, well, good old fun. This add-on box boasts both HDMI and component video inputs and can capture video from all three major video game consoles, and most devices with a component video output. While easy to use, the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition suffers from the limitations of HDMI encryption, and you'll need to compromise to record PlayStation 3? game footage.

Design
The HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition has a significant design makeover compared with past Hauppauge capture devices. It's a sleek, rounded black square with an hourglass profile highlighted by a bright strip at its narrowest edge. On the top of the device, there's a triangular capture button which deposits captured footage to an attached computer. Around back, there's a power port, a USB-B port, a component video port, an HDMI input, and an HDMI output, which provide everything you need to capture video from your PlayStation 3, Xbox 360?, or Nintendo Wii. It also comes with two HDMI cables, a PlayStation 3 component video cable, and an adapter to connect component video and RCA audio cables.

The PVR works on a passthrough system. It connects to your computer through the USB port, and outputs all video directly through its HDMI output, whether it's a component or an HDMI input connection. This lets you run your systems normally (with one major caveat, explained below), and still have the video appear on your monitor as you capture.

Hauppauge includes ArcSoft Showbiz with the HD PVR 2, albeit a slightly older and less advanced version of the current Showbiz 5 software. It provides all the tools needed to capture video from the PVR and edit clips with relative ease. The controls are simple, with a large Capture tab and a small handful of frequently used options displayed (with more advanced options hidden in nested menus). The Capture window shows the video from the device to which the PVR is connected, along with sound. You can easily switch between three commonly used video formats, and alter settings like bitrate to adjust the file size and picture quality to your liking.

You can't play games through the software, though. The Capture window suffers a lag of a few seconds, so you need to watch your HDTV with the input set to the PVR itself to see the game while you're playing it. Fortunately, the PVR lights up solid green when you're recording, and combined with the Record button you can control and monitor your video capture without looking at your monitor.

HDMI Issues
Unfortunately, the HD PVR 2 has a very large issue, and that's with HDMI encryption. The PlayStation 3 encrypts its HDMI connection (as do most stand-alone Blu-ray players) to protect movies played through its integrated Blu-ray player. This means the PVR can't capture through HDMI; you need to use the included component cable and set the PlayStation 3 to output through component video at 1080i resolution or lower. The Xbox 360 doesn't have such a problem, and you can capture up to 1080p video through an HDMI connection. This means you have to endure a slight quality drop with PlayStation 3 video, and change the settings on the system each time you want to switch back to 1080p output through HDMI directly to your HDTV. The HD PVR 2 supports composite and S-video for older, retro game systems and devices, but those inputs require an optional $15 cable. It's worth grabbing if you want to record some classic 8- or 16-bit video games.

Good Video, Even Over Component
I recorded the first level of Double Dragon Neon, an excellent brawler for the PlayStation 3. At modest MP4 settings, the PVR recorded very good video that, despite the occasional compression artifact, showed most fine details in a 6-minute, 200MB video file. The file sizes certainly seemed more manageable than footage grabbed from computer games in PC-only capture software FRAPS, which makes them easier to edit on most computers as well.

The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 gaming Edition is slightly pricey and suffers from HDMI limitations with the PlayStation 3, but it's flexible and simple to use. If you want to make Let's Play videos, reviews, or other projects that require recording your games, this is a valuable tool. Just be prepared to make some compromises if you want to record PlayStation 3 video, and to spent a little extra money if you want to record retro games.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/LycKS4Ts85I/0,2817,2411777,00.asp

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