Since the PlayStation 3 utilizes HDCP (or High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) to encrypt its outgoing HDMI signal, using component cables is the easiest method to grab video from Sony’s platform. For HDMI-using Xbox 360 or Wii U owners, setup is as simple as plugging their existing cables into the recorder and connecting the unit to the television with the bundled HDMI wire. The unit’s one enigmatic omission is the lack of optical audio output, which would have been a welcome addition for owners of Surround Sound systems.Īdding the HD PVR 2 into a number of preexisting AV set-ups proved to be consistently uncomplicated. Fortunately, the HD PVR 2’s instruction manual provides a bit of helpful advice (the word “push” on the connector should be facing downward). Pleasingly, most of the PVR 2’s input and output ports provide a relaxed union- save for unit’s component input, which was a bit too taunt and without a trapezoidal connector, presented the possibility of being forced in upside down. Rounding out the list of bundled items is an IR Blaster, which allows the recorder to issue commands to a cable/satellite box or AV receiver. Along with the six-volt power supply, a nine-foot USB and six-foot HDMI cable, the HD PVR box also includes a set of brawny component cables as well as a connector which links them to the recorder’s proprietary video input.
While exhibiting the same secure build quality as the PVR, the successor also provides users with a triangular button atop the device, which is capable of starting and stopping the capture process. Aesthetically, the unit flaunts a more stylish design, with an eye-grabbing hour-glass shaped midsection which communicates recording conditions based of the color of a glowing band.
The capture recorder itself bears a considerably smaller footprint than its predecessor. Opening the PVR 2’s box reveals a wealth of individually wrapped components.
The release of the HD remedies this grievance, while contributing a handful of new features to streamline the capturing process. Last year, we reviewed Hauppage’s 1445 HD PVR, which proved to be a capable unit, with one notable shortcoming – the device didn’t have a HDMI port, which has become the de facto interface for high-definition consoles. Thanks to the introduction of consumer-level equipment developed by firms such as Hauppage Computer Works and Elgato Systems, high-definition video can now be grabbed using affordable, diminutive devices. Not long ago, if you wanted to seize the output of a game console, the sole feasible option was an expensive and bulky professional-level video capture device.
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