Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder

I bought this product to get around Comcast's software update for my DVR that blocks the use to the firewire connection to capture recorded programs. While this is a solid product and produces great quality video files, the files are in a non-conventional format that no editing software I've found can properly edit. Hauppauge desperately needs to update the drivers and software for the box to allow users to save the captured files in a more conventional .mpg or .avi HD format. The conversion software that comes with the product is all but worthless because it only allows a very limited number of format options, none of which are HD. HD conversion software by Xilisoft ([...]) is a good work around, but adds significant time to the process of editing out commericals and creating full menu DVDs for home use. If all you want to do is capture the programs on your computer and play them back, this product in its current form works well. If you want to actually DO something with the files after you capture them, however, you're better off waiting for an updated version with more conventional file format support.

cheap way to get 1080i video and AC3 5.1 audio from ANY source (satellite box, ps3, dvd player, camcorder) onto a hard drive via a USB connection. I used this and a 1.5tb drive to turn my PS3 into a movie jukebox.
I have not used the timer recordings or remote, hav not needed to.

I bought this box because I save lots of sports events, and I wanted some way to capture and keep them in high definition. The good news is, it does work, and it works on any HD channel, which is a must, since a regular tuner for a video card typically only works on broadcast TV. I have now captured a bunch of events off of ESPN and The Big Ten network in HD, and a few HD movies off of HBO. The ability to do this is like a godsend for me. No longer do I have to archive my favorite sports events in standard definition using old technology.

However, there are some problems. The biggest problem with this device is that the software that comes with it is extremely primitive. You can basically only do two things with it -- capture and convert to .WMV format. Forget about editing. The editing software is worthless. This package would have been much better if there had been a way to convert and edit in one step. As it stands, the editing function is tied directly to the "burn to DVD" function.

This box is also extremely unstable with a VCR feed. I have tried to capture many of my old videotaped events, and I have had all sorts of problems. Any time that the tape skips or bobbles, the box completely crashes, forcing you to unplug it and plug it back in again to get it going. This is an extreme nuisance. If you are planning on using this box to rip all of your VHS collection onto your computer, then forget about it.

One other problem that I had with the software is that the video codecs that came with it screwed up at least one of my games (Fallout 3). I had to turn them off to get the game to play. It wasn't hard to do this once I had found the problem, but it took at least a few hours of troubleshooting to find it.

Still a worthy purchase though, as it's the only device capable of doing what it does. There's a ways to go before I would call this an outstanding product.

I've had this for almost a month now and it's been a fight ever since I first installed it. Sometimes the video is slightly distorted, sometimes I get a memory address error, and sometimes the preview window blinks in and out. Removing it from device manager and rebooting will usually clear it up, but I'm not going through that every time I need to use it.

This is one of those devices that they release too soon and make the public the beta testers for. I've had stuff like that before and I'm returning it while I can still get a refund.

Hooked it up to cablebox and used the loop out, so the signal could be watched on TV. I didn't have a chance to hook it up for a few days, but intended to. Then one day it would no longer pass the signal through, and I tried to install it on the computer but it was not recognized. It seems to have just died, although the power light was on. I'm getting a replacment, but I am not sure if the next one will be any better. Anyone else have a problem like this?