Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Capturing Component on my Mac

S

Slogan

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 14, 2008
35
0
Hello folks :)

This won't be the first time this has been asked and I have looked around these forums as well as several other places in aid of an answer.

Some threads have been helpful in suggesting products and some haven't (suggesting getting a 'real' computer, for example :D). Others have been irrelevant as I have a Mac Pro and could go down the PCI-card route.

I'm basically wanting to capture content from a component connection. The main uses for this will be my Playstation 3 and potentially Xbox 360 but more importantly, I'm hoping for use with SkyHD+ - which is a subscription tv service here in the UK.

My plan had originally been to get a Hauppauge HD-PVR and using a recent beta from Elgato, for their well known EyeTV software. However, on pricing this up it came to around £220 (£150 on hardware, £70 on software).

That pricing puts me close to the price of a Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro, which I have seen recommended sparingly but understand there may be complications with software as it's focused more towards heavy video editing and working within something like Final Cut Pro (which I do have) or Adobe Premier. BlackMagic Design were a bit unsure/undecided whether it would be suitable with Sky.

Ultimately I'm just asking for advice on what I should do. I figure if I'm spending so much I should get the best possible product I can. The dream option would be an Elgato-branded Component product but I can't seem to find such a thing. Being a willing guinea pig in beta software may be the only way to use EyeTV for this.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Thanks for any help or suggestions in advance.
 
Good luck finding something less expensive, HD capture is expensive. I paid $325 for my Intensity card, and then paid another $900 for the drives in my RAID array (6x750GB @ $150 ea...)

I have an Intensity Pro, and while the software doesn't work like a DVR, and the card won't work with any DVR software, it is pretty simple to use.

The biggest problem is that the video files you will get from recording will be large, even if you select MJPEG compression.

The other thing you might want to consider is that the Intensity will not work for HDMI capture on devices that encode their output such as Motorolla digital cable boxes here in the US. I have no expereince with the Sky boxes, so YMMV over HDMI. Over component I see no reason why you would have any problem.

HDMI capture worked for me on the XBOX 360 and a number of other devices, however.
 
Hello,

Thanks for the reply. I think expense is going to be pretty high but it's probably through choice. I could go down the much popular and less expensive SD route but I just find the quality to be a bit lackluster after the signal finally gets to the device.

Recording space shouldn't be an issue, I'll likely beef up the Mac Pro with 4x1tb drives eventually so I should be covered with that.

You're right about the HDMI out on the Sky boxes, I think it's encrypted from what I've read but the component is obviously fine. A few ways of getting round the encryption with use of HDMI but most of them very messy from a hardware and software angle.

Leaning towards the HD-PVR as an out and out solution. It's not available for another month in the UK but that may be a blessing in disguise given the beta stage of the EyeTV Software.
 
How about something for non-HD content? Like a PS2 or Dreamcast?

Anything that goes into that express34 slot?
 
I plan on getting a similar setup, though I have a 1.5 year old Macbook, Intel C2D 3GM Ram. I want to use the HD-PVR to capture 720p component video via the EyeTV software.

Though I notice my Macbook really gets loud whenever I just watch HD videos on YouTube .. do you think my Macbook will be able to capture and edit HD video? And if not is there anything I can mod on this laptop to help?
 
koobcamuk said:
does it come with all the cables?

I will sell my old hybrid then...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it comes with a breakout cable to receive either composite signal or S-Video.
eloweb_shop_breakoutcable.jpg


I find there's very little input lag, although the lag I notice could be just the external monitor I have attached. I think it's the most elegant and cost-effective way of plugging prev-gen consoles into your computer.
 
Holy thread revival. :D

Quite well timed, I bought a Hauppauge HD-PVR and it arrived yesterday. I haven't got any chance to use it yet but I'll update the thread if anyone wants to know how I get on.

Elgato are running beta software at the moment to support it, given that it's by default, better suited for the Windows platform.
 
Slogan said:
Holy thread revival. :D

Quite well timed, I bought a Hauppauge HD-PVR and it arrived yesterday. I haven't got any chance to use it yet but I'll update the thread if anyone wants to know how I get on.

Elgato are running beta software at the moment to support it, given that it's by default, better suited for the Windows platform.
Click to expand...


Any updates on the performance? Can you watch TV on the mac using the Hauppage without recording?

Thanks!
 
I have EyeTV and the Hauppauge HD-PVR now and yes you can watch and record HDTV on your mac. The EyeTV 3.1 software fully supports the HD-PVR now, no longer is it in beta. It's working great.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheXFrame

That's my YT channel, check all my videos and Watch in HD to see the quality. I'm sure I can get it better with some more tweaking and possibly not importing to iMovie first (that degrades the quality).
 
Khryz said:
I have EyeTV and the Hauppauge HD-PVR now and yes you can watch and record HDTV on your mac. The EyeTV 3.1 software fully supports the HD-PVR now, no longer is it in beta. It's working great.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheXFrame

That's my YT channel, check all my videos and Watch in HD to see the quality. I'm sure I can get it better with some more tweaking and possibly not importing to iMovie first (that degrades the quality).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link.

Quality looks pretty good. I am thinking of getting this setup for my iMac 24" for a second TV in my bedroom. I am surprised that you are able to play video games on the system....I would have guessed that there would be too much lag through the Hauppauge.
 
Well, the way I currently have it set up I don't loop the signal through the HD-PVR. I have my PS3's HDMI hooked up to an HDMI splitter, where 1 HDMI goes back to the receiver and then out to the TV so that's basically PS3 to TV. The 2nd HDMI goes into the HDFury2 unit, which is a device that transfers HDMI video into Component video HD, and from there component cables connect to the HD-PVR - so it's just receiving the signal.

But I did hook up my Xbox 360 to the HD-PVR via component cables and then from the HD-PVR back to my TV and didn't get any lag that way either. So yeah, it can handle it either way.
 
ShermDog said:
Why not try the Blackmagic Video Recorder. Though it's not shipping yet, it's only $149 and will allow you to record from component sources.

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/videorecorder/
Click to expand...

Interesting product, although it wouldn't work with my setup because I'd have to have the mac right next to the output device ( I don't have a laptop). Looking for component capture but using firewire which can be up to 15ft long before data transfer slows down
 
Khryz said:
I have EyeTV and the Hauppauge HD-PVR now and yes you can watch and record HDTV on your mac. The EyeTV 3.1 software fully supports the HD-PVR now, no longer is it in beta. It's working great.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheXFrame

That's my YT channel, check all my videos and Watch in HD to see the quality. I'm sure I can get it better with some more tweaking and possibly not importing to iMovie first (that degrades the quality).
Click to expand...

how does imovie effect the quality? I thought it handled HD footage from HD camcorders?
 
Changepoint said:
how does imovie effect the quality? I thought it handled HD footage from HD camcorders?
Click to expand...

It makes it noticeably worse. I have iMovie 06 HD, which was the first version to support HD - but maybe since it was the first version it isn't as good as say the 08 or the 09 at exporting HD video. My original HD files that I capture look just as good as on my HDTV, but when I export to iMovie, they look worse but still very good.

Sometimes they export and they put black bars on just 1 side of my video when there was none in my original file or on my TV, so it's weird. I'm hoping the 09 iMovie can handle HD content better.
 
Changepoint said:
Interesting product, although it wouldn't work with my setup because I'd have to have the mac right next to the output device ( I don't have a laptop). Looking for component capture but using firewire which can be up to 15ft long before data transfer slows down
Click to expand...

It looks like the step up from composite to component is very steep, at least if you want a firewire connected device:

The first of our ADVC converter line that supports component, composite, s-video input to be converted to DV is the ADVC-700. You can read about that converter here: http://desktop.thomsongrassvalley.com/products/ADVC700/index.php

The ADVC-700 begins our line of converters that are meant for high-end production and broadcast environments, and the price of this device reflects that—it has a list price in North America of $1,999. Though you can find it for a few hundred dollars cheaper from some resellers and online stores, you will not find it for much less than $1,700.

From Sales support
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back