Best Capture Device for OTA?

[perato]

I would like to install an over-the-air digital tv capture device into my desktop computer which runs archlinux. Currently, the best option I can find is the Hauppauge HVR-2250, which has a hardware MPEG 2 encoder. I could try an HDHomeRun but that has no hardware MPEG 2 encoder and the quality of the OTA tuner is questionable. I would like to stream the recordings to my PS3 so that I can watch it on my television instead of my computer. (I would like to avoid building/buying another box, if possible). If anyone has an HVR-2250 or an HDHomeRun, can you please post short sample recordings (~20 seconds) somewhere or provide links to such sample recordings so I can test if they will play on a PS3? Also, will such capture devices work with an Athon64 3000+?

[mikeh]

Not sure I follow your comments on the HDHomeRun. Especially if all you want is OTA reception.

I have found the tuners on it to be excellent (from a signal strength standpoint). Also all the OTA broadcasts are MPEG2 streams by default by the Networks. The HDHomeRun just saves that stream to disk. So it doesn't have an MPEG2 encoder since it doesn't need it. The Hauppauge you mention has the mpeg2 encoder for capturing standard analog cable tv and for capturing with the s-video/composite ports.

So the HDHomeRUN is excellent if all you want is ATSC OTA, or clear QAM digital cable.

But if you want the added ability to do standard analog cable or svideo/composite that the HVR-2250 gives those extra features.

With ATSC OTA or clear QAM you are literally just taking the broadcast MPEG2 and streaming right to disk. No re-encoding is needed.

I will upload a small 13 second clip I just grabbed live with my HDHomeRun. This is just the live MPEG2 stream saved to disk. It is about a 26.5MB HD Mpeg2 stream. It was the first HD broadcast I saw, and I just grabbed whatever was being broadcast at that moment. This is a 720P broadcast.

I have had an HDHomeRun for a couple years now. I have used it with MythTV, EyeTV, and even Windows Media Center. It has worked well in all cases. Never had any issues with missed recordings due to the HDHomeRun. It has worked great.

Here is a link to the HD mpeg2 sample

http://www.hillsoftware.com/csi-ny.mpg

No idea on what formats the PS3 supports, but I have to suspect it supports MPEG2.

[mikeh]

Just noted your last question.

Your CPU is fine for the HDHomeRun since you are doing no encoding at all. Just saving the live stream. Should be the same issue with the Hauppauge also.

I have used a similar PC with mine to record two HD streams while watching a third pre-recorded HD stream.

[perato]

Thanks for the reply, mikeh. I tested your sample clip and it played on the PS3. If you have time, can you post a sample clip of a stream in 1920x1080i? I tried sample clips from the Hauppauge PVR-1212 (before I realized it can't connect to an antenna) and have had mixed results on the PS3 using different clips from different websites.

My concern about the HDHomeRun's OTA tuner quality stems from discussions on the http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1020956 and http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewto ... 59284c80ed forums. The problems seem to be related to a certain firmware version of the HDHomeRun.

[mikeh]

Well those threads talk about older versions than the current version. I am using 20091024 version now. I have upgraded off and on during the years I have had it. I don't check often for updates, but when I notice one I do it. I have probably done 3-4 updates over the couple years I have had it.

A nice thing about the HDHomeRun is the support silicondust offers, and the frequency they work on the firmware. I think you will find people with reception issues, ota issues, and capture issues with pretty much any device. I think you will be happy with either the HDHomeRun or the Hauppauge you mention.

Here is a 1920x1080i sample linked below. Not a lot of HD on this late as night. So this is a local PBS broadcast. It is 1080i, but since it is PBS they also have other sub-broadcasts on the channel. So the bitrate is a little lower since they spread it out for the sub channels. But it should be fine for your testing.

http://www.hillsoftware.com/masterpiece.mpg

[Patrick]

I have an HDHomerun and highly recommend it. I use it for QAM but hear very good things about for OTA. I'm going to talk about some of the extra features I've just learned about in the next episode.

[perato]

mikeh, I tried that 1080i clip and the video worked but not the audio. It appears to be in stereo, both the PS3 and vlc identify the file as having 2 channel audio, but the audio is silent. It seems to be the same audio codec as the 720P clip, which played fine.

[mikeh]

Thats my fault. I had a script running that takes a recorded file (once the recording stops) and converts it down to a lower rez and bit rate for syncing to my Droid. The file I sent you by accident was one the script had created as a temp file. It muxes it into a video and audio stream, and I accidentally uploaded the video only mpeg.

Here is another from late night with fallon on NBC. This is the original hdhomerun raw cap.

http://www.hillsoftware.com/fallon.mpg

[yoyoned]

I have a HDHomeRun and have been very happy with the results capturing OTA. I rum myth on a Semperon 3000 with no problems.

[eddie]

Nice to see an ad mention mythtv compatibility:

http://www.frys.com/product/5841743?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG

Silicon Dust HDHomeRun "One Box, Two Digital Tuners, Anywhere on Your Network"
Silicon Dust:
FRYS.com #: 5841743
One Box - Two Digital Tuners - Anywhere on Your Network / Dual Digital Network Attached Tuner Device / Watch - Pause - Record Digital and HD Content from Over-the-Air and Cable from any computer on your home network system. Cross OS Compatible with Windows / MAC / Linux. Total Media DVR software included. With HDHomeRun, you can receive all unencrypted DTV and HDTV content delivered by your cable provider, even if you don?t have a ''digital cable'' package. With HDHomeRun and an antenna, you can get HDTV broadcasts in your area.

[marc]

I've been using the HD Homerun for over a year. All I can say is that I've not bought a better piece of equipment for my HTPC.

OTA is excellent. Reports to the contrary must be dealing with other factors affecting reception that would hurt any other capture card.

[eddie]

I am using over the air also. You could write a book on all the homemade antennas there are on the web. Most of them I ended up tweaking to allow them to work better. A lot of stations are starting now to use the internet to save on energy costs from not having to run a transmitter. There are some ham operators that are relaying their own tv. Getting content will be interesting this next year.

[perato]

I decided on the HVR-2250. It was slightly cheaper than an HDHomerun and has analog inputs accessible in Windows XP, which I can dual boot. Although kernel 2.6.32 detected the card and I can see it in lspci, there was no /dev/dvb/adapter0 directory. I followed the directions at http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Haupp ... V-HVR-2200 and both digital tuners in the card are now accessible to mythtv. I'm currently using archlinux with mythtv from the extra repository. The only minor problem is that udev takes an extra 11 seconds when booting up the computer now.

Using the card in mythtv results in an mpg file which I can stream to a PS3 with ps3mediaserver. However, using Hauppauge's WinTV software in Windows XP results in an mpeg transport stream file which doesn't stream as well to a PS3.

Reception in norheast NJ isn't too bad, although it is dependent on the weather. I moved my Channel Master DB2 antenna to the second floor and installed cables from the antenna to all TVs and to my computer. Reception is usually fairly decent although a few channels I hardly ever watch are somewhat flaky.