Manufacturer: Hauppauge
PC System Requirements: Windows XP SP 2/Vista/Win 7 (Windows Media Player not supported), 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU or better, 256 MB graphics card or better, CD-ROM drive for installing the HD PVR software, an available USB 2.0 port
MSRP: $199.00

They say there’s nothing good on TV, but I know a lot of people who have that one favorite show that they just can’t miss. And then there are console gamers who, much like their PC cousins, feel the need to post their gameplay videos on YouTube. While these two scenarios seem very different, one piece of hardware strives to do them both right, and do them in high definition: the Hauppauge HD-PVR.

This small piece of hardware boasts the ability to record your favorite Xbox, Playstation and television moments in HD with minimal difficulty. The HD-PVR connects to your equipment with easy-to-use component cables. I tested it with a television, consoles, and even my cheap combination VCR/DVD player, and it had no problem grabbing the video and audio I wanted. I imagine that as long you can find a way to connect it to something, the PVR can easily record the media in question.

Unlike recorders such as TiVo, which include a hard drive, the HD-PVR must connect to a PC. Installation of both the drivers and the accompanying Arcsoft software bundle is required. In fact, you really want to follow the directions step-by-step during installation. I failed to do so, resulting in an unnecessarily long installation time. While some might see being required to use a PC as an inconvenience, I found that using a laptop was fairly easy and a good, portable solution.

The unit’s video quality is just as advertised. DVDs I created were good looking, and the game footage I caught was also pretty good. Since I don’t own a TiVo myself, it was pointless for me to create comparison videos and post them to YouTube; however, having seen a substantial number of videos TiVo’ed in the past, I can say that the quality is comparable.

I can’t say that I have any substantial complaints about the HD-PVR hardware; the Arcsoft software is a slightly different story. The bundle records the video onto your PC and provides some rudimentary tools for video manipulation. However, I felt that if I wanted to get any serious editing work done on the footage I obtained, I would need better software. I have been very happy with iMovie 09, and Arcsoft’s applications don’t hold a candle to it. Then again, the bundle comes free with the hardware, so the cost isn’t comparable, either. I also found that the media converter portion of the software exhibited some frame-rate problems when converting from TS format to others. While you can record in multiple formats, if you start in TS and convert to something else, the results are sometimes mixed, and I could never figure out what caused my issues. Even so, burning directly from TS format to DVD produced no issues, so this problem will not affect most users.

These are very minor problems. Priced at $199, the HD-PVR is a bargain for anyone who wants to record video from television but doesn’t want to buy and subscribe to a much more expensive TiVo. If you own a PC or a laptop, the HD-PVR lets you grab all the footage you have hard-drive space to store, and keep it at the quality you want.

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