Hauppauge Colossus and MediaPortal

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Hauppauge Colossus and MediaPortal

julianz

118 posts

Master Geek

#108127 24-Aug-2012 10:27

I recently upgraded my AMD 780G-based MediaPortal box to a Sandy Bridge i5 setup, and I can no longer use the old PVR-150 card for analog input from the MySky. I thought I could use the analog side of an HVR-4400 instead, but it looks like the software encoding is just a bit rubbish - the individual frames are great quality but I get terrible flickering that can't be fixed up with any combination of settings I've tried.

Assuming that a hardware encoder is the right way to go, is the Hauppauge Colossus the right card for me? It looks like it's supported in MediaPortal and everything I've read suggests the quality is good.

mm1352000

1149 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#677224 26-Aug-2012 19:20

julianz: I recently upgraded my AMD 780G-based MediaPortal box to a Sandy Bridge i5 setup, and I can no longer use the old PVR-150 card for analog input from the MySky. I thought I could use the analog side of an HVR-4400 instead, but it looks like the software encoding is just a bit rubbish - the individual frames are great quality but I get terrible flickering that can't be fixed up with any combination of settings I've tried.

Assuming that a hardware encoder is the right way to go, is the Hauppauge Colossus the right card for me? It looks like it's supported in MediaPortal and everything I've read suggests the quality is good.

Hello

I found the Hauppauge software encoder to be a little heavier on the CPU than others I've tried, and it seems to have more problems with video/audio sync too. It is possible that it is configured for 29.97/30/59.94/60 fps rather than 25/50 fps which would better suit the content here. You can use alternative software encoders with the HVR-4400 but an MPEG/MPEG 2 software encoder is never going to give you as good results as the Colossus' 20 Mbps h.264 hardware encoder. As far as I'm aware, the Colossus is as good as you can get for picture and audio quality. I note that if you have a MySky HDi you probably wouldn't be able to connect the HDMI input directly to the Colossus. HDCP and all that...

mm

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#677227 26-Aug-2012 19:25

Personally I wouldn't be bothered dealing with the dramas of analogue input, buying a card reader and using native DVB-S and DVB-S2 is a vastly superior solution.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#677305 26-Aug-2012 21:46

I second this. I'm running a full MP (Streamed MP on Sky UK/AUS/IT modded 1.3A) with 4xDVB-S2 and card reader. No problems at all, full decoding of 4HD channels on the fly, can save to open format and most importantly can share around the house to other computers using TV Server.

julianz

118 posts

Master Geek

#677318 26-Aug-2012 22:20

Thanks for the replies - At this stage I'm not sure I'm ready to go the whole card reader deal to be honest, I've looked into it but found it all very thinly documented. The MySky works really well for what it does (shows the family are going to watch within a couple of days in the lounge) but I'm really looking to move the much longer stuff (motor racing, football etc) over to the HTPC so I can watch at my leisure and not worry about filling up the absurdly small drive on the MySky. I'll give the Colossus a go.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#677321 26-Aug-2012 22:29

julianz: Thanks for the replies - At this stage I'm not sure I'm ready to go the whole card reader deal to be honest, I've looked into it but found it all very thinly documented. The MySky works really well for what it does (shows the family are going to watch within a couple of days in the lounge) but I'm really looking to move the much longer stuff (motor racing, football etc) over to the HTPC so I can watch at my leisure and not worry about filling up the absurdly small drive on the MySky. I'll give the Colossus a go.

No problem, it can appear to be dauting at first setup but in reality it is quite simple. If you do decide to go down this route just holla. My config files are generic and can easily be transferred, along with my MP TV Server channel data.

seenit

13 posts

Geek

#677562 27-Aug-2012 12:30

I third Sbiddle and Benoire's suggestion, even if just to check it out for experimentation/curiosity's sake. You've already got the tuner, so only need to spend $20 or so on a card reader and you're sorted. I found the setup to be deceptively simple. The old forum threads on the subject make it seem daunting, and it's hard to tell what info is relevant/outdated, but it is seriously simple and seriously worth it.