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[kb2001]

Any word on support for something along these lines? Mostly, the ability to capture an HDMI input. I'm not a programmer and can't contribute in that way, but in reading some other posts on here it sounds like there's a desire to be able to capture HDMI and component inputs, for use with cable in particular. This seems an obvious need as the industry moves forward, I'm really just after information on what is going on in this area.

[justinh2]

Currently there's no word on the street (or otherwise) about any device that can capture HDMI and encode it to mpeg on the fly. It's also very unlikely there'll ever be such a device sold for consumer use and in addition to that it's highly unlikely that it'd work with HDCP protected sources anyway.

That situation might very well change in the future (as it did with component HD capture) but right now that's how it's looking. Bleak.

And for the record, even if there was support in linux for that Blackmagic intensity card - it only has the equivalent of mjpeg encoding onboard anyway, meaning that any resulting captures will be HUGE - certainly too big to work with in a realistic pvr context. Oh and the device doesn't speak HDCP either, so it's likely no use at all for grabbing from STBs anyway.

[JEDIDIAH]

Just in case there's anyone that hasn't heard yet...

Hauppauge announced a USB based HD component capture device at CES that outputs h264 at up to 1080p.

[justinh2]

Hauppauge announced a USB based HD component capture device at CES that outputs h264 at up to 1080p from component sources not HDMI sources :)

[JEDIDIAH]

justinh2 wrote: Hauppauge announced a USB based HD component capture device at CES that outputs h264 at up to 1080p from component sources not HDMI sources :)

That's what I said.

Unless you are far too anal to enjoy TV anyways, this new Hauppauge device should be more than adequate.

[kxb]

The problem here is that when we see HDCP content, your component out is likely to be purposely degraded, and only HDMI outputs will be full quality, because many people expect content to be HDCP protected. HDCP compliant devices behave how the content tells them to behave, and likely requested behaviors are degraded or no component output.

HD DVD and BlueRay players, HD satellite receivers, etc. will likely exhibit this behavior.

For example, I've heard that Directv channel 201 is currently HDCP enabled (it's their HDCP test channel), and will not play out of the component output of your Directv receiver, but will play over HDMI.

Anyway, here's hoping that we can figure out HD capture.

[JEDIDIAH]

kxb wrote: The problem here is that when we see HDCP content, your component out is likely to be purposely degraded, and only HDMI outputs will be full quality, because many people expect content to be HDCP protected. HDCP compliant devices behave how the content tells them to behave, and likely requested behaviors are degraded or no component output.

HD DVD and BlueRay players, HD satellite receivers, etc. will likely exhibit this behavior.

For example, I've heard that Directv channel 201 is currently HDCP enabled (it's their HDCP test channel), and will not play out of the component output of your Directv receiver, but will play over HDMI.

Anyway, here's hoping that we can figure out HD capture.

I think that those of us that care continue to remind our cable providers that we do care and we are quite willing to defect to other cable providers that more accurately suit our interests and preferences.

I like to occasionally remind DirecTV that if they force me to use one of their crappy PVRs that I will immediately cancel my service, switch to my local landline cable provider, and buy a Tivo.

[kxb]

Cable and Directv don't want HDCP either. It's the content providers that want it. Cable and Directv can be your advocate with the content providers (the Disneys of the world), but do you really think Disney, NFL, MLB, etc. are going to content protect on one system and not others?

Threatening to migrate to a different system is meaningless. Threatening to stop consuming content may hold some weight. It seemed to help in the music biz, and our benefit is now DRM-free tunes.

[JEDIDIAH]

Cablecard already forces some limited degree of openness on the conventional cable carriers. While this leads to solutions that are less than ideal (Tivo S3), it does allow for the avoidance of those dreadful generic PVRs that the like of Comcast and DirecTV try to push on you.

DirecTV isn't in a position where they can assume that the choice is them or nothing. Also, the "nuclear option" of the consumer just going away entirely is also not that unrealistic.

$60/month buys a lot of conventional content.

That's not even getting into the torrent freaks.

[kb2001]

Having worked for a cable company previously, one of the big 3, I can tell you with absolute certainty that cable providers want absolutely nothing to do with HDCP. It is a plague on them in that customers blame the big bad cable company for problems that don't necessarily lie with them. But, fortunately, cable companies are not standing idle and giving in to content providers. I witnessed a content provider cave under pressure from the cable company in a stalemate over charging for HD. This battle will ultimately be fought in court, when Disney tries to tell cable companies, telcos delivering tv, and sat companies that they must put extra load on their equipment to deliver it with this protection, and not compensate them for it. As big as Disney is, the big 3 cable companies are just as big and will not lie down and take it. And when the telcos delivering TV finally get the MSO stamp, they will be in on the battle as well, and ATT will not take any crap from the content providers either.