Thread: Hauppauge Demonstrates New Affordable HD encoder for PCs

Jan 10, 2008 14:56

Hauppauge Demonstrates New Affordable High Definition Video Recorder for PCs

‘HD PVR’ records video from HD cable TV or satellite boxes into H.264 in real time. Includes Hauppauge’s IR blaster for scheduled TV recordings.

LAS VEGAS –(Business Wire)– Jan. 10, 2008 2008 International CES, South Hall 4 - Booth #35328 — Hauppauge Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAUP), the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of analog and digital TV receiver products for personal computers, demonstrated at CES 2008 for the first time their ‘HD PVR’, a USB personal video recorder which can record high definition TV video into H.264 in real time.

The HD PVR can connect to high definition cable TV or satellite TV set top box receivers, and uses it’s on-board H.264 hardware encoder to record high definition TV programs in an ISO standard HD H.264 AVC format in real time. The connections to the set top boxes are made via component cables, also referred to as ‘YPrPb’ or the red/blue/green connectors on HD set top boxes. The HD PVR includes a video player application which allows the recorded TV programs to be played back on a PC screen.

To enable automatic recording of TV programs, the HD PVR recorder includes Hauppauge’s IR Blaster, which controls the channels on most popular cable and satellite TV set top boxes in North America and Europe, and will allow users to schedule the recording of their HD programs. The IR Blaster is also used on Hauppauge’s WinTV-PVR-150 and WinTV-HVR-1600 TV receivers.

In addition to high definition ISO standard H.264 recordings, the Hauppauge HD PVR can also create AVCHD recordings, which is the format used on Blu-ray high definition players. As part of the software applications which will be shipped with Hauppauge’s HD encoder, a DVD burning application will be provided which can take AVCHD formatted recordings and burn them onto a conventional DVD disc. These discs can then be played in Blu-ray DVD players. About 2 hours of Blu-ray HD content can be recorded on a 4.7 GByte DVD disk.

The HD PVR will be available in Q1 2008, with a suggested retail price of $249.

About Hauppauge

Hauppauge Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAUP) is a leading developer and manufacturer of digital TV and data broadcast receiver products for personal computers. Through its Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. and Hauppauge Digital Europe subsidiaries, the Company designs and develops digital video boards for TV-in-a-window, digital video editing and video conferencing. The Company is headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, with administrative offices in New York, Singapore, Taiwan, Ireland and Luxembourg and sales offices in Germany, London, Paris, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Singapore and California. The Company’s Internet web site can be found at http://www.hauppauge.com. Hauppauge and WinTV are registered trademarks of Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. Other product or service names herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

sounds pretty promising if it gets linux support.

Someone at Hauppauge is already working on it.