Matrox MX02 Mini

[Greg Oman]

Hi,

One thing that's always bugged me is that there is no good easy way to universally archive content from HD sources other than OTA. Anyone who has had a DVR fail on them, taking out whatever you were saving knows what I mean

Anyway, there are a few options, but most are pretty cost prohibitive to the recreational home user. Matrox makes this device that appears would do the trick, and sells for $400-$450ish it appears.  Anyone have any experience with one?

Here's a link with a bit more info:
http://www.matrox.com/video/en/products/pc/mxo2_family/mxo2_mini/#close

Thanks!

[Snard]

I don't have any experience with it, but Hauppauge makes a less expensive ($199) device that records from HD component video (but no HDMI):

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html

[LoadStar]

And there's always the BlackMagic Intensity card or external USB 3.0 device:
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/

[Greg Oman]

Thanks. I did buy one of the Hauppauge HD-PVR's a few years back, right when it came out. Ended up returning it, could not get it working properly, had 3 different PC's of adequate capability and OS. Maybe they improved the software/firmware by now.

Ah, thanks for the reminder about BlackMagic! At last look they didn't have these products out (or the internal version was over $1000). That may be worth a look.

Anyone tried one of these (either internal or external)?

Greg O.

[TPK]

Thanks. I did buy one of the Hauppauge HD-PVR's a few years back, right when it came out. Ended up returning it, could not get it working properly, had 3 different PC's of adequate capability and OS. Maybe they improved the software/firmware by now.

Ah, thanks for the reminder about BlackMagic! At last look they didn't have these products out (or the internal version was over $1000). That may be worth a look.

Anyone tried one of these (either internal or external)?

Greg O.

I was successful in setting up a SageTV system with the Hauppauge unit and a TWC cable box...  IT works well, although channel changes take forever (up to 20 seconds)...  Right now I am attempting to get it to change channels via firewire instead of the included IR blaster, but its near impossible to get that to work under 64 bit windows 7 since the drivers for the cable box are so old...
 
How does the Matrox Mini unit work???  Can you connect that to a PC??  I don't see a USB port on the thing but I do see that "host" port, but it looks like a proprietary connector...  What does it connect to??

Does it really encode from HDMI and strip out the HDCP??

[Olias]

I used the Black Magic Intensity card for about 8 months with SageTV, but ended up selling it and purchasing a pair of the Hauppauge HD-PVR's (the HD-PVRs were supported by Sage but the Intensity was not). They have been working very well for me (channel changes in 5 seconds via serial/USB with DirecTV).

Hauppage now has an internal card called the Colossus (169.00) retail that looks promising.

Also AverMedia has a capture device, the AverTV HD DVR but I don't know how well it performs.

...lots of choices now. Much different situation than just a few years ago when the Intensity was the only affordable option.

[Greg Oman]

TPK-- It appears that you get a PCIe host adapter card to connect to the external device via a proprietary cable. Not sure how it works with HDCP, part of why I was asking if anyone had tried one.

I hadn't really thought of the SageTV aspect, but that may be an additional plus. My primary interest is transferring off TV shows, storing them on a NAS that I can use any Windows PC to play, or something like a Roku, as I know eventually my Uverse DVR will fail, or I'll want to switch to something else.

Appreciate all the suggestions, yea, a lot has changed in just a few years!

Greg O.