Frequently Asked Questions

HDPVRCapture v3.8.4 and higher is, yes.

HDPVRCapture v3.8.0 and higher is, yes.

HDPVRCapture v3.7.0 and higher is, yes.

HDPVRCapture v3.5.1 and higher is, yes.
See category below for known issues/bugs.

As of October 7, 2016 end of life was announced for 10.9. We no longer recommend HDPVRCapture for use on 10.9 at this time. We recommend customers upgrade to 10.12, if possible.

For users who wish to run 10.9, you can download HDPVRCapture v3.7.3.

As of November 5, 2015 End Of Life was announced for 10.8 (see blog post). We no longer recommend HDPVRCapture for use on 10.8 at this time. We recommend customers upgrade to 10.11, if possible.

For users who wish to run 10.8, you can download HDPVRCapture v3.7.1.

The current release of HDPVRCapture is not compatible with 10.7.
Users who wish to run 10.7 can download HDPVRCapture v3.4.4.

No.

We have had a couple of cases where users have updated their OSX to Yosemite and found that HDPVRCapture will no longer function correctly. In both cases this turned out to be third party USB or bluetooth devices which were conflicting with the HDPVRCapture application.

If you are having such issues, disconnect ALL USB and bluetooth devices, then follow these steps:
1. Make sure all USB and bluetooth devices are disconnected from your Mac.
2. Start HDPVRCapture and make a recording.
3. If HDPVRCapture functions properly, reconnect one USB or bluetooth device.
4. When you have the USB or bluetooth device connected, try making another recording with HDPVRCapture.
5. If the recording is successful, connect another USB or bluetooth device then make another recording.
6. Keep repeating this process until the application no longer functions correctly.
7. When the application no longer functions correctly, try removing the last USB or bluetooth device you connected to see if this fixes the issue.

If you are running HDPVRCapture v3.3.4 or highter for the first time under Mavericks 10.9. You will have seen the following messages popup asking permission to access your Calendar and Reminders …

Both the above items need to be enabled for HDPVRCapture v3.3.4 or higher to schedule properly. If you select Don’t Allow, scheduled events using the iCal feature will not work and you will receive the following error message …

You can always grant or remove permissions to your Calendar and Reminders at any time from the following two settings panels in your System Preferences ‘Security Window’ …

If you are using OSX 10.7 Lion and keep seeing a error popup saying that you can’t use this version of the application HDPVRCapture with this version of Mac OSX, it means the build you are currently trying to use does not carry support for OSX 10.7 Lion.

You can download build v3.4.4 from here. This build does carry support for OSX 10.7 Lion.

The HDPVR and HDPVR Gaming Edition.
The HDPVR 2.
The HDPVR 2 Gaming Edition.
The HDPVR Rocket.

For the HDPVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus model, please see our GE Plus page.

We support the Canadian, European and the Australian editions of the HDPVR and HDPVR 2 models.
We do not support the Japanese HDPVR model.

Check out our Model Matrix page for HDPVR model information.

To power-cycle your HDPVR device, simply turn the device off at the mains outlet for 5-10 seconds and then turn it back on again.

We don’t recommend it, it can lead to hardware instabilities. Use only the cabling that came in the box, those cables provided by Hauppauge.

No. The software on the CD that ships with the HDPVR device is for the Windows platform only. The HDPVRCapture application is completely self contained and does not require the Windows CD.

Many customers have contacted us asking “What are the very best settings I can use to record video?”

To make the process a lot simpler, we decided to add Good, Better, Best and Insanely Good video presets. So, if you just want to have great quality recordings, you no longer need to understand complex ideas like Encoder Modes or Peak Bitrates. Simply select Good, Better, Best or Insanely Good and hit record!

Not yet. It’s coming to the Mac software in the near future.

In iMovie 10.x, the .m2ts recorded files import directly. In earlier version of iMovie you may need to use HDPVRCapture to convert them from .m2ts files into .mp4. It’s a very quick process.

There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the conversion process.

Sorry, no. If you need Mac support for your HDPVR 2 / GE then this will require the purchase of a new v3.x license key.

Yes, everything defaults to the most common settings. Just connect your the HDPVR device to your Mac, start the HDPVRCapture application and press record! If you want advanced settings HDPVRCapture has those too, but you don’t need to use them.

We have a selection of video tutorials on our Tutorials page which walk you through using the features in HDPVRCapture.

Oh Yeah! I worked as a software engineer at Hauppauge Computer Works and they make the HDPVR device so I KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS. I can say for certain that HDPVRCapture is cool!

We recommend users run the latest build release of HDPVRCapture v3.x, available to download from our Download page.

No, all recordings will be made in AAC Stereo mode.

Yes. The encoder supports the p60 input signal and records a p30 output signal.
Check the Products page for more information on supported formats.

Yes.

No.

You need to update the firmware on your HDPVR Rocket device.

HDPVRCapture requires firmware version 3.1.1.35.28 or higher in order to function properly. Instructions on how to update the firmware on your HDPVR Rocket device can be found here, simply select the firmware update tab.

Rename the .m2ts file to simply .ts , you should now be able to play the .ts file natively on the mac without having to convert the file to .mp4.

We recommend users run the latest build release of HDPVRCapture v3.x, available to download from our Download page.

Yes.

5.1 audio capture is supported on the HDPVR 157xxx models.

Yes. The encoder supports the p60 input signal and records a p30 output signal.
Check the Products page for more information on supported formats.

No. The hardware is simply not capable.

No. The hardware is simply not capable.

No. We do not support capturing S-Video with the HDPVR 2 models and Hauppauge’s compatible S-Video cabling. All supported inputs and resolutions are listed on our HDPVR 2 product page.

We recommend users run the latest build release of HDPVRCapture v3.x, available for download here.

If your 1280x720p .mp4 files playback all jerky, play in slow motion or look badly broken, read on. I’m tracking a bug with the 2011 Hauppauge HDPVR firmware that’s causing the issue, it’s Hauppauge’s code inside the HDPVR firmware itself. It’s not something I can fix. The problem occurs with 1280x720p recordings only, but not with 1920x1080i recordings. Hauppauge have resolved the problem in their v1.7.30059 beta driver, I’m calling this new firmware the March 2012 firmware. It’s available for download from here (click on the beta tab).

To check your HDPVR firmware version, hit record and the drop down panel will appear, the date on the first line is the HDPVR firmware date. If you have the October 2011 firmware then this is causing the issue.

You need a Windows PC to upgrade the HDPVR firmware, it’s not possible to do this from the Mac. If you can’t get access to a windows PC, the alternative is to convert your .m2ts files to .mp4 using Handbrake on the Mac. It takes longer to turn the .m2ts video into .mp4 but it’s also an excellent workaround and the resulting files work nicely with iMovie, although they import very slowly and Handbrake can take a while to learn.

If all else fails, only record in the 1920x1080i resolution, avoid using 1280x720p if you have no alternative mechanism. (Try the firmware upgrade if you can, it’s by far the best fix for the problem.)

You will need access to a Windows PC in order to upgrade your HDPVR firmware.

1. Download the Hauppauge v1.7.1.30059 drivers from either here (direct download link) or you can go to Hauppauge’s HDPVR 1212 support page and click on the Windows Driver tab to access the same download.
2. Launch the .exe file on your Windows PC desktop.
3. Connect the HDPVR to your PC using the USB cable and press the power button on the front of the HDPVR so that the small blue LED next to the power switch is illuminated as normal.
4. Windows will detect the HDPVR and may ask for a driver to be installed.
5. Run the HCWDriverInstall.exe application from the extracted files.
6. The v1.7.1.30059 driver will be installed and the firmware will be automatically upgraded to the March 25, 2012 version.
7. The HCWDriverInstaller window should tell you that the process was successful.
8. Wait 60 seconds.
9. Disconnect the HDPVR from the windows PC and reconnect it to your Mac.
10. The next time you record in HDPVRCapture the date on the first line in the drop down window should read March 25, 2012 if everything went well. If it still says 2011 (or 2010) then something went wrong and the v1.7.1.30059 drivers did not install cleanly, you’ll need to repeat the procedure.

Video Errors are usually a sign that HDPVR is not very happy about something important, this leads to the HDPVR resetting itself internally and it’s stopped providing HDPVRCapture with video and audio data. It’s usually one or more of the following:

1. Your video signal isn’t supported by the HDPVR. As a test, make sure you set your video signal as 1280 x 720 and check that HDPVRCapture shows in the lower left, “Video Signal Detected: 1280 x 720”. The HDPVR will support up to 1920 x 1080i. It does not support 1080p signals. Trying to record 1920 x 1080p can create this issue.
2. You are using a long USB cable or USB extenders. DO NOT USE LONG USB CABLES. You need to use only the USB cable provided by Hauppauge to connect the HDPVR directly to your Mac. Nothing else. No USB extending hardware. No long cables.
3. You have chosen the SPDIF Optical audio input but the cable is not connected or no data is being passed on the optical cable into the HDPVR.
4. The video signal is missing, glitchy or has changed since you began recording. Perhaps the resolution has changed. Make sure in the lower left hand side of HDPVRCapture that the Video Signal Detection shows your resolution before recording. Some Game consoles can change video resolutions on the fly (PS3 mainly). When this occurs it can trigger this error. Start recording (for example) once the game title has started, not when the PS3 is on the XMedia bar and the title is about to begin.
5. Heat. The HDPVR is sensitive to environmental heat. If your HDPVR is sitting on top of your xbox then move it off, or rotate the HDPVR so it sits on it’s side – causing the heat to rise different. Try to keep the HDPVR as cool as possible. This works for many people.
6. Faulty HDPVR hardware.

In 99.9% of all cases it’s 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Very rarely it’s 6.

No. The hardware is simply not capable.

One of our users recently emailed support to say that he could successfully detect a 640 x 480 signal, but every time he made a recording, there was a vertical black bar down the left hand side of the screen.

We do not support capturing 640 x 480 on the 1212. We know it’s detectable but a limitation of the hardware prevents it from detecting the start of the frame properly so it pads it with a black bar. You will see the exact same behaviour under Windows.

We list all supported resolutions on the 1212 products page, here.

If you are experiencing issues converting your .m2ts files to .mp4, make sure you have your HDPVR 1212 device connected to your Mac and powered on before trying to convert the file.

No.

There are three coloured lights on the front of the HDPVR 1212, from left to right they are blue, red and orange.

Blue – This is the power indicator light.
Red – This is the recording indicator light. This illuminates when the device is capturing content.
Orange – Firmware indicator light.

When you power on the HDPVR 1212 unit, the blue light next to the power switch illuminates then a few seconds later the third light (orange) will illuminate for a few seconds and then go out. This orange light indicates the firmware is being loaded.

If you click on the Video Controls tab in the app window, in the bottom right corner you will see the Record Microphone feature, simply turn this on and select your headset from the drop down menu. Your headset must be connected to your Mac and not your console in order for this feature to work.

After recording, HDPVRCapture will generate a .m2ts.voice.m4a audio file along with the .m2ts video file. It will also add the voice recording to your iTunes library, under the playlist HDPVRCapture Narration. You then need to convert your video file into .mp4 (this will automatically happen if you have the Post Processing feature switched on), then import it into iMovie. Add your voice over to the video then export it. There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the process of using the Microphone Recording feature.

Try quitting HDPVRCapture, then restarting the application.

Make sure your headset is connected to your Mac and not the console. The headset must be connected to your Mac in order for the voice audio to be recorded.

Yes! HDPVRCapture will also generate it’s own ‘HDPVRCapture Narration’ playlist.

HDPVRCapture will automatically recreate a new playlist the next time you use the voice recording feature.

The audio commentary gets put into a separate file, a .m2ts.voice.m4a file, which you need to combine with the video file using a video editing tool such as iMovie. This is done to maximize compatibility as some video editing tools don’t know how to handle files with multiple tracks of audio.

A certain level of editing is required when using the Microphone Recording feature.

You need to import your audio commentary track and your video file into a video editing tool such as iMovie, then edit your audio track to remove the ‘dead air’ from the start so your commentary starts as soon as you start talking, then sync up the audio commentary with your video before exporting the file.

This whole process is described in our video tutorials How to Use the Microphone Recording Feature or How to Edit Recordings in iMovie 10.x

You need to have VLC installed on your Mac. HDPVRCapture will use VLC for the live preview window. You also need to make sure that HDPVRCapture is installed in the same folder as VLC in order for the Preview feature to work. This is usually your Systems Applications folder.

VLC is an incredible video player for Mac, Linux and Windows. It’s available as a free download from www.videolan.org.

We also have a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the process of downloading, installing and using VLC with HDPVRCapture.

There is a option on the ‘Network‘ panel which allows you to turn off writing to disk, then if you check the ‘Send the captured video to the network using UDP …‘ option, also on the Network panel, this will allow you to stream the recording. Now if you start a recording as you normally would and press the preview button, you will now be able to stream indefinitely without writing to disk.

You need to make sure that you have both the HDPVRCapture application and VLC installed in your Systems Applications folder. Also make sure that VLC is named ‘VLC’ and not something like ‘VLC 2.1.4’. There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the process of downloading, installing and using VLC with HDPVRCapture.

Yes. Passthrough will work for any supported video format, (see the Products page for a list of supported formats). When HDPVRCapture starts a recording, it’s normal to see the video passthrough go blank for a few seconds during the beginning.

If you experience issues with odd or glitchy looking passthrough video on your TV, try switching the video inputs on the HDPVRCapture inputs panel to Component or HDMI then back again. This often clears up any odd video effects. If this doesn’t help, try power-cycling your HDPVR device or other device which you are capturing from.

Yes, HDPVRCapture monitors and controls the hardware. When HDPVRCapture is disconnected from the HDPVR then it no longer can control it, your video passthrough will likely break after a while.

Play them in VLC or convert them to .mp4. There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the process converting .m2ts files to .mp4.

Usually Yes. Check the hardware specific sections in the FAQ to be certain.

Yes.

Yes.

We selected the Insanely Good video preset, selected the HDMI Video input, the HDMI Audio input, then pressed record. That’s it! We designed HDPVRCapture to be very simple to use.

Yes, once the file has been converted into a .mp4. This typically takes 20 seconds for a 30 minute show.

Open the .m2ts recording with VLC, seek to the place in the file and use it to take a screenshot. This works well.
Additionally, if you install VLC then HDPVRCapture can use this to enable a live preview mode, so you can see what you are recording, although it’s a few seconds behind live – if you want to capture screenshots during recordings.

Yes.

Quicktime v10 does not appear to have good AC3 support in certain container types.
If you navigate to /Applications/QuickTime Player and Get Info, then change the settings to “Open in 32-bit mode”, all of your .mp4 files should open normally. So, this is starting to sound like an Apple’s 64bit QuickTime issue.Another workaround is to open the file with QuickTime v7.

See the ‘After recording a file with either 5.1 or 2 channels AC3 audio, then converting it to .mp4, and trying to open it with the new QuickTime Player X (v10) I get an error: ‘The Document ‘something.mp4‘ could not be opened’ entry above.

Me neither, in my tests v7 was just as fast as v10 on a 8 core MacPro.

See this link. Apple provide QuickTime 7 for free, you just have to install it.

I generally encourage customers to record in AAC, not AC3. Apple don’t ship a AC3 decoder by default. You can install Perian from www.perian.org if you need a free AC3 audio decoder.

Yes, via TitanTV. (If you need support for another EPG just let us know).

Yes.

Yes.

Scheduling from v2.9.0 onwards changed slightly, you need to leave HDPVRCapture running in the background so that scheduled recordings may happen. If you close HDPVRCapture then your scheduled recordings will fail to trigger.

Simple. HDPVRCapture integrates with TitanTV so you can use their web guide to select shows and HDPVRCapture will integrate those with iCal. Alternatively, you can manually schedule a recording using the Command + N keyboard shortcut, or by selecting File > New from the top menu bar.

Maybe, if you are in North America then YES. If you need EPG support in another country then email me. I want to hear from you! Remember, you can always manually schedule shows using the Command + N keyboard shortcut, or select File > New from the top menu bar.

No. The HDPVRCapture command line interface was removed in v2.x.

We no longer carry support for Zap2it.com. We used to support it but the web guide kept changing that much, it used to break in the app. We had to give up in the end.
You can always manually schedule a recording in the application using Command + N or File > New from the top menu bar.

Using your favorite browser navigate to TitanTV.com and create yourself an account and set your zip code. Now, when you next navigate to the TV grid you will see a red record button for each show.

1. Click the red button and your browser will download a file called ‘program.tvpi‘.
2. Go to your Downloads folder and open the file.
3. HDPVRCapture will instantly recognize it and confirm the scheduling details with you.
4. Click OK to schedule the recording.

Yes. By default HDPVRCapture creates its scheduling calendar specifically on your Mac, not in iCloud. It’s created in iCal and the calendar is called ‘HDPVRCapture Recordings‘.

In iCal, click the Calendars button to show all of your Calendars on the left. If you delete the HDPVRCapture Recordings calendar from the ‘On My Mac’ section, then manually create a new calendar called ‘HDPVRCapture Recordings’ in the iCloud section of iCal, then iCloud will share this information with all your other iCloud devices.
You will able to schedule a recording from any Mac, anywhere, and through the magic of iCloud, HDPVRCapture will record it. Simply install HDPVRCapture on your other Macs to schedule new recordings.

If you are attempting to create scheduled recordings in HDPVRCapture but keep receiving a “Unable to create iCal entry” warning followed by a “Unable to successfully schedule your recording” warning, try removing permissions for Calendar and Reminders from iCloud and then setting the permissions again in iCloud.

You should now be able to successfully schedule recordings in the application.

The IR Blaster is supported with the HDPVR 2 models and the HDPVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus models. The IR Blaster is not supported with the HDPVR 2 Gaming Edition model.

Yes. The IR Blaster is supported on the HDPVR model.

Yes.

If you are having issues getting your IR Blaster cable to work and you want to check it is functioning correctly, please try the following ..

1. Quit the HDPVRCapture application.
2. Open your Terminal window and type the following command:

defaults delete net.steventoth.HDPVRCapture

(This will place the HDPVRCapture application back in demo mode and reset all settings).

3. Close the Terminal window.
4. Start the HDPVRCapture application.
5. Make sure your IR Blaster cable is securely connected and visible so you can see it.
6. Open the preferences window by navigating to the top menu bar and selecting HDPVRCAPTURE > PREFERENCES.
7. The preferences window should open on the IR BLASTER tab. DO NOT change any settings, simply close the preferences window.
8. Back in the main UI, check the channel change checkbox.
9. Enter 123 as the channel number.
10. Hit tab to exit the channel blaster field. See the IR led blink?

Now when you press record, it won’t blink because HDPVRCapture thinks its already changed its channel. If you were to change the channel number to 124, then press record, you’d see it blink again.

You may need to try each of the different code set options for your set-top box manufacturer to find one that works with your box. If the company who manufactures your set-top box was taken over my another company, it’s worth trying their code sets also as this has been know to work.

Another approach is if you have access to a Windows machine, you can use Hauppauges software to learn the codes. This will create a .ini file on your system which you could email to us and we can ingest this into the application for you.

When created, the .ini file is located in c:\windows\hcwremote.ini, or something similar to this. Look for any new .ini files in your Windows folder.

We are trying to compile a list to help other users who are trying to setup their IR Blaster but we have to rely on users emailing us with the code set information for their particular set-top box model. If you have any information we can add to this list, please contact us via the contacts page.

Known CODE SETS that work:

Yes. Open the HDPVRCapture application and navigate to the top menu bar, then select HDPVRCAPTURE > PREFERENCES. When the Preferences window opens, select the MISC panel.

On the misc panel, check the option Enable External Channel Changer. You now have the ability to load a custom script into the application using the dialog box below.
You can launch any shell script with the following command line arguments when a recording starts:

Argument:
-c (Channel number)
-d (Recording duration in seconds)
-f (Destination filename for recording)

Please note: If you define a custom external channel change script, no attempt will be made by HDPVRCapture to use the IR Blaster.

Yes.

1280 x 720p. This is a great resolution for the hardware to keep up with, offers the maximum frame rate of 60 frames per second (50 in Europe), and is easy for iMovie and other Mac editors to work with, and avoids many ‘jaggy’ left-to-right motion lines often associated with 1080i interlaced video

Usually Yes. Check the hardware specific sections in the FAQ to be certain.

Yes. Connect the Component cables from the STB to the HDPVR, switch channel on the STB (either manually or automatically using the HDPVR IRBlaster) and press Record on HDPVRCapture. Voila!

Sort of. You need to make sure your HDPVR device is running the March 2012 (or higher) firmware. When you press record check the date on the top right of the recording drop down panel, if it’s not May 7th or higher then you’ll need to use a windows machine to upgrade your firmware.
See the entry If you wish to upgrade the HDPVR firmware. in the HDPVR / HDPVR GE Related Questions category above.

The PS3 doesn’t like to run certain game titles at 1080, the PS3 hardware cannot keep up.
It prefers to change the video resolution to something less stressful. If you change your PS3 Display resolution to 720p this often means the PS3 will not switch to 480p, its an easier resolution for the PS3 to work with.

Solution A: This will only work for users who have a HDPVR 2 GE 145xxx model. To find out if you own the 145xxx model, look at the black label on the bottom of the HDPVR device. On that black label is a 6 digit number that starts with either 145xxx or 157xxx.

1. With the HDPVRCapture application closed, open a Terminal window (you can find the Terminal.app in your Applications > Utilities folder) and type the following command then press enter:
   defaults write net.steventoth.hdpvrcapture Siena1ForceColorimetry 0
2. To check if this has worked correctly, type the following command in the Terminal window then press enter (the system should respond with 0):
   defaults read net.steventoth.hdpvrcapture Siena1ForceColorimetry
3. Next, quit the Terminal window and start HDPVRCapture as normal, select HDMI as the input in the Inputs panel and try making a recording. Everything should now work as expected.
4. If you would like to undo the changes you have just made, quit HDPVRCapture, open a Terminal window and type the following command then press enter:
   defaults delete net.steventoth.hdpvrcapture Siena1ForceColorimetry

Solution B: Switch from the HDMI cable to a Wii U compatible component cable (more information on Wii cabling can be found here) as we know this works. The component cable that ships with the HDPVR device is not compatible with the Wii U.

The PS3 can be a little tricky to setup and configure but it does work very reliably. There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the setup process for the Playstation 3.

Take a look at our Playstation 3 colour issues page to troubleshoot the problem.

Failings to record from older generation consoles is a documented limitation of the HDPVR hardware and not the HDPVRCapture application.

The following are XBox One settings which work for us on both 720p and 1080p.
1. From the XBox One Home screen, select Store.
2. From the Store menu that appears, select Settings.
3. From the Settings screen, under the Console section, select Display & Sound.
4. On the Display & Sound screen, make sure you have the following settings …

On your XBox, navigate to SETTINGS > SYSTEM > CONSOLE SETTINGS > AUDIO > DIGITAL OUTPUT and select DIGITAL STEREO instead of DOLBY 5.1.

Try following our No Signal Interactive Guide to help troubleshoot the problem. PDF guides are also available for download.

Make sure you have the Playstation 4 software update v1.70 or later installed in order to capture from your Playstation 4 over HDMI (More information can be found here).

You may also need to toggle the HDCP protection off on the PS4. The HDCP setting can be found in the PS4’s SETTINGS > SYSTEM menu. We have a PS4 HDCP video tutorial which will walk you through the process of disabling the HDCP setting on your PS4.

On your Xbox One, select Settings > Display & Sound then under the Digital Audio section, change your HDMI audio to Stereo uncompressed.

A couple of users have contacted support regarding timing issues when capturing content from a Retron 5.

We do not and never have claimed to support capturing content from the Retron 5 with HDPVRCapture. This is why we offer a free evaluation version of our application so users can test everything meets their needs before purchasing a license key.

Legacy consoles run at lower frame rates and lower resolutions than todays systems. Capturing from legacy consoles has always been problematic when using a HD capturing device. They are not designed to capture frame rates this low.

HDPVRCapture user Dan contacted support to let us know of a possible workaround for a audio and video sync issue he was experiencing when capturing content from a Retron 5.

By using a inexpensive HDMI to Component video converter, he connected the HDMI cable from the Retron 5 to the convertor and then connected the component cabling to the back of the HDPVR device. This allowed him to capture perfect content from the Retron 5.

We recently had a user on support who mentioned that the 5.1 audio in his recordings were not playing out of the correct speakers in his 5.1 setup.

The user was capturing content from a UK Sky set-top box, converting it to .mp4, then playing the recordings back on his TV via a USB drive. All audio was being routed through a amp. The issue turned out to be a audio setting on his TV. The TV was set to output audio via DTS Neo 2:5, once the user changed this to PCM, everything started working as expected.

Over the years, we have had a number of users contact us regarding issues when trying to capture video tape content with the original HDPVR model. If you wish to capture content from a video tape source such as VHS, we recommend you use one of the HDPVR 2 models rather than the original HDPVR model as the HDPVR 2 models are far better at handling breakup in the video stream (such as bad or rolling video tape).

Older VHS decks, cameras or legacy consoles often output poor or unstable video timing or run at much lower frame rates. These timing fluctuations often confuse the encoder in the HDPVR device which can lead to recording glitches or the device freezing. We did some testing with this, capturing VHS with different HDPVR devices while introducing instabilities in the the stream. You can read about the results of the test in our blog post Capturing from VHS and Legacy Consoles.

This will only work for users who have a HDPVR 2 GE 145xxx model. To find out if you own the 145xxx model, look at the black label on the bottom of the HDPVR device. On that black label is a 6 digit number that starts with either 145xxx or 157xxx.

1. With the HDPVRCapture application closed, open a Terminal window (you can find the Terminal.app in your Applications > Utilities folder) and type the following command then press enter:
   defaults write net.steventoth.hdpvrcapture Siena1ForceColorimetry 0
2. To check if this has worked correctly, type the following command in the Terminal window then press enter (the system should respond with 0):
   defaults read net.steventoth.hdpvrcapture Siena1ForceColorimetry
3. Next, quit the Terminal window and start HDPVRCapture as normal, select HDMI as the input in the Inputs panel and try making a recording. Everything should now work as expected.
4. If you would like to undo the changes you have just made, quit HDPVRCapture, open a Terminal window and type the following command then press enter:
   defaults delete net.steventoth.hdpvrcapture Siena1ForceColorimetry

This is only a issue with the HDPVR 2 GE 145xxx model. To find out if you own the 145xxx model, look at the black label on the bottom of the HDPVR device. On that black label is a 6 digit number that starts with either 145xxx or 157xxx.

If you are capturing 1080p from a PS4 with the 145xxx HDPVR 2 GE model and are experiencing green video in your recordings then please adjust the output resolution of your PS4 to 720p.

On your PS4, navigate to SETTINGS > SOUND AND SCREEN > AUDIO OUTPUT SETTINGS > AUDIO FORMAT (PRIORITY) and try changing this settings to either LINEAR PCM, BITSTREAM (DOLBY) or BITSTREAM (DTS).

Also check that you have your Audio Output on your PS4 configured correctly by navigating to SOUND AND SCREEN > AUDIO OUTPUT SETTINGS > PRIMARY OUTPUT PORT. If you are capturing audio over HDMI, you need this set to HDMI. If you are capturing audio over OPTICAL, you need this set to DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL).

If you are attempting to capture over HDMI from your Uverse Set-Top Box but keep experiencing black video every five minutes or so, try switching to component cabling instead and completely remove the HDMI cable from the Uverse box.

Yes. First, you will need to convert the .m2ts into .mp4. It should take 30-40 seconds for a typical recording, the resulting .mp4 file can be used with lots of Mac applications. It also produces a logfile in the same folder location if something goes badly wrong.

There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the conversion process.

It shouldn’t! To speed up the import make sure you DO NOT select Optimize Video on the iMovie import screen.
There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page called ‘How to convert a .m2ts file into a .mp4 file’ which guides you through the file conversion and import/export process of iMovie.

We have successfully imported recordings into QuickTime X Player (10.3), MPEG StreamClip (1.9.2), Final Cut Pro (10.1.1), iMovie (10.0.5), FrontRow (10.5.6). They all work fine.

Yes, with the help of Roxio Toast v10. HDPVRCapture recordings are compatible with Toast and you can easily create HD or Bluray DVD’s.

I’m not sure, maybe if the bitrates are kept low. For AppleTV v1 hardware, try encoding at 2000 kbps and using AAC 2 channel audio. For AppleTV v2 hardware, set the encoder to ‘Constant Bitrate’ 4000 kbps and using AAC 2 channel audio.

Install Perian 1.1.2 then try again.
If you want to specifically use Perian 1.1.3 then read this.You have to change Perians default. Run this command from the terminal window to re-enable good video on Perian 1.1.3 “defaults write org.perian.Perian DecodeAllProfiles -bool true” (without quotation marks).

Yes.

Unfortunately, iTunes changes around version 7, stopping the importing of interlaced video content. iTunes 7 onwards can not import 1080i or 480i. You could try using Handbrake to convert the video into something iTunes prefers.

Yes, simply drag and drop the .m2ts file into the post processing window, right click and select Run.

The ‘Optimize’ setting takes significantly longer to import your videos and causes video disturbance. Avoid this setting if you care about importing HDPVR videos into iMovie.

Yes. FinalCut often imports perfectly good MP4 video then refuses to play it. If you find yourself in this situation then I suggest importing the video into iMovie, then exporting the video into Apple’s ‘Apple Intermediate Codec’ MOV files. These AIC MOV files are known to import into FinalCut with complete success.

Try using the Remove DAC3 atom task.

Essentially Apple keeps changing it’s mind about how each of the 5 audio channels are laid out in the MOV/MP4 file. Perian, the AC3 audio decoder, which usually decodes the content has various workarounds to try and compensate for Apple’s continued changes. In the latest release of Perian, if it finds the DAC3 atom stored inside the MP4 container, it mangles the audio during playback, putting the wrong audio out on the wrong channels.

This option removes the DAC3 atom from your MP4 files and stops Perian from making a bad playback decision. Don’t use it unless you know what you are doing.

YouTube offers some good advice when exporting from iMovie or Final Cut Pro, please read their Advanced Encoding Help first. You must export the video from iMovie or Final Cut Pro using the ‘Export Via QuickTime’ option. Use the settings in their encoding document as a guide.

Here’s a sample we made using HDPVRCapture, a HDPVR Gaming Edition earlier this year. The video plays from YouTube in many different resolutions, including HD 720p. Video is here and the comments include any export settings we used. We then manually uploaded the exported video to YouTube using their web based interface, not using the iMovie ‘Share to YouTube’ options.

Once you have converted your .m2ts file to .mp4, if you wish to edit the .mp4 file without having to wait for the file to re-encode, then try using MPEG Streamclip

1. Select File > Open Files … from the top menu bar to load your .mp4 file into the application.
2. Move the playhead to the start of the section in the video that you wish to remove.
3. Press and hold the Shift key and then move the playhead to the end of the section you wish to remove.
4. Select Edit > Cut from the top menu bar to remove the highlighted section.
5. Select File > Save As … from the top menu bar to save your .mp4 file.

No. The HDPVRCapture command line interface was removed in v2.x.

Yes, but you’ll need Roxio’s Toast V10 with AVC / BD support.

HDPVRCapture does not support direct streaming to any streaming services from within the application but it does support streaming out over UDP. You can then use a third party application such as OBS, WireCast or CocoaSplit to feed the UDP stream directly out to Twitch or other streaming services.

Alternatively, if the third party application does not support a direct media stream from UDP, you can ‘scrape’ the VLC preview window from HDPVRCapture and stream content that way.

We have a video tutorial which shows you how to ‘scrape’ the VLC window and stream to Twitch using OBS, you can watch it here.

Marc over at marctv.de figured out how to stream using HDPVRCapture and ffmpeg and he was kind enough to write a tutorial on how he did it. You can check out Marc’s tutorial here: http://marctv.de/blog/tutorial-hd-pvr-twitch-mac-os-ffmpeg/. Thanks Marc!

Yes. There is a video tutorial on our Tutorials page which guides you through the process of changing the default settings and making the application remember them.

The General Control settings in the application to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation and sharpness work with the following devices:

The General Control settings in the application to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation and sharpness are never remembered by the application. They always have to be set. This is by design.

Please see our post on this issue, Using the ‘Split Large Recordings’ Feature in HDPVRCapture.

Only English is supported.

Yes.

If you own one of the earlier BSKYB STB which has component out, then YES HDPVRCapture will work. If you own one of the later BSKYB STB with HDMI out, then NO, HDPVRCapture will not work as the HDPVR device does not support capturing from HDCP protected content.

Via the Purchase page.

HDPVRCapture costs $29.95, payable via Paypal only.

Yes, PayPal can charge the purchase to your card easily.

Yes, you can download the demo version here. We highly recommend you try the demo version first before deciding to purchase a full license as we are unable to offer refunds on previously purchased license keys.

The serial number can be found on the bottom of the HDPVR device, under the bar code to the right hand side, it’s the only eight digit number on the bar code label. We also have some useful information on our purchase page in regards to finding the serial number on your device.

System profiler shows the serial number in hex base 16 format, HDPVRCapture shows the number the way it’s printed on your white product label on the bottom of the HDPVR.

Please check your spam/junk folder as your email client may have marked the license key attachment as spam.

If you paid by credit card, the order process is instantaneous and you should have received your license key within a couple of seconds of placing the order. If you haven’t received your license key and it isn’t in your spam/junk folder, then please open a support ticket via the contact page.

If you paid using a debit card or other means of payment then there will be a delay in the order process as we have to wait for PayPal to confirm payment. This process can take up to five days and is completely out of our control. Once PayPal confirms the payment, we will manually send your license key to the email address that was supplied during the order process. If you have still not received your license key after five days, please open a support ticket via the contact page.

All recordings and conversions are limited to 2 minutes. No other restrictions apply.

Once you have purchased your v3.x license key, your license key will automatically download and unlock the software the next time you run the HDPVRCapture application (providing you are connected to the internet). We will also email you a duplicate copy of your license key in a .zip file, we recommend you archive this email for safe keeping.

If you want to manually install/remove your license key from v3.x of the HDPVRCapture application, there is a handy step by step guide here.
If you are still running v2.x of HDPVRCapture, there is a video tutorial on our tutorials page which guides you throught the process of manually installing your license key.

It is possible that your email client has removed the licence key .zip file from the confirmation email thinking that it was a malicious file. Try checking your email client’s settings or using a alternative email client.

Check your email SPAM/Junk folder.
Occasionally your mail application will consider the license key email as junk and either automatically delete it or move it into your SPAM folder.

Yes! You can install the HDPVRCapture application onto as many computers as you like. Your license is tied to the serial number of the HDPVR unit itself, not the computer. As long as you always use the PVR device that you purchased the license key for, everything will work.

Simply follow our step by step guide here which shows you how to manually install or remove your license key.

Please open a support ticket by filling in the form on our Contact page.

Let us know. Please use the contact page to contact us.

The average is once every six weeks.

Yes, feel free. Please use the contact page to contact us.

Typically all email is answered the same day, usually within the hour. Often customers enter invalid email addresses into the contact form, so our email responses to them are rejected by their ISPs.

This is frustrating for us and you. We’ve often seen the same customer write many times to us, giving the same email address. Every time we respond our emails are refused by gmail, hotmail or some other email provider. You must provide to us a valid and working email address if you’d like an answer to your question. We are happy to respond to any questions but your email address has to be reachable.

If you don’t hear from us, you should assume you entered an invalid email address, in which case please try again.