Hauppauge Colossus - component and HDMI

[Octavean]

Not sure about BeyondTV support for the Colossus but,…..

The DVBLink for Hauppauge Colossus initiative now has HDMI+SPDIF support in Media Center. They are up to their 3 rd release which seem to be quite stable. Apparently multi-Colossus support is being worked on and Hauppauge confirmed a system can support up to 4 Colossus cards:

http://dvblogic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=11971&start=75


*** edit ***


New Colossus Windows driver dated 3-15-2011 version 29073.

[Lark]

my BTV is running on a win7 machine...i may switch to Media Center

[Jakesty]

It would be nice to run both services concurrently on the same system. Media centers interface is still not as simple as BTV's, so it would be nice to have those recordings just drop into a shared directory for BTV to display.

[Octavean]

Originally Posted by Jakesty

It would be nice to run both services concurrently on the same system. Media centers interface is still not as simple as BTV's, so it would be nice to have those recordings just drop into a shared directory for BTV to display.

In terms of Microsoft software, the Colossus will only work with Windows 7 Media Center for the moment and possibly Vista Media Center with 2008 TV Pack update + H.264 hack (AKA Fiji ). In either case resultant recorded TV would be in the Microsoft proprietary .wtv file format. BeyondTV almost certainly cannot play or likely even see these .wtv files in a shared directory. Windows Media Center would likely be able to see and play BTV recordings but they would be located in its “Video” section not “Recorded TV” section.
　
For what its worth, as a reminder, DVBLink for Colossus which allows for Media Center support isn’t a free application. You get a 30 day free trial and the buy link is already up. I believe the cost is about ~$40 but there are talks in the forum of a possible upcoming discount.
Hauppauge’s upcoming Colossus Media Center beta implementation will presumably be free though.

***edit***

If you look here:

http://www.missingremote.com/blog/hauppauge-colossus-qa

You'll see a new "Media Center Device Central" panel from Hauppauge. Not yet released for public use but it shows that they are working on it as well as the use of multiple such devices in Media Center.

***edit***

[noodleNT]

If you need it now it looks like SageTV will be your best bet. Though people are reporting stability issues since the install of the new card.

[Octavean]

Originally Posted by noodleNT

If you need it now it looks like SageTV will be your best bet. Though people are reporting stability issues since the install of the new card.

I have found the Hauppauge Colossus to be 100% stable and functional in Microsoft Windows 7 Media Center along with DVBLink for Colossus. Not one problem to speak of.

I could see testing in SageTV, however, I already have multiple retail Windows 7 Home Premium licenses that I purchased (~$50 each) at launch that would incur no addition cost now whereas SageTV would cost ~$79.95 to ~$99.95. DVBLink for Colossus currently cost ~$25 and the native Hauppauge Media Center implementation should be free. So the most cost effective and proven stable solution for me now is Media Center with DVBLink.

[Zogg]

I know you can't watch live TV on a Media Center extender, but can you watch a recording in progress?

[Octavean]

Originally Posted by Zogg

I know you can't watch live TV on a Media Center extender, but can you watch a recording in progress?

That is not exactly correct. An Xbox360 is a Media Center Extender and the Hauppauge Colossus / Hauppauge HD PVR recordings / LiveTV will work fine with it.

I personally never cared for the extender model. Although I do have an Xbox360 I don’t want to use it in that way. I prefer autonomous systems that can make their own recordings and send them to a WHS for all systems to access.

Other older Media Center Extenders from the likes of Linksys, HP and so on are no longer supported. So no, no liveTV for them and no recorded TV. Such AVCHD recordings could probably be converted to a format that older legacy extenders could support but it would be impractical for large volumes.

[gregbrent]

Well, I email Snapstream about Colossus support, and here is their reply:

Greg,

I would like to see it supported too! Unfortunately, we do not currently have any plans to implement Colossus support into our consumer software. I assure you that if it is implemented, it will be announced.


Sincerely,

Adrienne Gonzalez
SnapStream Media, Inc.

[w4rh4wk]

Originally Posted by gregbrent

Well, I email Snapstream about Colossus support, and here is their reply:

Greg,

I would like to see it supported too! Unfortunately, we do not currently have any plans to implement Colossus support into our consumer software. I assure you that if it is implemented, it will be announced.


Sincerely,

Adrienne Gonzalez
SnapStream Media, Inc.

Come on SS! Seriously?! Throw us a bone here! They have until the summer for me, after that i'm going to say goodbye.... i REALLY dont want too

[gregbrent]

To follow up I asked:

Does this mean that the consumer products are no-longer being developed?

SS reply:

Hello Greg,

We are not actively developing our consumer product at the moment. All of our developmental resources are currently focused on our enterprise product.


Sincerely,

Adrienne Gonzalez
SnapStream Media, Inc.

------------------

Looks like I'm going to convert to SageTV after all. Plus that HD300 looks pretty sweet.

It really is a shame, I loved Beyond TV, nicely polished and clean user interface, plus a very high WAF. I just hope Sage is as easy to use.

[hmb29]

I'm pretty sure they said the same thing about the HD-PVR and we ended up with beta support, which is better than nothing.

As time has passed, I've understand why they only provided beta support, as the hardware wasn't that great in the first place and caused way more problems. So I'm not surprised they are saying they aren't committing to it. I bet you they have like 5 of them sitting in there lab just running tests 24/7 to verify it would be a good solution. I hope they surprise us with some form of beta support as they did with the HD-PVR.

[noodleNT]

Originally Posted by gregbrent

To follow up I asked:

Looks like I'm going to convert to SageTV after all. Plus that HD300 looks pretty sweet.

It really is a shame, I loved Beyond TV, nicely polished and clean user interface, plus a very high WAF. I just hope Sage is as easy to use.

Yep... I just switched and will be installing my Colossus cards this weekend. It takes a bit to get used to. I don't feel the menu and setup is as easy as BTV but the community and development is very active. There are steps you can take to Migrate BTV data over. You will loose some info though. Like if you already watched a recording or not. That said, I went full boar and bought two HD300's to use in the Family Room and Living Room. These things are TINY!

You can find me over on their forums. Shoot me a PM if you get stuck with anything. The documentation isn't great as many guides are out dated when it comes to their plug-ins. Plan the migration to take a weekend. Set the WAF to low for a few weeks till they get used to the new layout. However, the better quality recordings and access to the other media should win them over in the long run.

[bbogie1]

Originally Posted by hmb29

I'm pretty sure they said the same thing about the HD-PVR and we ended up with beta support, which is better than nothing.

I dont think this is correct. See link to old blog post. http://blogs.snapstream.com/2008/04/...at-snapstream/.

Snapstream says no!

[hmb29]

Originally Posted by bbogie1

I dont think this is correct. See link to old blog post. http://blogs.snapstream.com/2008/04/...at-snapstream/.

Snapstream says no!

that blog post just shows that they have the device and it is recording in BTV.
How do we know that they don't have the same thing right now?
Maybe they want to qualify the hardware before they make any commitment.
I know they said they aren't doing BTV anymore, but we did get a 4.9.3 release which was pretty much a surprise for everyone. Just be patient, my BTV boxes chug along while I wait.

I'm not trying to be a homer, but I believe I read somewhere else that someone from support also said that they didn't have one yet and they would review it once they get it. Was it Michael or something like that, I don't remember. It was a month back or so.