HDMI Splitters and Switches Fried Hauppauge 1512 5
I love the smell of burning electronics in the morning. NOT!
I’ve had an HDMI splitter and Hauppauge 1512 recorder for about 2 yrs. These devices have worked well together and allowed me to push HDMI content to the 1512, a monitor, and a projector all concurrently. Worked nice, but only supported 1 input and only the 1512 only has drivers for Windows (booo).
So I picked up a J-Tech Matrix 4×2 HDMI switch/splitter to better control which inputs were sent to the different outputs without needing to swap cables anymore.
HDMI is a stateless connection, right? Perhaps not. Got everything connected and started having the matrix switch through the different inputs trying to see the output on either/both of the output devices. Didn’t appear that the handshake had worked, so I decided to disconnect the splitter and instead of it being just before the monitor, it would be in front of the matrix switch. As soon as the HDMI cable was connected to the Hauppauge device, I heard a little “Hiss” …. didn’t recognize it immediately, but then saw a little white smoke coming from the 1512 device. It sits along on the rack here – plenty of airflow around it. First unplugged the HDMI cable, but that didn’t immediately stop the growing smoke, so I pulled the power input. That stopped the smoke and hissing, but the 5 seconds probably fried the innards completely. Hopefully, no damage to other connected devices has happened. Don’t know yet.
So … I’m in the market for a
- linux compatible,
- USB-connected (can’t use card-solutions),
- HDMI video,
- HDMI 5.1+ audio
recording device that doesn’t cost $2K.
Any ideas?
Have you considered using an EasyCAP device with one of your existing servers instead of getting a standalone device?
I have not tired it, but you could check out http://easycap.blogspot.com/p/recording.html.
Yes, I’ve looked at many different capture devices. The EasyCAP device is NOT HDMI and doesn’t handle 1080p content with DTS/DD+ audio.
I have a few other std def recorders already.
Two are USB and none are HiDef. None support HDMI as input – this is non-negotiable as a mandatory requirement.
Still – good thought.
Hauppauge provided an RMA a few weeks ago and the package transportation system has been engaged.
In the meantime, I decided to pick up a cheap HDMI recording device – no PC needed. It records AAC stereo and all HDMI content to mp4/aac/h.264 files onto directly connected storage.
The storage must be FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS. FAT32 is recommended. ExFAT is not supported and no Linux file systems are supported.
It is completely stand-alone for recording. Connect storage and an HDMI input. Press a button to record, the green light changes to red. If HDMI is the video input, the analog audio port cannot be used. That port only works with component video input and R/L stereo jacks for input too. Cables for this are included, as is a short HDMI cable.
The device is an AGPtek HDMI/YPBPR Recorder HD Game Capture Recorder for $80. Got free same-day Amazon shipping. It is odd to order something at noon and have it delivered from a different state by 18:40p knowing it is over a 2.5 hr drive away.
So – the AGPtek works though the recording quality is nothing like that from the Hauppauge 1512. I was selecting source material that wasn’t high quality to avoid down-sampling DD+ and DTS audio. Audio is only stereo, nothing of higher quality is possible. The device limits recorded files to 1.95G and splits the files at that point automatically. For 1080p recordings, that is between 15 min and 40 min of recorded content. Doing this means I get to join those parts together later, which hasn’t been possible using the normal video tools here. I haven’t tried too hard, but VideoRedo and mkvmerge do not do it. The original recorded files had to be run through ffmpeg for mkvmerge to even read them. VLC didn’t have any issues with playback, but vlc plays anything, it seems.
The reason I picked this up was to record presentations at local groups without having to pack the larger, Windows-only, Hauppauge device. For this purpose, I think the AGPtek will be fine. Had some trouble capturing audio from a PC through the HDMI cable, but haven’t looked into that much.
Audio and talking-head parts of the recording will still need to happen separately. I looked carefully at the audio equipment used at SELF last week. For presentations, it seems the wonderful USB microphone I picked up a few months ago won’t work. A mixer is needed that accepts analog audio inputs from wireless (FM/UHF) microphone devices.
The AGPtek device is a cheap recorder. There are 5 others, all identical, with different names on Amazon, but all of them have exactly the same box and device inside. There are different prices. These are about 50% less than the Hauppauge.
I’m currently watching a Russian film recorded with the device. It doesn’t look bad, but the source resolution wasn’t hidef.
don’t know if you solved this but Black magic makes some tools that might meet your needs, they have a simple hdmi recorder and there is their base usb3 shuttle with hdmi in and out, we use them both in capture and streaming applications.
good luck
found you searching atsc antenna experiences
Thanks for the ideas.
@stewart – I’ve looked at the Black Magic equipment before and decided against it.
a) too expensive for a hobby.
b) USB versions of their stuff doesn’t support Linux. They claim recording takes 3 disks in RAID0. Why have an external box at all? Why not use SSDs?
c) Lots of complaints about USB compatibility with the USB3 intensity on amazon. Installing a special USB card won’t work – laptop. USB3 Renesas chipset seems to be required. Don’t know if this is true, but it is a non-starter for me.
In the Amazon reviews and questions, people suggest getting the PCIe version (which is a non-starter for a laptop) rather than dealing with all the hassles of the USB3 version. My next trip to Asia will probably include a small purchase. That will be much easier and cheaper to solve this.