Hi all,

Is the latest DVR is Astro HD?

If my new house already have Astro Cable Ready, is it no need to drill cable at wall anymore to connect to DVR?

Need you all advice, thank you!

DarkCrystal HD is not standalone recorder but it attach to a PC to capture. Yes, no need to worry about HDCP but you need to get HDMI to component video converter.

Is it as same as connect from B.yond component input to DarkCrystal HD component one?

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Oct 19 2012, 02:57 PM

I am not sure but I believe that this has been discussed before in the previous thread at "Astro B.yond Episode IV (Version 9.0)"... hehe... from what I remembered because I did not search the lots of pages of posts there. Whatever, in any case, I may or may not be repeating info from previous thread.

It depends on whether we want to record in SD or HD from the Byond box using a capture card installed in PC or from an independent standalone set-top box recorder. I believe that both of you already know about this too.

For the sake of discussion and to clear up any confusion, if any, I hope I can clarify a bit here without adding more confusion.

SD Recording
For this type of recording, we have lots of choices of choosing various PC capture cards or standalone box recorders. HDCP is absolutely never any issue since it only encrypts and prevents HD recording from HDMI output. Because of the so-called "analog sunset" imposed by AACS certification, the Component Video Output from Byond have been reduced to SD 576p output only.

If I am not mistaken (please correct me if I am wrong), devices (including Byond) that are manufactured from year 2013 onwards, Component Video or RCA analog outputs will no longer be allowed or such outputs will completely be removed for any devices that have HDMI Output. Hmm... I am curious and wonder what will happen to new Byond boxes supplied to new subscribers in 2013... will Byond still have such outputs or just come with a single HDMI Output only ? Well... only my personal guesses only so I may not be correct about this latest "analog sunset" matter.

Since both the Component Video and RCA (yellow) output from Byond is only in SD quality and do not have HDCP, we do have lots of choices to pick for SD recording so its not necessary to choose DarkCrystal HD capture card because there are others that do an equally good job of recording good quality SD video recording. I say "good quality" because such quality is as good as it gets for maximum SD quality at 576p resolution BUT we just cannot compare this to HD quality which is in a completely different range. Its just like comparing a bicycle tyre size to a truck tyre size!

Yes, from the perspective of SD recording, there should not be much difference between using DarkCrystal HD capture card and the, say, AC Ryan Playon! DVR HD. I suspect the only difference in SD recording between these two can be pointed to the higher video bitrate setting that can be used for DarkCrystal HD in a PC whereas the AC Ryan Playon! DVR HD video bitrate may not be selectable or have limited bitrate settings.

Take note that audio recording from Satellite HD channels from RCA (red, white) will only be Stereo PCM, NO better audio quality Dolby Digital 5.1 !

I have been using the Snazzi PCI capture card in my previous old PC and was happily recording in DVD (SD) or MPEG quality from the old Astro (Not Byond) box. Later I replaced this with the Pinnacle PCI capture when I changed my PC to Core2DUO. I still kept till today the 5 hours recording in SD MPEG quality of the CNN Live broadcast of the Sept 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Ever since I changed to Intel I7 PC and got addicted to HD and Blu-ray quality, I am no longer satisfied with only SD recording so I have now removed my Pinnacle card from my PC.

Yes, Kimyee is correct to say "no need to worry about HDCP" when we are referring to SD recording from Byond box. There is no HDCP from the Byond Component Video and RCA (yellow) Video outputs so we can easily choose any compatible devices, be it a PC capture card or a standalone box, to record in SD. The question here is... bypassing HDCP becomes an issue when we want to record in HD from the only HD Output from the Byond box which is the HDMI output.

HD Recording
Now it becomes quite interesting here because we all know that HD quality, even at 720p, do have much better video quality than SD, heck... who doesn't want to record in HD ? I DO !!

Another issue that also creeps into HD recording is the audio quality ! Satellite/Cable Digital TV transmission either broadcast in Dolby Digital Stereo (AC3) or Dolby Digital 5.1/5.0 surround depending on each program source. Of course I will not disagree that the Dolby quality may not be at top quality for all programs but at the very least, Dolby affords us with better audio experience. The question here is... even when we can record in 1080i HD, will I be satisfied to only record in lower analog PCM stereo at 44.1 KHz when higher quality DD5.1 at 48 KHz is available ? In my personal opinion, the audio part makes up half the enjoyment of watching an HD video !

As many of us here already know, most if not all, satellite/cable HD transmission are already encrypted with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) as stipulated by AACS and HDMI controlling bodies (if I am not mistaken). So almost all players such as TVs, Displays, Satellite Set-top boxes can easily get certification and so become HDCP compliant. In my opinion, the major problem here is for the manufacturers of HD recorders (for PC capture cards, standalone HD recorders, etc) to get such "HD recording" products to become HDCP compliant. I would suspect that the "HDCP controlling bodies" are not too keen or may never issue licenses to such HD recording devices.

Therefore, as many of us here already know, the key answer in order to successfully get HD recording at 720p or 1080i from Byond HDMI Output is...

...1) Get a PC Capture Card or Standalone HD Recorder Set-Top Box which is HDCP compliant allows HD recording from its HDMI Input. The difficult answer is... can anyone here find one ? I am at a loss here so I don't know of any. If anyone here knows of one, I also eagerly want to buy one too !!!

...2) Purchase one device from (1) and add another so-called "Converter Device" which receive HDMI Input, shhh... "quietly" remove the HDCP from the HDMI signal and then output to Component Video (1080i). The question here is... are such devices legal ? I don't know. Do anyone here also know of such devices that can bypass the protection ? I also want to know too.

The DarkCrystal HD Capture Pro card for the computer do have HDMI Input as shown at this link below...
http://www.avermedia.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=528
... but in the "Major Description" was also mentioned that "*Capturing HD content with HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is not supported" which actually means that we cannot record from Byond HDMI with HDCP !

Kimyee casually mentioned "no need to worry about HDCP but you need to get HDMI to component video converter"... so will it really and actually work to remove the HDCP from the HDMI signal ? Will ANY such HD converters work or do we have to find a specific model ? Please remember that I am talking about recording in 720p or 1080i from HDMI HD, not Upscale from SD Input to HD. If you already found one that can remove the HDCP from the HDMI, please let me know because I DO really want it ! Appreciate any feedback or recommendations here.

The advantage of using PC for HD recording is that I have unlimited harddisk capacity... I can buy as many 2000GB harddisk as I want and not get restricted to only 500GB from PVR... what happens when the PVR is spoilt and replaced ? All the previous recording gone ! With a PC, all my videos in my external harddisk still exist when my PC motherboard is spoilt, unless... of course... the harddisk also got spoilt, hehe. Well... Byond PVR also do have good features too, such as easy convenience for people who are not proficient in computers, 2 tuners which can record from 2 channels at the same time, etc... but, only for me, is not needed or necessary.

In my opinion... HDCP helped As*teruk to make $$ from monthly subscription to PVR Service!

To everyone.... Please feel free to make any suggestions or to correct any mistakes that I made here because I also wish to get HD recording. No problem.

Peace

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Oct 19 2012, 07:44 PM

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2008-03/gefen-...cords-via-hdmi/ this. Hmm, i wonder this can be used here too?

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Oct 19 2012, 07:04 PM

Honestly, I don't know whether it will work or not. IF its true according to the reviewer from the link you gave, then it is good news. However, at about US 1000, its pricey lah ! Well... I could just simply say that the only way to be absolutely certain is "see" it with our own eyes at a local shop display ! Hmm... this GeFen DVR allowed HD recording to its internal hard drive only, not to external SD card.

If I am not mistaken, there are 2 local malaysian distributors for GeFen products and I actually did phone to one in Kelana Jaya last year... hmm... as far as I can remember... I was told that most of the HD recording devices are not HDCP compliant... after hearing this, only problem is I did NOT pursue this further and have forgotten which GeFen product I had asked at that time, hehe.

Anyway, you have renewed my interest in GeFen products so I will check all their various products for any possible solution... but I suspect that it will be a very expensive solution from GeFen which may be out of my budget, hehe. I guess it will take me a longer time to find out, maybe months loh.

Thanks for the suggestion.

You're welcome. Honestly speaking, i would've buy the HDFury b4 buying good recording DVR/PVR.

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Oct 19 2012, 07:33 PM

Yes, a sensible choice. I believe the HDFury had been mentioned before in the previous Episode IV thread.

Hmm... is HDFury4 the latest model ? Its specs is impressive as shown in this link below...
http://www.hdfury.com/products/hdfury4-specs/
... which in part stated ... "Input: HDMI 1.4 (HDCP compliant) input with 3D and Deep Colour support"

I wonder how much it will cost in RM ? If price is reasonable, not too expensive and can record in HD from Byond HDMI, I am interested to get one because I have never like the miserable Byond PVR (with builtin 500GB harddisk) from As*teruk which have caused so many subscribers with various problems... more than half of my personal friends somehow got their PVR replaced after about 6 to 20 months (incredible, isn't it?).

Any local malaysian sellers here or in LYN ? Have anyone got hold of HDFury4 and tested it ? Or do we have to get from Amazon, eBay, etc ?

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Oct 19 2012, 08:07 PM

http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/PureLink-HDFury...=item484a07cebd

According to this, the HDfury3 one priced at RM1359 (=+RM31 shipping)...

This question have been asked a few times before and have been answered by members here. Anyway, I don't mind repeating it here.

Yes, the Byond PVR (with builtin 500GB harddisk) is HD ready and can receive all the Astro HD channels.

However, which HD channels you can watch will depend on which Package you subscribed. Not necessarily you can watch/record all the available HD channels... if you did not subscribe to Movies Pack, then the HBO HD Ch 431 is locked so cannot watch/record. If you did NOT subscribe to any SuperPacks or HD Service, then ALL the HD channels are locked and you cannot watch or record any HD channels, only watch/record SD channels.

I really don't know whether you are allowed to get the Byond PVR box by subscribing to PVR Recording Service only, without subscribing to HD Service. Of course, no problem for the 4 SuperPacks because already included PVR Recording and HD Service.

Please refer to Astro website for further details or contact Customer Support for such enquiries. I am a bit lazy to explain in full detail here again.

The Byond DVR (with builtin 500GB harddisk) have 2 tuners which allows recording from 2 different sat TV channels at the same time... or record from 1 channel and watch another channel at the same time. Because of this, it has 2 Inputs to be connected to 2 different cables to the LNB at satellite dish.

For Byond PVR subscribers, the installer will change or install to a new Dual (2) or Quad (4) Output LNB at the dish which allows more cable connections.

Eventhough you mentioned that your new house is "Astro cable ready", is it only ONE single cable installed in-wall ? If only 1 cable, then unfortunately you need to have a second (2) cable for the Byond PVR so this will be problem for you to find a way to install the second satellite cable.

Well... to avoid adding second cable, you can think of using "1 In-2 Out" cable splitters to connect 2 cables from the single cable plug at wall to the Byond PVR BUT this is not recommended. Why ? Signal quality will be affected and can drop so much to affect the HD channels reception, maybe interference/noise appears or maybe more "rain fade" will occur eventhough slight rain. Remember that some installers DID use splitters for the Byond PVR when the Byond PVR subscriber refused to allow extra second cable to be installed because house looked "ugly" if cables are seen snaking on the walls. Well... I have heard of complains later about the reception, hehe. If you decided to use such splitters for your Byond PVR, then good luck to you, hehe.

Hehe... one of my friends came to me to ask for suggestions when his new house was still being built so I advised him to put in at least 3 or 4 satellite cables inside the walls. More expensive because of more cables used but at least it is "future proof" and he never regretted it later when he did actually used 3 for 1 Byond and 1 Byond PVR so no need to worry anymore on "drilling holes" into the wall !

At this price !? Hmm... ... and its only "HDFury3 Connector", so will I be wrong to believe that it may shoot up to RM 2000++ for the HDFury4 ?

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Oct 19 2012, 09:19 PM

That's on Ebay. Dunno about elsewhere sites.

F.y.i. Cinema One Global is SD 4:3. Cheers.


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Oh, that was unheard for.

https://www.facebook.com/ComedyCentralAsia

Looks like the request is ON...

haha we got indo pek 4 indongs ppl

Indo (crap) pack lah. All (except certain live show, tv drama & films) ripped on various Indo TV...

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Oct 20 2012, 11:05 AM

Tks for the FB link.

They know foreigners would not mind payin to watch chs in their own language.

I only want to watch Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart shows in CC Asia.

3 Astro channels showing the same Piala Malaysia.. Why?

Astro Arena, Mustika HD, ASSP HD2

Simple want to sell Mustika pack and SPRT pack,suckers!