![\"AverMedia](\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/4070\/4326521777_803b1d6c3c.jpg\")
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A few days ago I hooked up with the fine folks at AVerMedia to learn a little more about their new USB HD DVR device set to compete with the Hauppauge HD-PVR. This device, like the Hauppauge HD-PVR<\/a> captures HD content (up to 1080i) via Component Video In and therefore uses the \u201cAnalog Hole<\/a>\u201d to record and tune the content you want from Cable and Satellite.<\/p>\n My interview with AVerMedia was with Stephen Dix, VP of Sales & Marketing and Dominic Wong from engineering. I\u2019m really glad I had the chance to talk one-on-one with these guys as it gave me good insight into where AVerMedia is in the HTPC market and where they plan to be going forward. I\u2019ll get into the companies history and future plans with the North American HTPC market in a future post but the basic takeaway from my conversation is that AVerMedia is very serious about HTPC and working towards increasing their presence in the U.S. market.<\/p>\n There seemed to be some confusion when AVerMedia\u2019s AverTV USB HD DVR was first announced at CES. Despite several reports<\/a> that it recorded with a HDMI input<\/em> this is not<\/strong> the case. Here\u2019s the inputs and outputs on the device:<\/p>\n Inputs:<\/strong><\/p>\n Outputs:<\/strong><\/p>\n Note two things in those specs above: First, there is no Optical audio in or Optical audio out. This is a biggie for some as it means no 5.1 audio. But if priced right this might not be a huge deal really. I confirmed with AVerMedia that this first generation of the device will only have stereo audio.<\/p>\n Secondly you\u2019ll note the HDMI output. At first this seems a strange addition as it doesn\u2019t record from HDMI. But it will allow you to connect the device to a TV with HDMI inputs.<\/p>\n I confirmed that the device will not ship with a remote control.<\/p>\n \u201cwe do plan on working with AverMedia in the future to integrate support for the HD-DVR into SageTV\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n No word on support for Windows MediaCenter and based on how the Hauppauge HD-PVR device has been shunned by Microsoft, I\u2019d expect the same situation here. I\u2019m also guessing that 3rd part support could be added for Windows MediaCenter if DVBLink gets it working as they have with the Hauppauge HD-PVR<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite reports to the contrary, the AVerMedia AverTV USB HD DVR does hardware encoding just like the Hauppauge HD-PVR does. Matter of fact the AVerMedia will pack in a very similar chip for hardware encoding to h.264. AVerMedia tells me the semiconductor in their chip is a little more advanced too \u2013 we\u2019ll have to check that in some real-time testing.<\/p>\n The estimated time of arrival for the AVerMedia AverTV USB HD DVR April 2010 which is a month later than originally announced.<\/p>\n The plan to launch with a MSR of $199 which is pretty close to what the Hauppauge HD-PVR is selling for. I expect this should keep some pressure on Hauppauge to keep their price down and could mean the AVerMedia will sell for discounts at lower prices down the road \u2013 great news for HTPC owners!<\/p>\n A few other tidbits I learned about the device:<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m excited about seeing competition for Hauppauge in this space \u2013 options are always a good thing. Hopefully AVerMedia will put out a gen 2 device that supports 5.1 audio as well.<\/p>\n As soon as they are available I\u2019ll have a full review of the AVerMedia AverTV USB HD DVR here at GeekTonic<\/a> so stay tuned!<\/p>\n A few days ago I hooked up with the fine folks at AVerMedia to learn a little more about their new USB HD DVR device set to compete with the Hauppauge HD-PVR. This device, like the Hauppauge HD-PVR captures HD content (up to 1080i) via Component Video In and therefore uses the \u201cAnalog Hole\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5408,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5408"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}AverMedia USB HD DVR Ports<\/h4>\n
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Component Video In<\/div>\n<\/li>\nS\/Video In<\/div>\n<\/li>\nComposite Video In (on front)<\/div>\n<\/li>\nComposite Left\/Right Audio In<\/div>\n<\/li>\nPower<\/div>\n<\/li>\nUSB<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
Component Video Out (1080p) pass through<\/div>\n<\/li>\nHDMI Out (for playback directly to TV \u2013 not for HTPC)<\/div>\n<\/li>\nComposite Left\/Right Audio Out<\/div>\n<\/li>\nIR Blaster<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSoftware Support:<\/h4>\n
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TotalMedia Extreme 2.0 \u2013 comes bundled with the device and will be supported at launch<\/div>\n<\/li>\nSageTV<\/a> \u2013 AVerMedia has begun discussions with SageTV on support for the device. I confirmed with Jeff Kardatzke (CEO of SageTV) of SageTV\u2019s plans. Kardatzke had this to say \u201c<\/div>\n\n
Hardware Encoding<\/h4>\n
Expected Launch Date?<\/h4>\n
Expected Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price:<\/h4>\n
Other Info<\/h4>\n
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