• HDMI v1.3 Certified
• Supports 1080p, PS3, X-box, Blu-Ray, HD-DVR, Digital/Satellite Cable boxes…
• Premium Gold Series
• UL Listed premium shielded for best quality
• Lifetime Warranty

The PTC HDMI v1.3 Certified cables is engineered and constructed to meet the stringent HDMI v1.3 specifications. Supports 1080p and beyond. Supports your digital devices such as Blu-Ray, PS3, X-Box, Digital Camcorders and Cameras, Cable and satellite boxes, HD-DVR,. Comes with PTC’s LIFETIME Warranty!

Rating: (out of 79 reviews)

List Price: $ 0.00

Price: $ 5.45

Related Products

Short Version: The AVerMedia MTVHDDVRR is a PCI Express video capture card with HDMI, component, S-Video, and composite inputs. The card retails for around $100 (you can find it for close to $90 online) and is capable of capturing up to 1080i video.

Features:

• PCI Express video capture card
• HDMI, Component, S-Video, Composite inputs
• Records up to 1080i resolution in MPEG-2 format, also records H.264 and iPod formats
• Includes low profile bracket and 10-in-1 input cable, plus on-card HDMI input

Pros:

• Easy installation
• Good recording quality
• Relatively inexpensive

Cons:

• Included media center software looks like it’s from 1999
• No 1080p recording
• HDMI connection is wildly unpredictable

Review:

The AVerMedia AVerTV HD DVR video capture card (model number MTVHDDVRR) is for people who want to digitize footage of some type. Be it old VHS movies or camcorder tapes, video game console gameplay, or grabbing shows off of a DVR, the card handles most recording tasks pretty well.

Setup is easy, provided you’ve cracked open a desktop and installed something before. The card face has two slots; one’s an HDMI port and the other is used for the included 10-in-1 AV cable that’s got component, S-video, and composite connectors. You can plug a bunch of different sources in at the same time and then switch between them using AVer MediaCenter.

The included AVer MediaCenter looks and feels like very early DVR software. It’s got TV, Video, Audio, and Photo functions but you’ll just use the TV function to record stuff. The video player, audio player, and photo viewer are just fluff.

Recording works well over anything but HDMI, which was a total crapshoot depending upon which device was hooked up. My Comcast DVR box caused the software to crash every time without fail (see photo below), my Xbox 360 would sometimes only record the sound but no picture, and a Gateway notebook with HDMI output worked fine every time. For reference, I’m running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, the latest 64-bit Beta drivers for the card, and latest AVer Media Center software. I used the latest stable, non-Beta version of the card’s drivers for a while, too, and experienced similar results.

Anything hooked up via component, composite, or S-video recorded just fine without any problems. So it’s likely an issue with HDMI’s digital handshake and could also have something to do with the whole copy protection thing (HDCP). After a while, I just stopped trying to hook things up via HDMI. Here’s a video of HDMI video capture that actually worked—a Gateway notebook playing a 720p video recorded at 720p by the card.

Download the full-size original MPEG-2 file…

Your format options for capturing HD video are MPEG-2 and… well, that’s it. You’ve also got H.264 and “iPod” settings but they max out at 720×480. The maximum HD resolution is 1080i, so plan accordingly.

Conclusion:

I can’t broadly recommend this product due to how poorly the included software handles HDMI connections, but if you’re patient enough to wait for AVerMedia to get all the kinks worked out and you’re content to only use the component, composite, and S-video connections, then you’ll find everything to work relatively well aside from the HDMI input. On the whole, though, there are more stable options out there right now.

AVerTV HD DVR [AVerMedia-USA.com]

You should know the drill by now. Leave a comment below describing your first TV and we’ll pick the winner at random on 12/18/2009. The winner must have a US shipping address. This DVR only works with cable systems so satellite subscribers and antenna users need not play. Good luck!

Of course if you don’t win, you could always swing over to Moxi.com and pick up a dual tuner model for $499 or the triple-tuner model with a Moxi Mate for $799. Just saying.

The former Digeo has managed to stay busy despite going through an acquisition by Arris. The company just went live with a slew of updates that show the company is serious about the DVR game. First and foremost is a new HD DVR model. This boy is almost exactly like the current Moxi HD DVR except it comes equipped with three tuners that will allow you to record three separate stations at one time off of a single multi-stream Cable Card. Take that, TiVo.

The new three-tuner model is perfect for the somewhat new Moxi Mate that will soon be able to utilize the tuners in a Moxi HD DVR for live TV viewing. Picture this: you’re streaming a recording from your main Moxi HD DVR onto the Moxi Mate in your bedroom but the wife fails asleep. This means you’re no longer obligated to watch Gray’s Anatomy and instead of switching to your TV’s tuner, the Moxi Mate will act just like a full size Moxi HD DVR and stream content live from one of the free tuners located in the full size Moxi HD DVR. You can even change the channel, view the guide, and timeshift live TV all over magic of Ethernet.

Up to two Moxi Mates can connect to one three-tuner DVR but can access live TV only when the main Moxi has a tuner available. If the tuners are in use, the user will be notified of the conflict and given the option to cancel the recording to free up the tuner. The necessary Moxi Mate software update will be available within the coming weeks along with an update to the Moxi HD DVR that tweaks the menu structure a bit.

Of course the new three tuner Moxi HD DVR can do the standard DVR functions too. Except this model allows you to record on three stations while watching a previously recorded program.

With the new model comes price drops. The two-tuner HD DVR is now $499 down from $799 and the standalone Moxi Mate is $299 instead of $399. The three-tuner model is only available in a bundle pack with either one or two Moxi Mates for $799 and $999, respectively. Just like before, there is no monthly fee with any of these products.

Arris, and formerly, Digeo has been on a roll ever since the Moxi HD DVR was released last December. This is the 3rd straight quarter that the company has significantly updated its Moxi HD DVR product line. TiVo hasn’t done that in years.

New Three-Tuner Moxi® HD DVR and Reduced Pricing for Moxi Multi-Room Packages Unwrapped for Holiday Season

Under ARRIS Ownership, Moxi Continues to Innovate and Deliver New Features to Consumers

SUWANEE, GA – November 10, 2009 – As part of its first product update since acquiring the award-winning Moxi product line from Digeo, Inc. in September, ARRIS (Nasdaq: ARRS) today announced the introduction of a three-tuner version of the Moxi HD DVR as well as reduced pricing for its two-tuner Moxi HD DVR and Moxi multi-room packages.

• The new three-tuner Moxi HD DVR, which allows for recording of three channels simultaneously while watching a fourth recorded program, is available in a Moxi HD DVR plus Moxi Mate bundle for $799 MSRP.
• The price of the two-tuner Moxi HD DVR introduced earlier this year has been reduced to $499 MSRP (formerly $799).
• In addition, ARRIS is introducing a three-room multi-room bundle option—a three-tuner Moxi HD DVR plus two Moxi Mates that collectively serve three rooms for $999.

The company also announced plans to deliver live TV on the Moxi Mate via the Moxi HD DVR. The Moxi HD DVR will receive the update automatically through a software download. Additionally, the price of the Moxi Mate has been reduced to $299 (formerly $399).

“We’ve heard from consumers that they love the Moxi products but are looking for different price and component options to serve their individual needs,” said Marc Beckwitt, VP of CPE Video Business Development, ARRIS. “The recent acquisition by ARRIS brings the market presence and leverage required to drive cost out of the product, and consequently, we’re able to offer these very competitive prices to consumers.”

ARRIS continues to stand by the commitment to deliver the Moxi “all in”, with no monthly or lifetime DVR service fees. Moxi also has no in-menu advertisements.

The Moxi HD DVR is designed to appeal to the most demanding digital cable entertainment enthusiasts. Some of its key attributes include:

• A native HD interface and Emmy® award-winning Moxi Menu
• Up to 75 hours of HD recording space or up to 300 hours at standard definition, and expandable to 6.5 Terabytes for up to 1000 hours of HD recording with an external eSATA drive
• Access to many Internet services consumers already use, such as Rhapsody®, Flickr® and online video from Netflix®, Hulu™, and YouTube™ via DLNA server software such as PlayOn™ (currently provided at no charge) running on their PC
• Multi-room viewing with the Moxi Mate and the ability to record three channels simultaneously while watching a fourth recorded program on the three-tuner version of the Moxi HD DVR
• Remote and mobile browser scheduling to set recordings while away from home moxi.com
• MoxiNet for full-screen web browsing and SupertickerTM —a ticker widget that provides information, such as weather, sports scores and news along the bottom of the screen

The Moxi HD DVR makes it effortless for consumers to discover, experience and share high definition media from their digital cable provider, PCs on the home network, and the Internet.

Also scheduled for release later this month are additional software upgrades to Moxi, which include new search and record option menus. These software updates will enable users to specify preferred record settings that can be applied to any new recorded TV shows or TV series. The new menu structure delivers easier access and better visibility related to the DVR function of the Moxi HD DVR, such as available hard drive space and other Moxi HD DVR related recording and scheduling functions.

Software upgrades, which have been delivered each quarter since unveiling the Moxi at CES in January 2009, continue to be delivered to the consumer automatically and at no charge.

Taking advantage of ARRIS e-tail infrastructure, the company is also introducing payment via major credit card instead of the PayPal option previously offered. The new Moxi pricing and bundle options are available now at www.moxi.com.

For more details, technical specifications and screen images of the Moxi HD DVR and Moxi Mate, please visit: www.moxi.com. You can also follow Moxi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/moxi_hd or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/moxi.hd.

It had become such a problem that I finally decided I’d had enough last week and that I’d ditch Time Warner Cable’s HD DVR for a TiVo HD. For $239.99 at Best Buy (the company was offering it on sale–the TiVo HD usually retails for $299.99), it was a great deal. I also paid $129 to get one full year of TiVo service.

My new toy.

(Credit: TiVo)

With the TiVo HD in hand last Monday, I was ready to enjoy my new toy. I contacted Time Warner Cable to get all the details I needed to get set up.

Training anyone?

When I called Time Warner Cable last Monday, I was extremely displeased by the company’s customer service. No one quite understood what I was talking about when I told them that I wanted to switch from my HD DVR to the TiVo HD. I asked them what the set-up process was. I wanted to know if I lost any channels.

After waiting for about five minutes for the customer-service representative to find information on the TiVo (“Sorry, we don’t get many of these requests,” she told me), she finally read to me, verbatim, what it said on her sheet.

According to the technician, I would need to have a multichannel CableCARD installed to get my programming. Unfortunately, I would lose several channels even with the CableCARD. I was told by the agent that I would need a Switched Digital Video adapter in addition to the CableCARD to retrieve those channels. An SDV adapter is basically a black set-top box that connects to the TiVo HD, allowing you to watch switched digital video channels. It’s a fancy term for saying that Time Warner Cable is trying to save bandwidth.

Somewhat satisfied by the information, I told the agent that I wanted to schedule an appointment for a Time Warner Cable technician to come to my house and install both the CableCARD (you’re not allowed to install it yourself) and the SDV adapter. No luck. The agent told me that I would first need to go to the Time Warner Cable Web site and fill out an online form. Upon doing so, I was put in line to receive an SDV adapter.

…

Originally posted at The Digital Home

Microsoft might have scored an exclusive deal to keep Netflix Xbox 360 only and off both the PS3 and Wii. But if you’re willing to forgo the fancy UI on the Xbox, there is still a way to get Netflix on the PS3 and eventually the Wii too.

MediaMall has a software pack called PlayOn that uses the DLNA system built into almost every networked AV device. Right now I use the software on my Xbox 360, Moxi HD DVR, Helios X5000 and Archos Gen 5 hooked up to my bedroom TV with a DVR station.  

The user interface isn’t spectacular as the program uses the device’s DLNA system. The great thing is that the software pack not only supports Netflix, but also Hulu, YouTube, ESPN, CBS, and Revision3. There are some drawbacks like the $39.99 cost after a 14-day trial ends, and the YouTube support isn’t exactly stellar. In the end though, the software gives you access to a lot of content not official supported by the devices.

Listen, the Moxi HD DVR has problems in my eyes, but if you’re still stuck with a cable DVR, you better click through and enter this contest. The Moxi HD DVR is years past anything you can get from a cable provider. In this contest you have a chance to win a 500GB Moxi HD DVR and the new Moxi Mate, which allows for 2nd room viewing. This is a $1,000 value, boys and girls. All you need to do is surf on over to this site and fill out the form. Good luck!

Digeo just pushed the summer Moxi HD DVR update and I had to check it out. I had a few issues with the DVR after the last release that was supposed to be resolved. One, I hate the vertical channel guide bar thing and the summer update added a traditional grid guide. Two, the GUI was supposed to be faster now and require less button presses. Three, the player was finally suppose to be able to playback more video file formats like AVI and MKV.

Spoiler: Digeo fixed two out of the three issues mentioned above and ignored other glaring problems like the fantastically funny but also very offensive Porn search tool.

If you read my review of the Moxi HD DVR, you should know that I’m not a fan of the vertical bar channel guide. I think it’s a pain and doesn’t utilize the widescreen layout of an HDTV efficiently. But the summer update was supposed to add a grid guide and that was the first thing I checked out.

So I went to the settings, and sure enough it was enabled. I then quickly navigated to the Channel icon (and ignored the onscreen message about the grid guide in the settings menu) only to discover that damn vertical bar was still there. So this time when I went back to the settings, I actually read the message that explained the only way to access the grid guide was to hit the little square icon on the remote twice.

Yeah, so when you hit the Moxi button, you still have the vertical channel guide. When you navigate to the guide through anything else, you still have the vertical channel guide. The only way to get the grid guide – which looks like it was designed by an 8th grader btw – is to hit the little square icon on top of the remote twice. Dumb.

There is some good news though. This update does speed up the GUI a bit. It doesn’t lag like it did before, which is always nice. Also, when navigating the network shares, you no longer have to hit the back button twice. A single click to the left navigates the system down one step. Before the GUI would ask you if you wanted to step back even though you hit the back button. This was a huge pain if you where several directories into a network share.

But – this is rich – now when navigating the network, the GUI asks you if you want to enter the folder you just clicked. Let me you walk you through this. I select PlayOn Media Server and click OK. The GUI then asks me if I really want to enter that folder, which I then must confirm by clicking OK again. Then I select Videos, which prompts the same confirm screen that I have to say OK again to. Then I can select the genre of movie I want to watch. But don’t forget about that confirmation screen which wants to make sure that you really want to enter the folder you just selected.

I don’t get it, folks. Navigating a menu should be as easy as possible with no extra steps. I think the purpose of this confirmation screen is to allow users to add the folder to a favorites menu, but there must be a better way of doing things. The current method is downright aggravating.

Just as Diego promised though, the Moxi HD DVR can playback more video file formats including AVI and MKV. Although, don’t expect to be able to watch any MKVs though as it seems that the speed is too slow and the playback is very choppy on larger files. AVIs playback fine although this is something that PlayOn resolved a few weeks ago. But now you can use any DLNA service including TVersity and Twonky.

I still have one major issue with the Moxi HD DVR and that’s the search tool. As a family man, I really don’t want my child seeing descriptions of 18 Petite N Creamy, 18 Year Old Dream Teens, or any of the hundred other programs shown in the search tool. The problem is that these stations are available from Comcast, and even though I don’t subscribe to them (promise), all the programs show up in alphabetical order starting with numbers. This is a major problem I noted in my review that still hasn’t been addressed. The search tool should not show you programs on stations that aren’t available, pornographic in nature or not.

I would grade the Moxi summer update as a C. It’s not failing, but it’s also not excelling. These tiny fixes and poor implementation of a grid guide probably could have been rolled out without any fanfare. Don’t get me wrong, this $800 HD DVR is dramatically better than anything cable offers, but it still doesn’t reach the level of usability or function set by TiVo years ago.

Also, now the Moxi supports Switched Digital Video. Certain cable companies have adopted this format on new stations, and even the CableCard doesn’t pick them up. Now the Moxi can, just like TiVo. All you need is the SDV tuning adapter from your content provider if you indeed require one.

Digeo has rolled out more video codec supports for the Moxi HD DVR. The company is specifically not listing which formats the Moxi HD DVR now support, but it seems like most H.264 and even MKV containers should now work – even though officially Digeo hasn’t said this. At least the company is addressing what was one of my biggest complaints previously.

The summer update also adds compatibility with LaCie 4big Quadra 6 TB drive via the rear eSATA port. Do you know how much HD programming can fit onto a 6TB drive? 1000 hours. That’s a lot.

So the Moxi Mate. This is designed to be a second room streaming device. You’re limited to only one per full size Moxi HD DVR though. The little fanless device allows you to stream all the content from the full size to the second room. In addition to the remote content, the Moxi Mate can also access all the network content via the DLNA network and PlayOn software. However, a person cannot tune in stations nor schedule recordings from the Moxi Mate.

The Moxi Mate will cost $399 retail, but is available in a $1000 package that includes the $799 Moxi HD DVR. Expect it to be available on Moxi.com tonight and on Amazon by Friday.

The software should start hitting Moxi HD DVRs later today and is expected to be complete later this week.