What you get in the box.
[How To is a recurring feature in which we demonstrate techniques designed to improve your game, and make your skill set more than a little bit awesome. This time out, we’ll help you PS3 and Xbox 360 gameplay videos.]
Are you a Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition king who wants to share your numerous victories and health-draining combos with the rest of the nerd world? If so, Hauppauge has the solution for you with the $199 Hauppauge HD PVR. The box records video feeds from a PS3 or Xbox 360 to a computer’s hard drive in a compressed H.264 format (PS3 records in the .M2TS format, while the Xbox 360 records in .MP4). You can connect the console (or numerous other boxes) via component video, S-video, or composite video, and record in 480i standard definition all the way up to 1080i high-definition. If you’re ready to rock, here’s how to record PS3 and Xbox 360 gameplay videos.
1. Connect your console of choice to the HD PVR using the appropriate cables.
2. Connect the HD PVR to your PC using the included USB cable.
3. Power on your PC. After the computer boots, connect the power supply to the back of the HD PVR. Power on the unit.
4. Return to your PC. Install the HD PVR drivers from the included disc.
5. Click “Install Software,” which will place the Arcsoft TotalMedia Extreme, HD PVR Scheduler, and IR Blaster applications onto your hard drive.
6. Double click the TotalMedia Extreme icon to launch the software. Click the video cassette icon to open the Arcsoft Capture Module recording. Make certain the source is set to “Happauge HD PVR Capture.”
7. Select your A/V source. Be certain that the component connection is set to 1080i.
8. Click “Format Settings” to adjust the bitrate. You can select from 1 Mbps to 13 Mbps. The higher the bitrate, the better the quality and the larger the recorded file.
9. Begin the recording session by clicking the Capture button.
10. You can find your video clips in the My Documents\My Videos folder. Note: If you want to preview the video you’re recording, click Enable Preview On Recording.
There you go. Now upload to YouTube, Vimeo, or other online video repository of your choice and share your clips with the world (check out our Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online video capture as an example of what this device can do).
Founder and Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey L. Wilson’s love of all things shiny/digital has led to jobs penning gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for 1UP, E-Gear, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, PC Magazine, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. Besides overseeing the editorial content at 2D-X.com, the Brooklyn College grad hosts New York City’s monthly Bits and Bytes video game media and public relations meetup. You can find him at a bar sampling foreign beers, or on Twitter doing twittery things.
