Component Video Capture

Finally! Hauppauge has a video capture device that can capture HD component video that's priced near consumer level. Here's a review.

It's the HD PVR Model 1212, and it's a USB device that you plug into your cable box through the YPbPr (component video). This is an unencrypted HD analog video signal that the device can capture and encode to 720p or 1080i. (No 1080p support but your cable box doesn't output 1080p anyway).

Of course it just figured that I recently deprecated my media center and switched to the stinky Rogers SA8300HD box, simply because I wanted HD. I'm not going to jump back into Media Center yet - I'll wait for HD capture to become a bit more common place - but it's cool to see it's possible.

One possible hitch - Blu-Ray has the cability to cut the resolution of disc playback to one quarter the full resolution when video is being played back through analog outputs. If the studios start to see the availability of HD capture as a threat, they could play that card. That also cripple everyone using those outputs legitimately.