Hauppauge. That's all you need to know. No lists. Will do anything you need.

An $150 card that can only capture unencrypted HDMI or analog YPbPr to 13Mbps H.264 with no option for uncompressed 2-channel audio (forced AAC)

vs.

A $110 card that can capture any HDMI or YPbPr to uncompressed/lossless with uncompressed 2-channel audio

 

Not drinking that Hauppauge Kool-Aid.

drngr said:

An $150 card that can only capture unencrypted HDMI or analog YPbPr to 13Mbps H.264 with no option for uncompressed 2-channel audio (forced AAC)

vs.

A $110 card that can capture any HDMI or YPbPr to uncompressed/lossless with uncompressed 2-channel audio

 

Not drinking that Hauppauge Kool-Aid.

Sorry. I want 5.1 AC3 over 2 channel audio. What exactly are you recording in HD that ISN'T 5.1???

The only problem is the re-encoding which, if you set it to a high enough bitrate, it should be virtually transparent.

In any case, with the new splitter that has just been discovered, it renders all of this moot. It removes HDCP.

Problem solved.

Apparently the Blackmagic will pass through up to 8 channels of audio.

This thread seems to be making more trouble out of it than it deserves. Don't complicate it.

^ The problem is that you can't set it to a high enough bitrate because it is locked to a 13Mbps maximum. If it could be unlocked somehow, great.

You mention a splitter that I already listed as one of two options in my original post...

To answer your question of what I capture: kids' shows; most of them seem to be produced in 5.1 but aren't aired or streamed as such.

Plus I prefer Dolby Surround tracks on older movies to a 5.1 upmix.

13mbps is MORE than enough to capture broadcast signals. Remember, broadcast is mpeg-2 but it's being re-compressed in AVC, which is MUCH more efficient.
And should 13 not be enough for you, the internal capture card can go up to 20mbps. Overkill IMHO.

And, again, the Hauppauge is the only viable and realistic option for getting phenomenal results with 5.1 sound.

I would have purchased any other possibility. With all the HD archiving I do, there is no other option.

digitalfreaknyc said:

13mbps is MORE than enough to capture broadcast signals. Remember, broadcast is mpeg-2 but it's being re-compressed in AVC, which is MUCH more efficient.

<snip>

And, again, the Hauppauge is the only viable and realistic option for getting phenomenal results with 5.1 sound.

The best features of AVC aren't employed by realtime capture devices, since they would require additional processing time and buffering.

There are some other options for 5.1 sound, but I understand why you are saying "realistic".

I don't understand why they would even make an HDMI card that can't capture 5.1. It's pointless.

Why can't you use a credit card with PayPal?

For capture cards look for mentions of PS3 and Blu-ray players.

Spaced Ranger said:

drngr said:
Only recently, the HDMI boards have started showing up on eBay instead of just the import sites.

Are there any non-eBay sites (like the DX site -- easily available to the U.S. with normal credit cards) that carry these items? The HDMI 3D Splitter 1x4 looks useful and capping up to 1080-24p (including all the lower resolutions) should cover any future situation. Raw capturing is useful (especially for later editing), but unobtrusively compressed recordings, for later viewing with a minimum of fuss, is fine (in this ease-of-use scenario, HDMI for recording both video and audio would be best).

Only ... I can't determine which products produce "clean" signals for recording just by reading the minimal descriptions. Any pointers on what to look for?

Well, I guess it would depend on what you're looking to do with what? If HDMI is your only option, then I guess you'd have to use one of the cards listed here.

Otherwise, you can get the Hauppauge.

Spaced Ranger said:

 Bad card, or bad signal, or bad computer, or bad something else? And, more important, any way to capture without getting it?

I have never seen that on my captures, but I don't use that device. I have seen similar green or magenta bars appear when I had my card seated in a PCIe slot that it didn't like.

Seems to be a data rate deficiency.

Colossus can't do any multichannel audio besides DD5.1.

They must have added that exclusion to the list just recently.

Here is the US account for the same seller. I posted the Aussie one because it was slightly cheaper before, with the exchange rate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Port-1-x-4-Audio-Video-1080P-HD-HDMI-Splitter-Amplifier-Multiplier-Box-/220864833576

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/VeeCome-portable-Powered-Splitter-Support/dp/B0094OEQNU/

The streams aren't actually "ripped" and the trouble with screencapture on a PC is that the renderer never produces an accurate FPS. Netflix for example always drops frames; threads on AVS about it.

Doctor M said:

No, GetFLV, TubeDigger and a few other similar programs actually save the incoming data from the websites.  They are true rips, not screen captures.

Flash is frequently tries to fix their code to stop them, and they have constant updates to get around it.  It's a fun little arms race.

I assumed by "several of these streaming services" you meant the ones listed in the thread's title.

Spaced Ranger said:

There are a number of sellers that have like the same-looking box -- but who knows what's in them. Reviews are inconsistent -- some say they get the pictured box (metal), some say they get another kind (plastic).

 

Has anyone verified by purchase that this Amazon seller (or any other for that matter) has a splitter that actually handles the "hand-shaking" for devices that can't?

Can you post this claim of a plastic box? That's odd.

I got mine from Amazon, but from a different listing before they raised the price: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089DVCT8

Despite the photo, there is no CVID logo on the box.