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Hauppauge Colossus HD PCIe card

TV and gaming captured

Channel hoping?

Unfortunately though, there is no EPG of any sort and recordings must be scheduled manually. Until very recently HTPC users could have made better use of Colossus under SageTV, but Google acquired SageTV on 18 June 2011 and as such the software is no longer available for purchase.

Hauppauge Colossus

No tuner, but a useful interface for those with a vintage TV or gaming YouTube channel to support

Aside from the Component, HDMI and SP/DIF inputs, there is an auxiliary connector that allows the use of a daughterboard to give you composite and S-Video inputs. This, however, is not included with the Colossus so I found myself using an AV receiver to pass other input types through the Component input.

Hauppauge Colossus

Input selections : Composite and S-Video are options with an optional daughterboard

Colossus also includes an IR remote and IR blaster system that can be used to control both the WinTV software and a set top box. Hauppauge claims most boxes are compatible as they include over 200 IR code sets, but if you find yours isn’t included, the blaster is fully programmable using your existing remote to teach the codes.

Hauppauge Colossus

XBox moments: anything on the screen can be captured from the console's component interfacing

For those of you hoping to use this with an Xbox 360 or PS3 just be aware that using HDMI is likely to be a stumbling block, so use the component interfacing instead. Indeed, the recording quality over component is excellent, but HDMI compatibility is lacking and I would expect to experience issues with HDCP content if Colossus is employed as a PVR.

Verdict

Having tested a variety of different inputs, I am pleased to say that the Colossus delivers a recording quality very much true to the original source. Still, you'll need to perform video capture on a regular basis to justify the £140 price-tag. ®

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Hauppauge Colossus

Hauppauge Colossus HD PCIe card

Records video content to your PC from set-top boxes and consoles.
Price: £140 RRP

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