QOTD: Record From HDMI?

Today’s question of the day comes to us via Rick in the comments:

Do you know of a way to get an HDMI signal into a TiVo like device? I would like to record my own stuff and watch it with instant replay etc. Do you know of a solution?

This is an interesting topic that we’ve touched on before. There’s nothing that technically prevents recording data or a signal transmitted over HDMI. However, HDMI licensing specifically prohibits DVR-esque recording. At least that was the case when I last examined the spec, back during my Slingbox days. Interestingly, Gefen put out a “HD Personal Video Recorder” ($999) a few years back that either intentionally or accidentally ignored the HDMI recording restriction, as I had no problem whatsoever grabbing Comcast’s 1080i HBO feed. But that’s since been corrected and, generally speaking, Rick’s probably not going to find a reputable, mainstream DVR product to meet his requirements. He’ll need to record from existing component connectivity or pick up something like the HDFury that converts a digital HDMI signal to analog (in addition to spoofing a HDCP handshake) if his source box has limited HD outputs.

4 thoughts on “QOTD: Record From HDMI?”

  1. found the card I was remembering: http://www.markertek.com/Computer-Related/PCI-Cards/Blackmagic-Design/BINTSPRO.xhtml?BMD-INTENSITYPRO

    plus this unit which appears to be along the lines of an HD-PVR type input box, but with HDMI (not cheap though):

    http://www.markertek.com/Video-Equipment/Video-Processors/HDMI-Converters/Matrox/MXO2-MINI-D.xhtml?MXO2-MINI-D

    I don’t see anything in those write-ups regarding DRM/HDCP so I don’t know if those units will capture output from STBs.

  2. Yeah, there’s some roll-your-own solutions. But given HDCP, most seem geared towards gamers. Back in the old days before the HD-PVR I knew some folks running an earlier (component) Black Magic card to capture HD from cable boxes.

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