Getting to Know the Colossus When Hauppauge introduced the original HD PVR in 2008 its component plus TOSLINK (optical S/PDIF) capture of 5.1 Dolby Digital and up to 1080i analog video was a revolutionary, and long overdue, shift for the home theater PC (HTPC) based digital video recorder (DVR). Finally there was a viable option for recording DRM-free high definition (HD) content. The device was far from perfect however, suffering from stability (I RMA’d four personally); furthermore, as a large external USB device, it didn’t provide the most appealing form factor for many installations. Today we’re looking at Hauppauge’s second iteration of the HD PVR concept, this time as a standard height PCIe x1 device dubbed Colossus. It offers all of the previous capture options while adding HDMI input to the feature list.
The single slot, full height PCIe x1 card has a simple layout with all of the components exposed. There is not much to point out besides the lack of any cooling on the ViXS encoding chip and the presence of Hauppauge’s standard analog connection header along the top.
To utilize the auxiliary inputs a daughter card (not included with the Colossus) is required. I have one in the parts bin so it was possible to test the feature, which adds s-video and a second composite/stereo capture option to the options provided directly on the device. Looking at the native inputs we find HDMI, two breakout connectors for component (YPbPr) / stereo audio, two TOSLINK (optical S/PDIF), and a port to attach the infrared (IR) receiver/blaster. The top breakout/TOSLINK combo provides input and the bottom output for audio/video pass through anytime the PC is powered including standby (S3), hibernate (S4) and soft-off (S5) states.
Samsung isn’t alone in this though some smart TV and PVR manufacturers do allow recordings of some free-to-air (FTA) channels to be playable on a PC but they are in the minority. I doubt that it. Headings H1-H6 Count; Server 2 —————- How to Flash Step 1: Download and extract firmware on your computer Step 2: Samsung Usb Driver and Extract Odin v3125 or any new version Step 3: Open Odin v3125 Step 4: Now restart your Phone in Download Mode by pressing Home Power Volume Down buttons together Step 5: Now Connect your Samsung device to the computer and wait until you get a blue.
HDMI is the most interesting not only because it is new, but because of the usage scenarios it could enable were the full capabilities of the connection provided. Unfortunately (and understandably due to legal and licensing issues), this is not the case; instead, the HDMI input provides the same feature set as component plus TOSLINK (up to 1080i and Dolby Digital support). Most important, there’s no support for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection , so HDMI capture will not work with devices that require it. In practice, the HDMI link did record most channels/programs from the cable STB (Set-Top Box), but it was not 100% reliable as some files had no audio or video—I assume because HDCP was active in those cases. I did not notice a significant difference between HDMI and component output from the RNG 110 (using Comcast in Chicago), but results will vary between STB and providers so it is worth an attempt if the box has an HDMI output, because the streams will skip a digital to analog conversion. There’s plenty in the package besides the card; you get a remote with IR hardware and batteries, two breakout dongles, analog audio/video cables, a driver CD (not shown), and some “value-add” software including a copy of Arcsoft ShowBiz. One of the applications Hauppauge provides with the Colossus is a system tray application that drives the IR receiver and blaster, but compatibly with other software products is very limited for the remote and changing channels with the included device is very clunky.
Only one blaster is supported per PC, there’s limited set top box compatibility (none of the Pace profiles worked with the RNG110 used in this evaluation), and we experienced general stability issues both with the system tray executable and IR blasting in general. All of this led us to a cursory evaluation of the remote.
For those using this—or any STB based capture device—options like FireWire, serial, or Ethernet based channel changing are much better options. I would prefer an OEM/bare version of the card with just the dongles for those planning to use it with SageTV (or when drivers are available, Windows Media Center), passing the savings for unnecessary hardware and software to end users. The current package starts at, so removing the frills should get the Colossus down to $100 or less. Thursday, April 14, 2011 - 'It is more difficult to create a “worst case” environment with a full height card than would be possible if it were low-profile, since we can’t put the Colossus into some of the smaller HTPC cases.
However, we did try to simulate use in a hotter chassis by utilizing the highest TDP CPU we had on hand as well as removing all but one of the case fans in the Ahanix D4 used in testing.' The CPU was chosen specifically to put the card under duress. That's what 'worst case' means. Would we recommend that sort of setup? Not necessarily, but at least it worked reasonably well in our testing.
Now stick several Colossus cards next to each other and you could be in for trouble without additional fans. Friday, April 15, 2011 - Jarred Walton 'Now stick several Colossus cards next to each other and you could be in for trouble without additional fans' Only a dumdee would try using a small HTPC cases with several Colossus card beside that it better suite for a media sevrer any way with that min card that if you can find a motherboard with that min slot that dosen't cost a arm and leg. How did come up with that when dosen't even run hot at all in fact I can put my finger on main chip when it even recording and it bearlee even gets luke warm unlike USB HD-PVR model and min other Hauppauge card from pass days.
'Not all recordings are watchable' That maybe the bitstream issue and they are looking in to this which also has to do the BSOD issue to so best thing to do is reboot ever day I know not idea way of doing things and I couldn't aggree more on that one. 'Software/hardware bundle adds unnecessary cost with not additional value for DVR use' Don't you mean just the Software? I find Arcsoft’s ShowBiz very useful but it not for DVR use it capture only for DVR use you used WinTV 7 or any 3rdparty you like Who know maybe they do OEM ver where get nothing other then drivers. 'No HDMI pass-through' And do you plan add that when there no room for it. 'BSOD when continuously recording for more than sixteen hours' This being address 'Full height card leaves low-profile HTPC users out' Who know maybe there plan on one but you see they have dump HDMI and all Audio/Video output Any way Andrew nice review.
Russian password-cracking company Elcomsoft has released new software that can in some instances figure out the password used to encrypt backed-up iPhone data. Elcomsoft said Apple somewhat changed the way their encryption system works for its latest iPhone 4 software. When an iPhone is plugged into its home computer, its data - such as e-mail passwords, calendar events, text messages - are automatically backed up in a so-called 'keychain.'
That information was previously encrypted using a device-specific encryption key, but with 'iOS 4 this is not necessarily the case' if someone choose a master password to access the data, according to Elcomsoft. If a person chooses to encrypt the data, the backup is encrypted with a master password selected by a user. But if the person can't remember their password, the data can't be restored to an iPhone. A user would have to do a full software restore and set up a new backup, with all of the other data lost. But Elcomsoft says it can figure a password out with its latest application.
The company says that Apple's encryption of the backup is excellent, as the passwords can only be figured out using brute-force attacks, where a computer tries millions upon millions of possible combinations, or dictionary attacks, which use lists of commonly used words. Elcomsoft said its software doesn't have a 100 percent success rate, but if a person selects a short and simple password, it could be recovered in seconds. Other factors in how long its software takes to recover a password depends on a person's computer and the power of its CPU and graphics card. Once the password is recovered, Elcomsoft said its software allows a person to examine their keychain and export that data into XML (Extensible Markup Language) or plain text document.
The iPhone Password Breaker is legal for people to use on their own backups or if they have the permission from someone to examine their iPhone. The software costs £79 (US$126) for the home edition and £199 for the professional edition. Send news tips and comments to [email protected].