Interesting, so adding a few dongles off each other will get you HDMI capture at no loss in quality? (Lag is a non issue it’s already being split).
What happens to the audio throughout this? (There’s no audio in DVI right?)
No loss of quality as I said HDMI and DVI share the same digital signal. Audio of course is lost when you switch to DVI. I personally use A/V cables for RCA audio and plug it into my mixer and then into my computer.
Hmm… so how about HDMI to HDMI audio extractor to the cheap little dongles? I’m just spitballing here, always open to potentially better ideas.
That makes all of zero sense whatsoever. There is no signal conversion between HDMI and DVI – DVI can even support HDCP. Those passive adapters should not be able to “strip” HDCP – only (maybe) interfere with the initial HDCP handshake by being non-compliant (I think that occurs on a separate line? I can’t remember.) And the PS3 generally just fails to output anything if it can’t pass an HDCP handshake.
Could you detail the rest of your setup? Something weird seems afoot.
It was merely an assumption that it “strips” HDCP. I was able to record and stream from the PS3 through HDMI, which would be not be possible by plugging in a PS3 straight into my cap card. All I know is, what I did works and I recreated it multiple times for multiple streams I’ve had.
The test setup goes through this flow:
PS3>HDMI to DVI dongle>DVI to HDMI cable>Distribution Amplifier>Capture Card
Also, you read a bit too literally in the word “conversion.” I didn’t even say “signal conversion” I just said I converted HDMI to DVI as in the physical connections, not the signal.
EDIT:
I’m wrong in that the DVI to HDMI cable conversion takes away HDCP or interrupts it. Taking out the Distribution Amplifier from the setup and directly connecting the cable, I actually get HDCP on stream and can’t record from Avermedia Center.
Because of this, it has to be the HDMI splitter that is doing the HDCP stripping and allowing me to record/stream the PS3 through HDMI.
Sorry for the confusion.
Talking to a friend about getting ahold of one of his boards; he designed a board that can perform man-in-the-middle per-pixel injection on HDCP-encrypted streams, but it’s also useful for examining EDID stuff and watching HDCP handshakes. I’m gonna try to get some HDMI splitters in and sort out what the hell these things are up to.
Then everyone needs this splitter. EVERYONE. It’d make lives easier!
Sorry to say that the image I posted of my splitter is about the only detail I can give for it. It has no brand and it’s your typical generic type. Ideally any “typical generic” HDMI splitter you find off ebay SHOULD work since I’d assume that the factories just use the same circuitry and change the shell.
If I had the funds, I’d pick up a random one and see if it works like the ones I’ve tried.
Sounds great! I’d really like to know if theres some secret-top-tier stuff going on with these things.
FunkyP
1069
This is not a safe assumption and people should not go out an buy cheap low quality amplifiers with the hopes that’ll it’ll strip HDCP.
I agree with that, I bought the cheap low quality amplifier with hopes that it does its job, to distribute HDMI signals and amplify them for no loss of quality. It just so happens that it takes out HDCP for some reason. I didn’t buy it because I wanted a solution for HDCP, it was a happy accident.
Fine, what do I get?
Well… I mean lag and quality here are a big deal, lag because that shit is annoying and quality because the entire reason anyone would switch over from component would be for a quality increase.
This.
I’m willing to take a chance in the hopes of further discovery, knowing the risks (although I could always use another splitter, so it wouldn’t be a total loss as long as it’s a working splitter); though going the eBay route is likely going to be a real PITA, and not provide a particularly useful/reliable resource for people. If we could track down one supplier of these things that can, for cheap, reliably supply ones with the properties yours seems to have, that’d be a real boon for a lot of people. Everybody needs a splitter in their setup anyway; if we can eliminate the HDFury’s/other D->A strippers, that’d lead to less components, less power, and crisper, tastier streams potentially. Audio paths would have to change, but that’s simple enough.
If this works out, I’ve already got a way to change HDMI to HDMI with analog audio. Relatively cheap things too.
Obviously. I care about input lag and quality, I took a gamble with a cheap solution and it paid off for me.
I know it’s obvious, I just can’t fuck around. I’m not exactly doing so hot with the green stuff.
That’s why you don’t jump on this. I’m in need of an extra splitter, gonna take a gamble on one and report back. If mine works out, it might be feasible for you to follow the trail I blaze (buy the one I buy), with a higher chance of repeatable effect. There’s gonna be next to no guarantees, though; that’s just the reality of working with Chinese shit.
I’m hype. I’d love to all work out. I need a stream setup win.
I’m hoping to get a setup in my next larger event where I have an HDMI switcher set up going into the HDMI > Component converter so that I can have multiple consoles to choose between to help add some filler during down times. My cheapo one isn’t working, anyone have recommendations for a decent powered one? The overall setup would be consoles > splitters > switcher > converter > capture/mixer.
The challenge is that every time an HDMI switch changes which device it’s displaying, it causes a re-negotiation on the now-connected device (as well as the previously-connected device). This may cause a quick interruption (black screen) on the second console you’re switching to, so you have to make sure that they’re not playing a tournament match on it.
That said, if you can coordinate the consoles so that the consoles in question are never playing when you’re switching, it can be a great solution. Monoprice sells some decent ones; depends on how many ports you need. Also you may want to take a look at “matrix” switches – they give you multiple outputs to push multiple inputs to. Quite nifty. I have this one, if I’m not mistaken. It’s pretty decent, in my experience.
Thanks, I’ll have a look at that. The last decently-sized event we had points where we were swapping consoles out for the next game or stuck for a few minutes because the match that needed to go on stream had a participant stock in a match of another game, just looking to be able to cut to a secondary pool match to eat up that time.
My other thought was trying to set something up for instant replays but I haven’t really come up with a more elegant solution to that than plopping in a second capture card to take in a feed that I can stop and replay on the fly.
