Hauppauge! HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus Review

Setup of the system can a little tricky if you do not know what you are doing. While this system does feature HDMI throughput, that is typically for Xbox 360 and component cables should be used for PlayStation devices. As you can see in the image below I have opted to bring my PlayStation over to a desk as I wanted to stream using my desktop computer rather than hooking up to a laptop, but having a mobile computer such as a notebook next to your console and TV is just as viable an option as any, this is just my preference in terms of usability.

The setup process took about 30 minutes, but this includes the time it took to move my console, connect all the devices together and go through and software installation processes with the included DVD disc from Hauppauge! that came with the PVR 2.

The PVR 2 is small and lightweight enough to sit on firmly on top of my PS3, saving desk space and helping prevent extra wires being trailed over my desk. As you can see, when the device is powered up and recording you get a soft green glow from the centre of the PVR 2 device, handy for checking if you are recording or streaming on the fly while gaming.

The software is really easy to use, one of the older criticisms of the original gaming PVR products was that the software was a little clunky, but it seems Hauppauge! have taken a few suggestions on board and gone for a simple to use tab interface that allows you to record, stream, upload, edit and configure with little effort.

I decided to fire up a game we recently reviewed, Journey on the PlayStation 3. I played two minutes of the game after setting up the devices and installing the PVR2 software, no mucking about I decided to hit record and get straight in on the action to make sure things worked without tweaking endless settings, as you can see, everything worked exactly as it should and video quality looks fantastic.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/tzLGZYOLfZQ[/youtube]