Hauppauge Computer Works
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics, Computer hardware |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founder | Kenneth Plotkin, Kenneth Aupperle |
| Headquarters | Hauppauge, New York , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (including Europe, Asia, Australia) |
| Products | TV tuner cards (WinTV series), personal video recorders, digital video editing devices, digital media players, hybrid video recorders, digital television equipment |
Hauppauge Computer Works () is an American company specializing in the production of electronic video hardware designed for personal computers. Renowned primarily for its WinTV series of TV tuner cards, Hauppauge also manufactures a variety of products including personal video recorders, digital video editing devices, digital media players, hybrid video recorders, and digital television equipment compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. The company's headquarters are located in Hauppauge, New York, with additional sales and technical support offices situated throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Company history
Established in 1982 by Kenneth Plotkin and Kenneth Aupperle, Hauppauge initially focused on the high-performance computing (HPC) sector by developing hardware and software aimed at enhancing the floating-point processing capabilities of IBM PCs. Early initiatives concentrated on supporting Intel 8087 math coprocessors to improve performance for scientific and engineering applications.
During the 1980s, Hauppauge broadened its product range to include math coprocessors compatible with Intel’s 80287 and subsequent processors, responding to the increasing demand for accelerated computation within business and technical fields. The company’s approach involved bundling software optimized for floating-point calculations alongside its hardware accelerators, which strengthened its position within HPC-related markets.
In response to competition from Intel’s PC Enhancement Operation division and new entrants like Cyrix, Hauppauge diversified into vector processing by incorporating Intel i860 processors into both motherboards and expansion cards. This strategy aligned with industry movements toward parallel processing and distributed computing frameworks that would eventually influence modern HPC architectures.
By the early 1990s, Hauppauge’s proficiency in high-speed processing hardware intersected with advancements in parallel computing software tools such as MPI and PVM. Although Intel later discontinued the i860 vector processor in favor of Pentium CPUs featuring integrated floating-point units, Hauppauge’s early developments played a role in shaping evolving supercomputing hardware business models.
The company’s evolution demonstrates strategic foresight in adopting emerging processor technologies to cater to specialized markets demanding superior computational power, balancing innovation with changes in industry standards and competitive dynamics.
Motherboards
Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hauppauge manufactured motherboards designed for Intel 486 processors. These included competitively priced standard ISA models as well as workstation and server-oriented boards featuring EISA support, optional cache modules, and compatibility with Weitek 4167 FPUs. A notable product was the Hauppauge 4860 motherboard—the sole standard PC/AT board that combined an Intel 80486 processor with an optional Intel i860 processor capable of operating independently or as a co-processor.
Hauppauge has since withdrawn from the motherboard market to concentrate exclusively on its primary TV tuner card product line.
Digital Terrestrial/Satellite
Hauppauge’s digital terrestrial and satellite offerings capture DVB-T and DVB-S signals directly, avoiding re-encoding. This approach lowers the cost of TV cards, enhances capture quality, and achieves a more efficient balance between file size and image fidelity by leveraging broadcasters' advanced encoding technologies.
Prior to August 2004, these products were essentially rebranded TechnoTrend hardware. The launch of Hauppauge’s own designs, such as the Nova-t PCI 90002, led to customer dissatisfaction due to incompatibility with TechnoTrend’s proprietary interfaces and a reduction in features within Hauppauge’s WinTV2000 software package. These newer cards embraced Microsoft’s developing BDA standard, which initially had limited support from third-party applications.
By 2005, Hauppauge discontinued most TechnoTrend-based models except for the DEC2000-t and DEC3000-s units, which remain available without successors.
Hybrid Video Recorders
The Hybrid Video Recorder (HVR) lineup supports capturing various broadcast formats. The majority of HVR units accommodate analogue PAL and DVB-T signals; more recent models extend compatibility to analogue NTSC, ATSC, or combinations including analogue PAL, DVB-S, and DVB-T.
HVR-9xx models are USB 2.0 devices that handle both analogue and digital terrestrial television. Manufactured by Deltron in Taiwan, these are also marketed by Elgato under the EyeTV brand for Apple users.
The HVR-1xxx series consists of PCI cards capable of receiving analogue and digital terrestrial TV signals with NICAM or dbx stereo support for analogue audio.
Tri-mode HVR-3xxx and quad-mode HVR-4xxx devices cover analogue terrestrial or cable, digital terrestrial, and DVB-S satellite reception; the quad-mode variants add DVB-S2 HD satellite functionality. The HVR-4000 model marked a shift by including Cyberlink PowerCinema software instead of Hauppauge’s traditional WinTV2000.
Personal Video Recorders
Hauppauge's Personal Video Recorder (PVR) series incorporates an onboard MPEG/MPEG-2 encoder to compress analogue television signals, thereby reducing CPU usage during live TV encoding sessions. The initial product in this range was the WinTV PVR-PCI released in 2000, followed by two versions of the WinTV PVR-USB: an early model supporting MPEG-2 streams up to 6 Mbit/s at Half-D1 resolution (320 × 480), and a later revision capable of handling up to 12 Mbit/s at Full-D1 resolution (720 × 480).
The PVR-250 achieved significant market success. Initial iterations used the ivac15 chipset but did not include video output hardware despite having decoding capabilities. Subsequent versions adopted the ivac16 chipset to lower production costs and reduce heat output. The PVR-250 and PVR-350 were complemented by the USB 2.0-based PVR-USB2.
Following these models, the PVR-150 and PVR-500 were introduced targeting both OEMs and end consumers despite some driver stability issues and video quality concerns. The PVR-500 was designed as a Media Center card combining two PVR-150 units via a PCI bridge but did not come bundled with Hauppauge’s WinTV2000 software. The PVR-USB2 was quietly succeeded by the visually identical PVR-USB2+, which utilizes a Conexant chipset instead of Philips.
Although named PVR-160, this model is essentially a repackaged WinTV Roslyn built on the Conexant Blackbird platform featuring a CX2388x video decoder. Initially distributed exclusively to OEMs and software developers such as SageTV and Snapstream (BeyondTV), it was sold under various designations including PVR-250BTV. Known for color accuracy and brightness challenges that can be partly addressed through registry modifications, Hauppauge later rebranded surplus units bundled with an MCE remote as the PVR-160—a product often mistaken for but unrelated to the original PVR-250.
High-Definition Personal Video Recorder
In May 2008, Hauppauge launched the HD-PVR, a USB 2.0 device equipped with an integrated H.264 hardware encoder designed for high-definition recording through component inputs—marking it as the first USB device capable of capturing HD content. It accommodates input resolutions of 480p, 720p, and 1080i and features an IR blaster to facilitate automated control of cable or satellite set-top boxes.
The HD-PVR has sustained a significant market presence by receiving ongoing software and driver enhancements. In 2012, Hauppauge introduced the HD-PVR Gaming Edition 2, which offers a more compact form factor and supports 1080p HDMI input. While Mac compatibility was initially unsupported, third-party software such as EyeTV and HDPVRCapture allowed operation on OS X. By 2013, Hauppauge released the HD-PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus with official Mac support, broadening its appeal among gaming and multimedia audiences.
WinTV Analogue
Hauppauge’s conventional analogue product line relies on software-based encoding for analogue TV recording. The latest cards incorporate SoftPVR technology, enabling MPEG and MPEG-2 encoding via software, provided the host CPU has sufficient processing power.
MediaMVP
The MediaMVP is a thin client device that streams audio, video, and images directly to televisions. It is powered by an IBM PowerPC RISC processor tailored for multimedia decoding and operates on a Linux-based operating system. Content delivery and navigation menus are transmitted over Ethernet or 802.11g wireless LAN from a server PC. Open source applications like MVPMC allow MediaMVP to function as a front-end interface for systems such as MythTV or ReplayTV.
Table of products
| Type | Model | Tuner | Host interface | Analog | Digital | Other | IR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Terrestrial | DEC2000-t | Philips | USB 1.x
TMX320AV7111 |
No | DVB-T (TDA10045) | Yes | |
| DEC2540-t | Philips | USB 1.x
TMX320AV7111 |
No | DVB-T (TDA10045) | Yes | ||
| Nova-t PCI | Grundig | PCI
SAA7134 |
No | DVB-T (LSI L64781) | No | ||
| Nova-t PCI | Philips | PCI
SAA7134 |
No | DVB-T (TDA10045) | Yes | ||
| Nova-t PCI (90002) | Thomson DTT7592 | PCI
CX2388x |
No | DVB-T (CX22702) | Yes | ||
| Nova-t PCI (90003) | Thomson DTT75105 | PCI
CX2388x |
No | DVB-T (CX22702) | Yes | ||
| Nova-t USB | Philips | USB 1.x | No | DVB-T (CX22702) | No | ||
| Nova-t USB2 | Panasonic ENV57H | USB 2.0
Cypress FX2 |
No | DVB-T (DIB3000-P) | Yes | ||
| Nova-t Stick (70001) | Microtune MT2060 | USB 2.0 | No | DVB-T (DIB7000-M) | Template:Optional | ||
| Nova-t Stick (70009) | Microtune MT2060 | USB 2.0 | No | DVB-T (DIB7700-P) | Template:Optional | ||
| Nova-TD-Stick | 2× MicroTune MT2266 | USB 2.0 | No | DVB-T (DIB7700-P) | Template:Optional | ||
| Nova-t 500 | 2× Microtune MT2060 | PCI
VT6212L |
No | 2× DVB-T (DIB3000-P) | Yes |
| Type | Model | Tuner | Host interface | Analog | Digital | Other | IR |
|---|
WinTV software
Hauppauge's flagship software offering is WinTV, an application designed for TV tuning, viewing, and recording, which is provided alongside its tuner devices. Earlier editions, such as WinTV2000, included additional utilities like WinTV Scheduler for programming recordings and WinTV Radio to receive FM broadcasts. The software transitioned to a service-oriented architecture with the introduction of "TV Server," which handles tuner management and recording tasks, allowing multiple tuners to operate on a single computer.
The release timeline includes WinTV Version 6 in 2007, followed by WinTV7 in 2009, and WinTV8 by 2016. Users of Hauppauge tuners receive software updates at no cost, although significant version upgrades typically require possession of a valid previous installation CD. An optional premium feature called WinTV Extend permits streaming of television content over the Internet to various devices such as smartphones and personal computers.
Wing
Wing serves as an auxiliary tool that converts MPEG recordings from Hauppauge PVR devices into formats compatible with Apple iPod, Sony PSP, and DivX-enabled players. This application transcodes MPEG-2 video files into H.264, MPEG-4, and DivX formats, thereby improving the ease of content portability.
Third-party software
A range of third-party applications support Hauppauge tuners, including GB-PVR, InterVideo WinDVR, Snapstream's Beyond TV, SageTV, Windows Media Center, and the Linux-based MythTV. This compatibility extends the usability of Hauppauge hardware across diverse platforms.
Linux support
Hauppauge offers limited Linux compatibility through Ubuntu repositories and firmware downloads available on its official website. Community-developed drivers such as IVTV and LinuxTV provide support for most tuner models; some cards in the Nova and HVR series are reportedly maintained by a Hauppauge engineer.
While the PVR-150 model captures video under Linux, it experiences challenges with remote control and infrared blaster functionality. In 2007, the replacement of the HVR-1600 board in PVR-150 units necessitated exchanges due to the absence of updated Linux drivers.
SageTV Media Center for Linux includes support for models like PVR-150, PVR-250, PVR-350, PVR-500, and MediaMVP. For those using ATSC and DVB standards, the LinuxTVWiki provides a list of Hauppauge hardware supported alongside other manufacturers' devices.
External links
- Hauppauge UK
- PCTV Systems
- SageTV (products based on Hauppauge hardware)
- usbvision (Linux driver for WinTV-USB)