Displaying HDMI input to computer display

[JPG]

Connecting an HDMI source(output from camera/tuner/ / / /) to laptop display. Like playing a mpeg file but using usb video input.

All the 'advice' I have found online ignores the direction of the HDMI signal(assumes you want to display from the computer TO an external display/tv.)

I want to go the other direction as stated above.

I have obtained a HDTV VIDEO CAPTURE 'DEVICE with an HDMI input and an HDMI output with an USB connection that is supposed to both provide power to the device AND provide a path for video output.

What I seem to be missing is software to receive the usb video input and cause it to be displayed on the computer(laptop) display.

I was led to believe VLC software would provide that function.

I am missing something since I do not know how to cause VLC to do so(accept/display usb video source ).

I am sure(HOPE) there is something simple that I am not doing.

HELP!!!!

[RFGuy]

JPG,

I don't have direct experience doing this with HDMI specifically, but have done lots of A/V capture via computer in the past from analog & digital camcorders, but also using an HDTV tuner card on my computer. You may know all this, so please forgive me if I am redundant. First, know that HDMI is a copy protection hardware standard. Intent was to block pirating of movies and TV shows since the high definition video quality gives a decent source quality for copying from. So, one can't easily just tap into the HDMI connection and copy that A/V stream - at least NOT legally. It doesn't matter whether the source is unprotected, e.g. your own home movies, public domain content, etc. can't be easily copied via HDMI. So, that is where the device you purchased enters the picture (pun intended). These devices kind of sit in a gray area of the market where they decode the A/V stream (hence copy protection is removed), then they re-encode it (hence pass through function - why there is an HDMI out). In between they record that A/V stream and the quality & resolution captured is dependent on which black box you bought off the internet for capture. One thing that is important is NOT all USB are created equal, so make sure you know what USB is the required (bandwidth requirements), e.g. USB 3.1. Using an older computer with a lower USB standard may not be fast enough for the video capture from the device to the PC, i.e. it may limit transfer speed/quality of A/V transfer from device to PC. Below is one video using a similar HD capture card to what you describe. They use OBS studio which is an open source (free) software for this according their video. As long as OBS Studio detects your capture card, it should work. Usually these kind of capture SW have a basic video editor included, e.g. you can at least trim video clips. I have used JRiver Media quite a bit for direct HDTV capture using an HDTV tuner card and I like this SW. I think it could work as well as I have seen mention of using capture devices like yours with it, but I can't guarantee it. You have to pay a small price to purchase JRiver Media. JRiver Media has a really nice playback program, but it is more geared towards those of us using it for media PC's, i.e. home theater type setups. VLC is a great free video player. I hope this helps.

[JPG]

THANK YOU!!!

My capture device is a real look alike. At least the video says it should do what I intended to do(hdmi from a tuner to watch tv).

It is possible that VLC is not detecting the usb video input. Will download OBS and retry.

Again Thank you for this response!!!!

[RFGuy]

THANK YOU!!!

My capture device is a real look alike. At least the video says it should do what I intended to do(hdmi from a tuner to watch tv).

It is possible that VLC is not detecting the usb video input. Will download OBS and retry.

Again Thank you for this response!!!!

JPG,

I have never used VLC to capture, only display. It is possible that it has this feature and I just haven't seen it before myself. IF it does, then yeah it is probably just that VLC doesn't recognize your hardware. Had that problem more than once when I started out in video captures from camcorder (both the analog and DV variety) in the past. Also, had issues with my Hauppauge HDTV tuner being recognized by my capture SW in the beginning as well, but found a solution in a forum or website support page somewhere back then. Good luck.

[JPG]

Well OBS works so my capture device does work as intended!

I have not 'discovered' a way to suppress all that editing space on the screen. I will look for obs instructions/manual.

Bingo Full screen projector.

Now to get the sound through.

[JPG]

Well it worked then.

Now is different. Got audio, but not video. Any advice re what to do to get it back?

[RFGuy]

Well it worked then.

Now is different. Got audio, but not video. Any advice re what to do to get it back?

JPG,

Any errors reported in the SW? What did you finally go with for the video capture/editing?

[JPG]

No errors. Simple question is HTH do I get it to just accept input from usb and display it full screen on my computer screen.

The functionality of OBS is fantastic, if only I needed all those bells and whistles.

The audio is making the path, but video is not. I assume I need to tell it what to input and where to output.

At one time It was displaying on both a preview window and a ?source? window.

Now no window label nor pix.

[RFGuy]

JPG,

Unfortunately I have never used this particular piece of SW. Some online Q&A for this issue recommend running OBS in Administrator mode. You can try it, but not too confident this will fix it. Take a look at the link below. They suggest a method of choosing the capture source. Maybe check this? Good luck.

https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/ob ... io.147739/

[admin]

I use OBS a bit. Here are a couple of things to check.

1. In the OBS main screen display, check the audio level and that it is not muted (there should be a green/yellow/red audio level meter showing).
2. In OBS settings->audio check which input is selected.