I was pleasantly surprised to discover I’d managed to get into the XBL preview program for this dashboard update – an unexpected system update awaited me when I turned on my xbox at 3am this morning!

So naturally, I made a video with a brief look at the new stuff – concentrating on the juicy bits like the Twitter and Facebook apps. HD video follows.

Watch on YouTube

Having recently acquired a Hauppauge HD PVR, I’ve been getting to grips with capturing and editing HD video captured from my Xbox. I figured I’d share my setup here, for those who might want to capture their own xbox exploits in HD.

Things You’ll Need

• An Xbox 360 (naturally, although the same advice here could be applied to the PS3)
• The Xbox HD AV cable with component video
• The Hauppauge HD PVR
• A Recording PC within a couple of metres of the Xbox which supports USB 2.0
• Ample disk storage – HD videos can get very big

Other Capture solutions

Sadly, there are very few options as far as HD video capture is concerned – and those that are available tend to be quite expensive. Realistically, there are two or three options – the Hauppauge HD PVR, and two Blackmagic Design devices: The Video Recorder and the Intensity Pro.

The Blackmagic Video Recorder is USB 2.0, like the HD PVR – but is harder to source and my impression was that the software supplied was for Macs only – conversely, the HD PVR’s software is Windows only. The Intensity Pro supports both, but is more expensive and is internal – it uses a PCI-E slot. The Intensity Pro is HDMI-based capture, while the two cheaper options rely on component video.

Recording

Whichever option you choose, it’s important that your computer is up to scratch – for the HD PVR, you’ll need USB2.0 support and fast enough throughput for your storage. I record at a fixed bitrate of 8Mb/s with the HD PVR’s native H.264 encoding, which gives good results. Each gigabyte of space will give you approximately 17 minutes of recording time with these settings.

Videos are captured in either a native .TS (transport stream) format, or optionally as a MP4 or M2TS formats – although I had most luck with the plain .TS format for editing. Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 handles the HD .TS files without too much issue, and once the video is edited it’s just a question of re-encoding to a more YouTube-friendly MP4.

Sample Videos on YouTube

Sample screenshots

‘Brutal Legend Gameplay – Ambush’ on YouTube

Brutal Legend Screenshots

When one gaming universe crashes into another – here’s a selection of short video clips. Certainly helps pass the time when waiting for HD video to render (Brutal Legend vidcaps are on the way…)

Video Game Mashups (daneboe on YouTube)

I’m feeling some retro love today – and I thought some of you might appreciate some chip music coupled with the timeless sound of The Beatles. Having recently played Rock Band: The Beatles, it’s quite apropos.

Link follows – some classic 8-bit sounds and more contemporary interpretation to be found. Some tracks are better than others, but otherwise sounds like a neat package. Enjoy!

WANNA HLD YR HANDHELD, VOL. 1 by 8-Bit Operators (via Reddit)