Rocket firmware version 48 features:

• The microphone audio volume has been increased by 50%, fixing some problems with low microphone audio volume when recording standalone
• Adds support for recording stand alone from video sources without audio (such as medical devices)
• Adds support for HDMI video and LineIn audio (for use with the Hauppauge Chat Cable). You need to use Hauppauge Capture to set the input combination to HDMI video and LineIN audio. This setting will then be remembered in standalone mode.
• There are no file size limits for recordings with NTFS formatted USB thumb drives. For example, if you insert a 16GB NTFS formatted USB thumb drive, you can record about 8 hours of video in one file
• Rocket recordings are now compatible with the VLC media player
• Audio processing improvements (your recordings will sound better)
• Fixes flashing on some TV sets
• This version now supports HDCP management. HDCP detection is disabled by default (this will ensure Xbox One game play can be recorded)
  To turn HDCP detect ON, PUSH and HOLD the record button for 5 seconds. The red record ring will flash twice.
  To turn HDCP detect back OFF, PUSH and HOLD the record button for 5 seconds and the red record ring will flash once.
  Note: in either mode, you still cannot record HDMI video protected with HDCP.

Firmware upgrade notes:
After upgrade, the Rocket needs to be power cycled to complete firmware upgrade: the Rocket USB cable must be unplugged and replugged.

Firmware version 48: upgrade the Rocket firmware from a USB thumb drive

File name: hdpvrrocket_3.1.1.35.48.zip

Installation instructions:

• Turn the Rocket off by disconnecting the USB Power Cable
• Download this file and unzip it to root directory of a USB thumb drive. There is one file: jedi.img
• Connect the USB thumb drive to HD PVR Rocket
• Reconnect USB Power Cable
• The RED Record Ring will flash. This means the Rocket firmware upgrade is in progress.
• Please wait until the RED Record Ring stops blinking (about 30 seconds). Then unplug/replug the USB Power Cable to complete the process
• Note: the jedi.img file is deleted from your USB thumb drive after the firmware upgrade

Are you using analog video (Component, composite or S-Video) with the Rocket?

With analog video sources, firmware version 43 is required if you are running stand alone, but if you are running PC connected you can use either firmware .48 or .43

Firmware version .43 installation instructions from a PC:

Note: Make sure you have installed Hauppauge Capture before updating the firmware. And if you are powering the Rocket from a PC, plug in BOTH the RED and BLACK USB connections to assure adequate power during the firmware update.

• Click the Download button above (this is the Rocket Windows driver and latest Rocket firmware). Save to your PC (do not click Run).
• Connect your Rocket to your PC using the USB power cable
• Run the downloaded file
• Click Install and the firmware upgrade will begin. Your Rocket will blink for a few seconds and then the firmware update will be complete
• Click Finish
• After upgrade, the Rocket needs to be power cycled to complete firmware upgrade: unplug the Rockets USB cable, then plug it back in.

You can now either disconnect your Rocket and use it in the standalone mode, or you can continue to leave it connected to your PC and use Rocket with Hauppauge Capture. When you run Hauppauge Capture, you can make settings such as audio and video sources, bit rate and volume adjustments 'sticky' for use standalone.

HD PVR Rocket Connection Diagrams

HD PVR Rocket PC connection

HD PVR Rocket PS4 connection

HDMI to Component video converter

Component video connection
for cable and satellite TV boxes

Composite video connection
for VCR and video cameras

Record your PC screen

Step 1 - Connect the HD PVR to your PC and install Hauppauge Capture

Step 2 - Configure your Gaming PC's video mode

Note: HD PVR 2 can accept video from a PC in the following formats ONLY:

• 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz max
• 1280 x 720 at 60 Hz max
• 720 x 480 at 60 Hz max

If you are running in any other video mode, you will see either a black screen or distorted video. Check your video mode!

On the computer where you will be playing your video games (we'll call this the Gaming PC), connect an HDMI cable from your graphics card HDMI port to the HDMI in on the HD PVR.
Note: your Gaming PC screen may go black for several seconds and then you will be back at the Windows desktop.

On your Gaming PC, right click on your Windows desktop and select Screen resolution (click for screen shot).

Under Display you should see your HD PVR model in the drop down menu. Example: HD PVR 2.
Select your HD PVR recorder (click for screen shot).
Under Resolution, set to either 1920X1080 or 1280X720.
Under Multiple displays, set to Duplicate these displays.

Click Advanced settings (click for screen shot). Set Refresh Rate to 60p Hz Set Scaling to Maintain Display Scaling.

Step 3 - Connect the HDMI cable from your Gaming PC to the HD PVR 2 HDMI In connector

If you have a gaming laptop, simply plug an HDMI cable from your laptops' HDMI out port into the HDMI In on the HD PVR 2. You should see your PC screen on the video monitor. If you do not, click the Windows button on your keyboard and at the same time the P key. Then select Duplicate. If you have set your PC's video mode correctly (step 2 above), you should see your PC screen on the video monitor.

If you have a desktop PC, then remove the HDMI cable which is plugged into the monitor and plug it into the HDMI In port on the HD PVR 2. Then take an HDMI cable and plug one end into the HDMI Out port on the HD PVR 2 and the other end into an HDMI port on your monitor. If you have set your PC's video mode correctly (step 2 above), and you have selected the correct HDMI source on your TV set, you should see your PC screen on the video monitor.

Step 4 - Configure the audio on your Gaming PC if sound comes through your HDMI cable

If you are using the HDMI pass through on the HD PVR 2 (if you are not using HDMI pass-through skip to step 4a), on your Gaming PC right click on the Speaker icon on the taskbar and select Playback device.

In Playback devices find your HDMI connection to the HD PVR 2 (it should say HD-PVR2 or Digital audio (HDMI)). Right click and select Set as default device.

Step 4a - Configuring audio if you are using speakers connected directly to your Gaming PC

If you are listening to sound from your Gaming PC through speakers and not on your video monitor, to hear audio without any audio delay you will need to split the audio coming from your Gaming PC. To do this, you will need two adapters: an 1/8th inch stereo Y adapter, a 1/8th inch stereo to RCA male adapter.and an Audio cable set. These adapters are common and can be purchased from Radio Shack or online.

• Connect the 1/8" stereo 'Y' adapter to the green audio port (the audio out port) on your Gaming PC.
• Plug your speaker cable into one end of the 1/8" stereo 'Y' adapter.
• On the other end of the 1/8" stereo 'Y' adapter connect the 1/8th inch stereo to RCA male adapter
• Plug in the Audio cable set into the RCA plugs on the 1/8" stereo to male adapter (click to see a picture of the audio splitter installed)
• Then plug the other end of the Audio cable set into the HD PVR 2 via the Hauppauge AV adapter cable (the black audio jacks).
• Plug the Hauppauge AV adapter into the AV input on the back of the HD PVR 2.(click here to see the complete cable setup)
• In Hauppauge Capture, in the Capture or StreamEez tab, set Audio in to Line in and mute the audio (so you will not hear an audio echo).

Here are some screen shots if you have an nVidea 650M graphics adapter in your gaming PC

Screen resolution menu

Advanced Settings menu. Then click List All Modes

List All Modes menu. Set the screen resolution to 1920 by 1080, True Color (32-bit), 60Hz. Then click OK / OK and Apply.

Here are some screen shots if you have an ATI graphics adapter in your gaming PC

In the AMD Vision Control Center, under Desktop Management/Desktop Properties, set the Desktop area to 1080p or 720p and the Refesh rate to 60Hz, 59Hz or 50Hz

Flashing light on your HD PVR Rocket when trying to record standalone?

If the light on the HD PVR Rocket flashes when you press the button to record, or you lose pass through to your TV or monitor when you start to record, you will need to use both the Black and the Red USB connectors on the Rocket cable. This is due to one of your USB ports not having enough power for the Rocket.
Connecting both the Red and Black USB connectors on the supplied Rocket USB cable to two USB ports on your PC will fix this problem.

The Rocket shows a blinking blue light, not the green one which means the Rocket is ready to record

Blinking blue means the Rocket isn’t seeing video. There are some things you can do to fix this:

• First: check the video connections. If you are recording from HDMI, make sure that your video source does not have HDCP copy protection. If you are using Composite video, check to make sure the Yellow composite video connection is going to the Hauppauge A/V cable's Blue video connector. If you are recording from a PC, make sure the HDMI output is enabled (normally you have to hit the F4 key to turn on the HDMI port).
• Next, if you are using composite video (the yellow RCA connector), update your Rocket to firmware version .43 (firmware version .43 has the best composite video support).
• In all cases, flashing the firmware can sometimes correct video issues as well.

Flashing Blue light on your HD PVR Rocket when PC connected?

If the Blue light flashes and does not stop, you will need to use both the Black and the Red USB connectors on the Rocket cable. This is due to one of your USB ports not having enough power for the Rocket.
Connect both the Red and Black USB connectors on the supplied Rocket USB cable to two USB ports on your PC.

No audio in your recordings?

John reported "I have a Zoom metting tomorrow that I need to record and I'm testing it today. I am able to record the video, but there's no audio recording. Is there something I am not doing correctly? I have HDMI out from laptop to the Rocket stand alone recording to a USB drive."

Make sure your PC audio output is going to the Rocket. To check this, right click the speaker icon in the device tray and select 'Playback Devices' or 'Open Sound Settings'. Under 'Choose your output device' or under 'Playback devices', make sure you have the 'HD PVR Rocket' selected.

When making a stand alone recording with an HDMI video source, are you getting black video but good audio?

If so, then your video source has HDCP copy protection. HDCP will give you a black video screen but good audio. You will need to use Component video, which never has HDCP copy protection.

Are you getting low audio volume in your Rocket recordings?

If you find that the audio is too low after recording in standalone mode, download and install the Hauppauge Capture application from this link: http://www.hauppauge.com/capture/.

After installation, open Hauppauge Capture. Make sure the Rocket is listed as the source (in the upper left hand corner of Hauppauge Capture, you should see HD PVR Rocket listed) and then increase the Game audio volume. Now close Hauppauge Capture to save the new audio volume setting and you're recordings will have increased audio volume.

Does your Rocket keep blinking red even though you have a USB thumb drive plugged in?

If the Rocket keeps blinking red even though you have a flash drive plugged in, your thumb drive might not be formatted as NTFS. Try reformatting the flash drive on a PC by inserting the Flash drive in a USB port and then when the drive is assigned a drive letter, right click on the drive and choose format (NTFS or FAT32).

The red light will also blink if your USB thumb drive is corrupt. Most times this can be easily fixed by plugging your thumb drive into a Windows PC and running Error Check. To do this: open File Manager and select your thumb drive. Right click on the thumb drive and select Properties -> Tools -> Error check and click Check. When the scan is complete, your USB thumb drive will be 'clean' and should work in the Rocket.

Are you unable to record video, getting no video (but are getting audio) in your recordings or a black screen in Hauppauge Capture? Does the Input resolution indicator in Hauppauge Capture switch between '1920x1080p 60fps' and 'Waiting for HDMI video signal'?

The HD PVR Rocket cannot record HDMI video which has HDCP copy protection. This can be from an Xbox One or a PS4, or a cable TV or satellite box.

If you have a cable TV or satellite box, you must use Component video and not HDMI. If you have a PS4 or an Xbox One, you need to disable HDCP. Here is how to do this:

• Xbox One: Press the Xbox button on the console for ten seconds until the console turns off. Touch the Xbox button on the console again to turn it on. Try to play the video game again.
• On the PS4: Go to Settings: from the main user interface, push up on the DualShock 4 to reach the top-level of the system’s menu, and select the toolbox labelled ‘Settings’. Enter the System submenu: When the long list of options appears, scroll down to the icon named ‘System’ and select it. Turn off HDCP encryption: You’ll find another long list in Settings. Scroll down to ‘Enable HDCP’ and ensure that the box to the right of the label is not ticked. It will be enabled by default, so simply click on it to disable the irritating feature. If you have any applications open, the system will ask you to close them, so make sure that you’ve saved your game before completing this last step.

Do your Rocket recordings have the wrong time and date?

In standalone mode, if the time stamps on the recordings on the flash drive are not correct, download and install the Hauppauge Capture application from this link: http://www.hauppauge.com/capture/. After installation, open Hauppauge Capture and make sure the Rocket is listed as the source. Now close Hauppauge Capture. The settings including the time and date will be saved to your Rocket, and stand alone recordings will now match the time and date on your PC.