Hardware Are capture cards the only way to play consoles on a PC?

Aheago · Jul 27, 2021

I’m looking for the lowest cost solution into hooking up all my consoles to my PC so that I can easily have my games audio while in discord with my friends.

Currently my best option seems to be to use a 4K elgato capture card, with an HDMI switch(to easily plug all consoles into it) and use OBS to view and play my games

but ideally I’d like both a bit of a cheaper solution as I don’t intend to stream or anything. I don’t even want to deal with OBS I simply want to open a program, view/use my console and tab out when I’m done. No messing with settings besides volume

similar to the genki shadowlink. They don’t support 4K however despite using USB C

master801 · Jul 27, 2021

If you want a bare bones and free option, use the Twitch app on the console and just stream from that.

Stay away from Elgato capture cards. They're finicky and overrated as hell. They don't like to work when they don't have an active HDMI signal and are known to be picky.

Deleted User · Jul 27, 2021

I bought a $30 capture card on Amazon and I've had zero problems except the usb cable stopped working but I replaced it for a few dollars. Ever since I've been streaming from a hdmi hub so 4 different consoles on my PC which I then stream downstairs with Parsec thus I get all my consoles downstairs.

Edit: it doesn't seem to be sold on Amazon anymore, but it's called DIGITNOW Audio Video Capture Card,4K HDMI USB 3.0Capture Adapter Video Converter 1080P 60fps Portable Capture Device for Video Game Recording Live Streaming Broadcasting,Support Camera PS4 Xbox-Silver

Goku1992A · Jul 27, 2021

Can't you use your monitor that have speakers?

osaka35 · Jul 27, 2021

If I'm understanding you correctly, which I may not be, you may be overthinking it. If you want JUST audio for sharing on discord, here's my suggestion:

get a cheapo HDMI audio extractor. You can hook up the audio to the mic port, and then you can just hook up the hdmi to your second monitor/TV. as long as you have a mic with usb, you should be good to go. Or are you wanting to share your video as well? In which case, twitch is definitely the cheapest option (definitely a discord plugin for twitch)

Aheago · Jul 27, 2021

Goku1992A said:
Can't you use your monitor that have speakers?

osaka35 said:
If I'm understanding you correctly, which I may not be, you may be overthinking it. If you want JUST audio for sharing on discord, here's my suggestion:

get a cheapo HDMI audio extractor. You can hook up the audio to the mic port, and then you can just hook up the hdmi to your second monitor/TV. as long as you have a mic with usb, you should be good to go. Or are you wanting to share your video as well? In which case, twitch is definitely the cheapest option (definitely a discord plugin for twitch)

sorta I just want to be able to easily both hear and control my games audio through the same headphones I’m talking to my friends on while still playing my games in HDR

sounds like an HDMI audio extractor might be exactly what I need!

using speakers doesn’t allow me to hear the game as well when talking since I have headphones on, and also may allow others to hear my TV which no body likes so that’s not an ideal solution

osaka35 · Jul 27, 2021

Aheago said:
sorta I just want to be able to easily both hear and control my games audio through the same headphones I’m talking to my friends on while still playing my games in HDR

sounds like an HDMI audio extractor might be exactly what I need!

using speakers doesn’t allow me to hear the game as well when talking since I have headphones on, and also may allow others to hear my TV which no body likes so that’s not an ideal solution

that should work, though you would probably have to mess with windows settings to get it to all synced up properly. It's not a setup I've ever tried or else I'd try to help with the details. Either way, good luck!

Goku1992A · Jul 27, 2021

@Aheago

Okay I'm guessing you have like a regular monitor with no speakers built in.

Aheago · Jul 27, 2021

Goku1992A said:
@Aheago

Okay I'm guessing you have like a regular monitor with no speakers built in.

I’m using a TV since I want HDR

I don’t want to use speakers tho as discord/zoom calls will likely hear the audio from speakers. I’m on my computer 24/7 and the more audio that I can have come through one audio device (pc headphones) the better

just quality of life really no fidgeting with sources or headphones

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

osaka35 said:
that should work, though you would probably have to mess with windows settings to get it to all synced up properly. It's not a setup I've ever tried or else I'd try to help with the details. Either way, good luck!

I’ll let you know how it goes! I used to do this exact setup with a capture card before I had to sell my devices for rent

But since I don’t stream I just feel like a capture card is both overkill and a waste of money

tech3475 · Jul 29, 2021

Check your TV, it might offer output options which may be useful e.g. Optical output, Headphone output, etc.

enarky · Jul 29, 2021

There are supercheap HDMI capture cards available on Amazon, Ebay and Aliexpress. These can be found for under 10 USD if you look for them, here's an example from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/us/dp/B095MTHMK3 - tons of sellers offer these in various cases, the insides are identical for most of them. Not the quality any Elgato device offers, but certainly enough to capture audio. If you couple it with a cheap splitter you can display image on another screen without lag.

EDIT:
Argh, no 4K. Sorry, kind of overlooked that requirement... :wacko:

raging_chaos · Jul 29, 2021

Aheago said:
but ideally I’d like both a bit of a cheaper solution as I don’t intend to stream or anything.

Get a zero lag HDMI audio extractor, plug the audio into 'line in' on your PC. You don't need a capture card for what you want to do.

Hardware Are capture cards the only way to play consoles on a PC?

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