Any recommendations on HDMI capture cards?

[sup3rgh0st]

I've been looking into various different Capture Cards for HDMI based console recording and streaming. Anybody have any experience with them? The two big contenders seem to be Elgato and Avermedia, and the differences seem to be anecdotal. I'd be using the pass-through to a TV, and using a card with built-in h254 encoding.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

I have an Elgato HD60 and it's served me pretty well. Plus, it has compatibility with OBS, meaning OBS can use it as a video input for streams. I don't know if Avermedia cards have that kind of capability. For streaming, you'll probably end up using OBS, as the Elgato software or other similar softwares are usually inferior. So I would recommend Elgato.

 

[sup3rgh0st]

I have an Elgato HD60 and it's served me pretty well. Plus, it has compatibility with OBS, meaning OBS can use it as a video input for streams. I don't know if Avermedia cards have that kind of capability. For streaming, you'll probably end up using OBS, as the Elgato software or other similar softwares are usually inferior. So I would recommend Elgato.

So you probably use the HDMI passthrough for actually playing the game? I was wondering how much use I'd get out of the "Instant Gameview" capabilities of the HD60S.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

So you probably use the HDMI passthrough for actually playing the game? I was wondering how much use I'd get out of the "Instant Gameview" capabilities of the HD60S.

Yeah, I either use the HDMI passthrough or if I'm using my PC, just connect a separate DisplayPort cable running to my monitor and duplicate the display. I believe the "Instant Gameview" feature just lets you view the HDMI input from inside the Elgato software's window. Doesn't seem like a feature I'd use, since passthrough works perfectly fine. Although with the normal HD60, you do have to delay your microphone input from within OBS or else it doesn't sync up with the gameplay properly since there's a half second to one second delay between the actual video output from your PC/console and when it is sent to OBS to be captured. I'm assuming the HD60S gets rid of that issue, but I don't know how much more expensive it is than the normal HD60. If the difference is pretty big, I don't think it'd be worth it.

 

[ars25]

Not sure if you made a choice yet since it seems the only answer you've gotten was from the elgato side. i own a avermedia live gamer extreme and can tell you its a pretty smooth experience. all you have to do is install the drivers and then is off to the races. although i will tell you the LGX only works through USB 3.0 ports so if thats not your cup of tea You could use the Live Gamer Portable 2 as it doesnt require usb 3.0. another good option is the PCIe slot cards from both elgato and avermedia as those are the elgato HD60 Pro and the Avermedia Live Gamer HD 2 and the original Live Gamer HD. And if for some odd reasson you want to capture and stream in 4k the AV.io 4k is one of the best options for you but they cost $500 USD.