Which Game Capture Device to get for Wii U?

[Lucifer666]

All right so I have basically no experience recording or streaming gameplay apart from through emulators, but I'm interested in going for one of those capture devices that you hook up to your HD console.

I don't really want to spend more than $90 (though I will if I absolutely must) and my criteria are:

• 1080p raw capture (no compression or anything) + audio capture
• View the game in real-time on my laptop screen
• Mac OS support

I have done some Googling before posting this and honestly I can't seem to find one that guarantees the second point; the descriptions are never detailed enough. I've never bought one of these before and would confess that I don't really know what I'm doing.

I basically want to be able to hook up my Wii U to my laptop instead of a TV, so minimal lag is really important.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Pretty much any capture software that you use side by side with a capture product will allow you to view the ongoing video capture on your PC screen. There will always be noticeable lag between what's happening on your TV and what's happening on the computer though. There is no getting around that. You are still dependent on your TV if you actually want to be able to play your game with any degree of accuracy.

Otherwise, this was a few years ago so I'm sure there is something newer that may work a bit better, but my friend used his Hauppague HD PVR for all of his capturing from his 360, and it worked really well. High quality stuff time and time again. That's also how I know there is that bit of lag preventing total accuracy if trying to play off the capture feed.

 

[Elrinth]

I've got an AverMedia ExtremeCap U3, I took extreme consideration before deciding which device to get. I wanted to get the best of the best even if I had to pay a lot. Seems the U3 wasn't much more expensive than it's competition at all. Anyways, it can record 1080p 60fps no compression. It takes HDMI.
However, you'll be needing a HDMI-splitter if you want to have an image to your tv aswell.
It is the best capture device in the market today, and I will recommend it to anyone. I'm pretty sure it works perfect in MacOsX aswell, but I haven't tested it as I feel more comfortable working in windows. I've got hackintosh install on this computer aswell to be able to develop iOS apps.

Anyways, back on track:
The ExtremeCap U3 does however require quite high end PC in order to be able to record, so make sure you read the recommended requirements before buying it.

I myself had to buy a new PC because my USB3 ports on my old second generation i5 wasn't quite on par.

Oh and did I mention the AverMedia ExtremeCap U3 has the lowest latency of all the devices on the market? But be warned, there IS a delay.

 

[KongsNutz]

I use an Avermedia Game Capture HD box, it only does Component in HD up to 1080p but I use a HDMI to component whenever I need to. It's a cheaper capture box and has TV passthrough so you can watch it on TV and record at same time either to a USB HDD or an inbuilt HDD.
We recently did this with it

 

[the_randomizer]

I use an Avermedia Game Capture HD box, it only does Component in HD up to 1080p but I use a HDMI to component whenever I need to. It's a cheaper capture box and has TV passthrough so you can watch it on TV and record at same time either to a USB HDD or an inbuilt HDD.
We recently did this with it

Dang, that's pretty cool, I've thought about getting something like that

 

[KongsNutz]

the_randomizer oh an that video is super compressed using Divx Converter since the output file is always like 10gb at full res, so I get them to about 300mb and upload to youtube with that, so the source material is alot clearer and could be on YT if my net didnt take hours to upload video, so I get them as clear with compression as possible.

Here is a DKTF image I took from my original source before compression

Spoiler

 

[the_randomizer]

the_randomizer oh an that video is super compressed using Divx Converter since the output file is always like 10gb at full res, so I get them to about 300mb and upload to youtube with that, so the source material is alot clearer and could be on YT if my net didnt take hours to upload video, so I get them as clear with compression as possible.

Here is a DKTF image I took from my original source before compression

Spoiler

Still, I would like a decent way to capture footage from a game console, so far, I haven't found anything, but this might be it. I don't know if I'd need to compress it that far as I've a decent connection.

 

[KongsNutz]

the_randomizer yeh you probably wouldn't since I live in Australia I have Adsl2 which is balls.

 

[the_randomizer]

the_randomizer yeh you probably wouldn't since I live in Australia I have Adsl2 which is balls.

Damn, that's...yeah, that sucks. Maybe someday I can get one of these...

 

[Foxi4]

the_randomizer yeh you probably wouldn't since I live in Australia I have Adsl2 which is balls.

That's because Australia's connected to the rest of the world with one huge pipe of fiberoptics and all connections are either gimped or throttled to make-due, it's the charm of living on a remote continent.

 

[KongsNutz]

That's because Australia's connected to the rest of the world with one huge pipe of fiberoptics and all connections are either gimped or throttled to make-due, it's the charm of living on a remote continent.

Also sharks haha

 

[Foxi4]

Also sharks haha

It's easier to enumerate things that don't want to kill you than things that do as far as Australia's concerned - the threat of snakes slithering into your houses through your bogs is terrifying. ;O;

 

[KongsNutz]

It's easier to enumerate things that don't want to kill you than things that do as far as Australia's concerned - the threat of snakes slithering into your houses through your bogs is terrifying. ;O;

Ass snakes aren't around in any city area just the bush, which unfortunately we have a lot of.
You are more likely to die from a Red Back Spider then from anything else.

 

[Foxi4]

Seriously though, to reply on-topic, there's two popular brands when it comes to video game capture - Elgato and AverMedia. Which one you choose should be dictated by the feature set, the price range and opinions on the products. Have a browse, narrow it down to a few models and then look for reviews.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Seriously though, to reply on-topic, there's two popular brands when it comes to video game capture - Elgato and AverMedia. Which one you choose should be dictated by the feature set, the price range and opinions on the products. Have a browse, narrow it down to a few models and then look for reviews.

Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition isn't good enough? It looks pretty good to me.
I have an AverMedia capture card, only by chance though, I had never heard of the brand before when I saw it in a store and was impressed that it took HDMI in so I ended up buying it, but it has worked well. It's a slightly older one and only does up to 1080i at 60 fps IIRC but the picture still looks pretty good.

 

[Foxi4]

Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition isn't good enough? It looks pretty good to me.
I have an AverMedia capture card, only by chance though, I had never heard of the brand before when I saw it in a store and was impressed that it took HDMI in so I ended up buying it, but it has worked well. It's a slightly older one and only does up to 1080i at 60 fps IIRC but the picture still looks pretty good.

Totally forgot about Hauppauge, yeah, they've been around too.

 

[trumpet-205]

Since this is Wii U, pretty much any HDMI-based capture devicefrom reputable brand (Hauppauge, Elagato, etc) will work here.

Now if you plan to capture footage from PS3 or Vita TV (Playstation TV) then you'll also need a HDCP stripper (HDFury).

 

[Jiehfeng]

I use an Avermedia Live Gamer Portable, it's pretty good, but isn't under $90.