Question / Help AVerMedia Game Recorder C985 Live Gamer HD Help

[gregsc2]

Hi All,

I purchased this card to set up a Dual PC Streaming setup for SC2. The main selling point was that it could do a capture of 1080p @ 60 FPS. I was then hoping to use OBS to do all of the heavy lifting, simply using this as a means of getting the source content to the streaming pc.

I have noticed that in OBS, the FPS really does not seem like it is at 60 FPS. Also, the quality of the capture is quite low. It is really blurry. I have set the buffer on the card to 0, the FPS to 60, and the resolution to both 1080 and 720 in an attempt to derive a better image quality and higher fps.

Does anyone have any feedback?

Thanks,
Greg

Gaming PC:
Intel Core i7 3770K
GTX 670 4GB (Using DVI for monitor and HDMI output --> LiveGamer HD)
16GB DDR3 RAM

Streaming PC:
Intel Core i7 4770K
Gigabyte R9 280X Windforce
16GB DDR3 RAM
AVerMedia Game Recorder C985 Live Gamer HD

 

[Videophile]

This might sound harsh, but did you research the C985 at all? The specs say 1080p60 passthrough and 1080p30 recording. This means the card is outputting only 1080p30 to OBS.

If you are looking for a 1080p60 PCI card, this one from micomsoft should fit your bill(or not, since its around $300). THe card is also DVI based, so you will need to use your 3.5mm ports on your computer for audio. For more info about that card, hit up @FerretBomb.

The one cool thing the AverMedia card can do is that you output 1080p60 to it, and then it can display 720p60 via its internal downscaler to OBS.

The quality loss comes from the compression done by the device. OBS receives already compressed video, albeit very high (60,000mbps video).

I hope I have answered your questions.

-Shrimp

 

[gregsc2]

I researched quite a bit, but its difficult to find a lot of concrete information about these kinds of things as far as i can tell. I actually want to stream at 720p 60 FPS, so that is not problematic.

So there should not be a quality loss in the fact that the AverMedia card is doing the downscaling rather than OBS? There is a noticeable darkness and lack of sharpness to the text using the LiveGamer vs all in one PC.

I7_4770K CPU + 720@60FPS Downscaled from 1080P via Lanczos 1.5x (2200 kbps):
http://www.twitch.tv/imperativegaming/b/536431291

LiveGamer HD + 720@60FPS Downscaled by Live Gamer HD on I7_3770K Streaming PC:
http://www.twitch.tv/imperativegaming/b/536433253

 

[Videophile]

Any form of downscaling will cause some blurriness and it is most noticeable in text.

If you can downscale via OBS, that would be the preferred way, however you would be limited to 72p30 then.

As for the colors being bland, im not sure how to solve that, as im not too familiar with OBS's color options. Again, here the Micomsoft card would win as it sends uncompressed video to OBS, which also means better colors.

-Shrimp

 

[gregsc2]

Fair enough. Bit the bullet on the Micomsoft. Sending the Live Gamer back. Thanks for the help man!

 

[dodgepong]

Can we back up and mention that 2200kbps for 720p60 is not enough bit rate to make it look any good? Of course it will look blurry...

And in my opinion, those videos that you posted don't even look that bad. Getting a different capture card won't make it look much better.

 

[gregsc2]

I would stream at a higher bitrate, but twitch doesnt seem to like anything higher than that since I am not a partner. The capture is noticeably blurry within the OBS window, which as far as I know does not involve the bitrate in any way.

As for the videos, I agree the quality isn't bad. But there was definitely a difference in the sharpness of text, and having a card that at least doesnt duplicate the quality of a single pc setup isn't really worth it