Question / Help Best Capture Cards for Macs

rolo

rolo

New Member
I want to start streaming my old playstaion, neogeo, n64 and other consol games on my mac. I hear Elgato doesnt work so the other choices i read about are avermedia and the one by hauppuage. I need a capture card that can work with any ps2 or playstation consol, xbox 360, wii, and maybe for my old sega. Dont care about the 4k supports, nor the 60fps stream, price i dont mind speding over the budget and extra cables, features dont care much. Does anyone have any good suggestions?
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
Mine is the USB 3.0 version. Then again, I capture on Macs, but I don't capture HDMI from Macs, so perhaps the USB version has the same problem?
 
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Zeros.81

Member
As far as I know the USB3 version doesn't have this problem, so it can be used to record a PC/MAC signal.

The only problem with blackmagic devices is that they ONLY accepts video standard resolutions so you need to match your OUTPUT resolution with the INPUT configuration of the Intensity.

SD Format Support
625i/50, 576p PAL and 525i/59.94, 480p NTSC.

HD Format Support
720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60, 1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p29.97 and 1080p30.
 
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Kearstin

Kearstin

Member
I used to use the Elgato HD. If you use their program directly to stream, it's great. But if you want to implement it into OBS, it's terrible. The delay is barely fixable, since you have to Window Capture. I was also never able to get to 60fps in even 720 when window capturing it.

I now have the Blackmagic Intensity Thunderbolt. While the extra cables and such for audio output is annoying, it's flawless with the black syphon capture when I use this for Xbox One. I don't even use my TV to watch my game. My video output is 720p59.94, and it has to be selected and on for the preview to even show. I have almost zero latency using it. I have also used this for Xbox 360, and while there is a hair of a choke, you have to change your resolution almost entirely because of the HDMI. Still works, and I still don't need to use my TV to watch my game, but I may go back to Elgato for the 360 if they ever have a driver for OBS.

I do have to say though, the Blackmagic has issues with party chat on Xbox One because of the privacy changes or something? I'm not entirely clear on that. So, I tend to Skype whomever I'm playing with and put that into OBS.
 
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Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
Kearstin said:
I do have to say though, the Blackmagic has issues with party chat on Xbox One because of the privacy changes or something? I'm not entirely clear on that. So, I tend to Skype whomever I'm playing with and put that into OBS.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the problem is with the Xbox One itself. It will send game chat to speakers so the Intensity can pick it up if you have it set to do that, but Party Chat currently goes to the headset only, even if you have it set for chat to go to speakers.

I've heard a future dash update will address this.
 
Kearstin

Kearstin

Member
Narcogen said:
As far as I know, the problem is with the Xbox One itself. It will send game chat to speakers so the Intensity can pick it up if you have it set to do that, but Party Chat currently goes to the headset only, even if you have it set for chat to go to speakers.

I've heard a future dash update will address this.
Click to expand...
Unf, I hope so. I knew it was *something* haha.
 
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GamingWithGF

New Member
Elgato's Game Capture HD should work as long as the console's outputs are RCA/Component for older console..
Keep in mind that it can only capture 30fps. the HD60 captures 60fps, but it doesn't have RCA/Component input.

You can use the proprietary program from them, or if you use OBS, you would have to window capture it, and it tends to degrade the quality..

You can go that route.. OR just bootcamp your mac, so you can use OBS on windows since it can detect the Elgato as a capture device unlike the Mac version.. that's the route I'm currently running.
 
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bifuteki

Member
Do not buy el gato. Only capture cards that work are the Black Magic Design's and the USB 3.0 Magewell. The Thunderbolt Shuttle from Black Magic is by far the best choice. The person who posted about it having issues is showing a REALLY outdated forum post from 2013. The Thunderbolt version of the card works better then the USB 3.0 version.
 
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Zeros.81

Member
A thunderbolt device should be better than a USB3, but not in the case of the Thunderbolt Shuttle. Actually I've tested both Thunderbolt and the USB3 version of the Intensity Shuttle, both installed in a new MacPro, OS X 10.11.3.

Results: The USB3 Shuttle worked without problems with PC Laptop and MacMini HDMI signals but the Thunderbolt Shuttle only worked with Camera HDMI signal. I've tried up to 3 different cards with the same result, also installing different drivers.

Notice that I'm talking about capturing PC or Mac HDMI RGB signals. Xbox or PS4 HDMI outputs could work due the fact that they send a valid YUV signal (I haven't tested because I don't have one).
 
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GamingWithGF

New Member
that's good to know^^ i guess might get the USB3.0 then just for multiOS purposes.
My current setup strips the HDCP signal anyway. So in Mac, it can be recognized as a capture device like a webcam, right? That's one of the issues w/elgato that i'm not liking about..
 
blinovitch

blinovitch

New Member
Has anyone ever tried using an AJA device, like the Io XT, with OBS? I'm considering getting one for work and wonder if it could double-duty for some OBS-based projects.
 
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Zeros.81

Member
GamingWithGF said:
that's good to know^^ i guess might get the USB3.0 then just for multiOS purposes.
My current setup strips the HDCP signal anyway. So in Mac, it can be recognized as a capture device like a webcam, right? That's one of the issues w/elgato that i'm not liking about..
Click to expand...

The Blackmagic is recognised as a capture device and you need to install his drivers in order to use it properly. In the other hand and based on what i've read, the MAGEWELL USB3 model I believe that is detected as a webcam and they need no drivers.

I really want to test the Magewell device, I think it's better than the Shuttle but I can't confirm yet.
http://www.magewell.com/usb-capture-hdmi
 
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bubbleblab

New Member
Can anyone please confirm if I want to stream my Nintendo Switch and Ps4 pro gameplay online through my MacBook Pro 13in 2016- should I get the usb 3.0 or the thunderbolt?

Thanks
 
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Zeros.81

Member
I haven't tested the cards with consoles but in my honest opinion the Magewell capture devices are better than the Blackmagic ones. I use the Magewell "USB Capture DVI Plus" to record PC and Mac displays and it works like a charm.
 
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