Question / Help Capture card? Suggestions and rants welcome

Archon Kades

Archon Kades

New Member
Hey. I recently started streaming PC games using OBS, but I want to be able to stream Xbox One games as well, specifically Destiny for now.
I doubt my stream will ever get big, and that's not my goal either. I like interacting with people while gaming, and being able to get help and hand out advice on the go is great.

I've heard people say that Windows 10 can connect directly to your Xbox One, and capture it in that way, but I've also heard that this method is demanding to your computer. My computer is regrettably pretty old, so I don't think that is an option for me at this point.

What capture card can you recommend, and why do you recommend this card?
Any advice is gladly accepted, and if you have bad experience with certain brands I'd like to hear about that too!

//Archon Kades

If you need any more information just post, and I'll see if I can do something about that.

(I wouldn't be surprised if a similar topic has already been created, but for all I know there might be a new capture card that has just been released that was not discussed in said topic)
 
U

Ultrapower

Member
Most stable are the Blackmagic Devices (Intensity Pro or Intensity Shuttle)

They give best picture quality and best Performance !
 
U

Ultrapower

Member
Archon Kades said:
Thanks for the suggestions, anyone care to second this suggestion, or potentially add one?
Click to expand...

Also have the Avermedia Live Gamer and can say you the Picture is not as sharp as the Blackmagic Shuttle !

Avermedia has some Audio problems too ...

Get the Intensity Shuttle and you are on the safe side :)
 
Adrian Schofield

Adrian Schofield

Member
Intensity shuttle had some very particular USB 3.0 requirements or it did when I bought one so it's worth checking. I have an Avermedia extremecap and have had a Roxio Game Cap HD. Both work with OBS and are pretty good in my opinion. The Avermedia does 60fps whereas the Roxio does not.
 
U

Ultrapower

Member
I'm not a Blackmagic fanboy but have tested many different Capture Devices in the last 3 years.


For long time i used the Intensity Pro together with Linux Ubuntu and VLC. There is no other Device that works under all OS so stable.


Many of the other tested Products have Audio problems and poor Picture Quality compared to the Blackmagic Intensity.


The only Alternative i can suggest you is the Made-in-China Timeleak HD72A:

https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/timeleak-hd72a-pcie-hd-capture-feedback.35738/


This one delivers same good quality as the Intensity but it has Limitation to 720p Resolution ... 1080p only 30 FPS

And it works under Windows only.


So if you want the "best" Capture Device to use under all Systems possible and without any bugs go with Blackmagic !
 
A

AndehX

Member
Don't bother with Blackmagic. For the price you pay, you can get better. I would recommend the Avermedia Live Gamer Extreme. It's USB3.0, its not fussy on chipsets like Blackmagic's devices, and it supports 1080p60, which the Blackmagic's do not. It's also alot cheaper than the Blackmagic Shuttle.
Contrary to what others have said above, The Live Gamer Extreme does not have "a ton of problems" I havn't encountered any issues with it yet.
If price is not a concern, then the X-Capture 1 is the cream of the crop.

If anyone tries to tell you Blackmagic's devices are the best, they simply have not tried anything else.
 
D

deetari

Member
I second the X-Capture 1, though it's probably a pain to get support for it if there are any problems.

I do also use a Black Magic Intensity Shuttle, and I've found that their more recent drivers seem to support alternative USB 3.0 chipsets more freely than before, which is nice. It even works on all the new Surface laptops. That said, it's still something of a crapshoot as to whether it'll work for you or not, though.


PCIE cards are definitely still the most stable and typically have the best price-performance ratio (unless you really want portability). Been thinking about selling my BMIS and grabbing one of the PCIE cards that support odd PC resolutions, myself. Haven't looked into it too hard, though.
 
Jack0r

Jack0r

The Helping Squad
PCIe is actually one of the most important things. Having to fix a delay that in 99% of the cases comes from using an usb device is the worst that can happen to a streamer. All these external USB 2.0 and 3.0 were originally created for the purpose of recording but have then been re-purposed and re-branded in some cases to pretend they are meant for live streaming. While the newer USB 3.0 devices got better, they often still result in more problems than solutions. Just search our forum for the countless user reports.

BlackMagic devices in addition tend to have problems capturing anything that does not fit perfectly to their current settings. This can normally be fixed by correcting the settings but can be a big problem as well. After several years of waiting for a better driver or update for their newer hardware I gave up on them in this regard.
Their full range color capabilities are also not really interesting for streaming or youtube videos for example. But if you ever plan to do a professional TV show, you might want to think about it. Although then you probably go for Kona/Datapath or a similar device in the range of a few thousand dollars.

For a simple console capture (no old consoles, just hdmi) I would recommend one of the following devices:
Avermedia Game Broadcaster HD (up to 1080p 30fps)
Avermedia Live Gamer HD (720p 60fps or 1080p 30fps)
Elgato HD 60 Pro (up to 1080p 60fps)
Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI (I think up to 1080p 60fps)

The X-Capture 1 is probably the only USB device I personally would buy if I had no other choice or needed the special inputs it offers for older consoles. But whenever possible, go for an internal device.
 
ahmed own

ahmed own

New Member
I came here to ask the same question, i get a PVR Rocket and it work like shit on PC recording.
all what i want is a card that work will with OBS MB (to record the audio track from the mic in one file and the game sound in the other)

Adrian Schofield said:
Intensity shuttle had some very particular USB 3.0 requirements or it did when I bought one so it's worth checking. I have an Avermedia extremecap and have had a Roxio Game Cap HD. Both work with OBS and are pretty good in my opinion. The Avermedia does 60fps whereas the Roxio does not.
Click to expand...

any way is these the card you talk about ?
http://www.amazon.com/AverMedia-ExtremeCap-Capture-Uncompressed-CV710/dp/B00G9QTUVE
 
A

AndehX

Member
Jack0r said:
PCIe is actually one of the most important things. Having to fix a delay that in 99% of the cases comes from using an usb device is the worst that can happen to a streamer. All these external USB 2.0 and 3.0 were originally created for the purpose of recording but have then been re-purposed and re-branded in some cases to pretend they are meant for live streaming. While the newer USB 3.0 devices got better, they often still result in more problems than solutions. Just search our forum for the countless user reports.
Click to expand...
I was primarily talking about USB3.0.... Every USB3.0 device I've used so far, has not had any delay. So choosing a device because its PCIE and disregarding a USB3.0 device even if it has better features, would be a mistake.

Jack0r said:
For a simple console capture (no old consoles, just hdmi) I would recommend one of the following devices:
Avermedia Game Broadcaster HD (up to 1080p 30fps)
Avermedia Live Gamer HD (720p 60fps or 1080p 30fps)
Elgato HD 60 Pro (up to 1080p 60fps)
Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI (I think up to 1080p 60fps)
Click to expand...

I'd recommend the Avermedia Live Gamer Extreme before the Elgato HD60 Pro, simply because there is no delay on the Avermedia when switching resolutions/inputs. It's also USB3.0 and not 2.0 like the Elgato. The fact that the HD60 Pro is only USB2.0 is absolutely criminal imo.
 
Jaxel

Jaxel

Member
I can not recommend any of the AverMedia devices except the c127 Game Broadcaster HD. The c127 at this point is a 6 year old product, but its the last "good" product they have made. The problem I have with recent AVM products is they now purport this "automatic" resolution finding system. So you plug in a source, the device will automatically find the correct resolution and change to it... While this sounds good, its really not. By doing everything automatic, it takes away the option for manual.

So there are many cases I have had, with non-standard devices (like if you try to stream older consoles and arcade machines), where the AVM devices simply can't find the correct EDID settings. Unfortunately, AVM makes it very hard, and nigh impossible to actually tell it what the correct resolution is. I know the resolution of my sources, I dont need the AVM to tell me the wrong stuff, and break things in the process... Absolutely do not use any products in the Live Gamer line, as they are not worth the headache.

That being said, the c127 is probably one of the best capture cards I have ever used... its an ANCIENT card at this point, but I still swear by it because it just works, without issues. I've bought many capture devices over the years, and usually end up selling them off after a month because the majority of them are crap. Don't bother with any USB devices if you can avoid it.

Currently I use:
Blackmagic Decklink 4K Extreme
2x AverMedia c127 Game Broadcaster HD
 
Jack0r

Jack0r

The Helping Squad
The HD 60 Pro is an internal capture card :) The HD 60 might be usb2.0, I have no idea actually.
 
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