Elgato Game Capture HD: Bitrate On OBS Is Lower Than The One In Elgato Game Capture HD Software

smxx

New Member
For some reason capturing my Elgato Game Capture HD (2012 model) on OBS results in a very low bitrate. The video quality is noticeably higher when recording on Elgato's Software (Game Capture HD Software on version 3.70.56.3056 x64 + Game Capture HD Drivers on version 2.3.3.42) at 26.3 Mbps, same resolution and everything. Using OBSm, I noticed that the drop in quality does not happen while outputting the actual video file, but it does in the preview, that means that the bitrate in OBS is capped to a default value that cannot be set manually.

Screenshot from an OBS recording:
OBS.png
















Screenshot from an Elgato Software recording:

ELGATO.png

OBS Settings (Log file attached)​

Video Settings​

  • 1280x720 (both canvas and output)
  • 59.940 FPS (Constant)
  • 50 Mbps Variable Bitrate
  • AMD HW H.264 AVC
  • Profile set to High

Audio Settings​

  • 48 KHz Sample rate (Stereo)
  • 224 kbps bitrate

Elgato Game Capture HD Software​

Video Settings​

  • 1280x720 recording and output
  • 59.940 FPS (Constant)
  • 26.3 Mbps Bitrate (The highest you can set)
  • H.264 AVC
  • Profile set to High

Audio Settings​

  • 48 KHz Sample rate (Stereo)
  • 224 kbps bitrate

When adding a capture device source on OBS -> selecting the Elgato Game Capture HD -> Configure Video, the Elgato settings (like resolution, framerate and audio volume) are displayed. However, some of the settings present on the Elgato Software are missing, like the bitrate slider. (The capture is set with the same settings in both softwares, except for bitrate)

Screenshot 2024-02-08 164837.png
Screenshot 2024-02-08 164432.png


Is there a way (like modifying a config file or a registry key) to change the default bitrate that OBS uses to grab the video from the card?

OBS log file:
 
Top