Question / Help HDMI capture device for MacBook Air

[Lenwe]

Hi

I'd like to stream World of Warcraft from my MacBook Pro. The game runs smoothly at 30+ FPS when OBS is not running but unfortunately, it drops to less than 10 FPS when OBS is running and streaming. Lame.

I don't think there is a magic trick to fix this so as I also own a mid 2012 Mac Book Air (Core i5, 4GB RAM and HD Graphics 4000), I think the solution would be to capture the HDMI signal of the MacBook Pro on the MacBook Air using a capture device.

There are lots of them (Blackmagic, Avermedia, Elgato) so I need your help to choose one that works perfectly with OBS on Mac, without spoofy workarounds such as capturing a preview window.

I'd like a device that runs preferably over Thunderbolt to avoid issues with a USB hub (as I need the 2 USB ports for my webcam and my microphone and fear that one of them would fail on an USB hub) and HDMI pass thru as well since I may need to record from a 3rd party PC (so I won't have to setup all my streaming stuff on it). Capturing 1080p60 would be nice too but if it supports 1080p60 but only records in 1080p30, it's OK.

Which device do you use to stream HDMI signal with OBS ?

 

[dodgepong]

If you want to use Thunderbolt, your only real option is the Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle, as far as I know.

 

[Lenwe]

The only issue with USB is I need to use a hub to plug the capture device + mic + cam. I ordered an inexpensive USB3 hub and I'll test it with my cam + mic connected on it. If it works flawlessly, then an USB capture device is OK as well, and even better so that I could use it on my PC as well.

Does one of you use an USB capture device witb OBS for Mac ? The ones from Avermedia look good (Avermedia Portable) but I'm not sure it works on Mac for streaming.

 

[Lenwe]

I found a bunch of tutorials on YouTube.

Only the BlackMagic devices have native video source support. Unfortunately, some users seem to have problems with their devices and they're quite expensive regarding to my needs.

Other ones (Elgato and Avermedia) do not support streaming but the preview window can be captured using SyphonInject.

I'll first try streaming a 1080p60 YouTube video on my MacBook Air using QuickRes and SyphonInject . Il'll also test my other hardware on a USB hub. If everything works fine together, I'll just buy an Avermedia LGP.

 

[Lenwe]

Just got the Avermedia LGP. I set my MacBookAir resolution to 1920x1080, Avermedia software preview window in fullscreen mode + Syphoninject on it => Works perfectly. I don't even have to show the preview window on screen.

What else :)