Question / Help Recommend a Video Capture Card for Laptop?

[crystalgem]

Streaming from a single PC (i7 950 cpus, gtx 580 gpu) is too demanding for my PC. Encoding seems to take up way too much CPU resources and basically makes games unplayable in any setting.

So since I have a laptop I plan to use it as an encoder. I play on PC, send the video feed to laptop and use it to encode + stream.

Is there a good video capture card that is for a laptop? My lapto is a sony vaio VPCEB series (i5, no dedicated gpu). As far as I can tell the laptop only has a expresscard slot and a HDMI socket on the side(but i think it's for output only).

Also my upload is 2mbps, I wonder if all this fuss even matter with this upload speed?

 

[alpinlol]

there are only a few capture devices which are usb plugNplay since you cant put a pci card in your laptop obviously... then again im not sure what devices are compatible with obs there was a list somewhere on the forums

i think this one here http://gamerzone.avermedia.com/game_cap ... r_portable

is one of the devices which work but im not really sure



but actually your current system should be able to run at least 1280x720 with 48 frames and have no problem whatsoever with ingame performance

 

[crystalgem]

That's what I thought too when I compared my specs to many other people streaming and my specs sometimes have double or triple benchmark scores. But it just lags in game. I have no idea why. I tried game graphical setting from lowest to highest, and it didn't change the lag problem at all.
It seems to me that the game graphic quality is not causing the problem. Its the encoding process by my CPU.


Found this googling:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6815158332

expresscard video capture device

I guess OBS doesn't support it?

 

[alpinlol]

no idea :( hope jim/rich/dodge one of those will give you an answer on this but i actually doubt it to be working with obs

 

[dodgepong]

Can you post your laptop model/specs? Does it support USB 3.0 using an Intel or Renesas controller?

Also, that i7 and that GPU should be pretty good for streaming...are you sure you don't just have a configuration problem?

As for the linked capture card, I haven't a clue if it works with OBS, or if it's any good. I'm guessing it's too small to do encoding on the card itself, so if it has a good unencoded directshow filter, then I think it should theoretically work. The one review on NewEgg mentions several hundreds of milliseconds of lag, so things would be off-sync with your capture.

EDIT: It's possible that the card you linked is just the ExpressCard version of of the Startech PEXHDCAP, which is a pretty good card and works with OBS. If that's the case, and your laptop has an ExpressCard slot, it might not be a bad choice. It's hard to know for sure, though.

 

[crystalgem]

no USB 3.0 on laptop, and I don't plan to use the card for encode only link the video to the laptop and the laptop can encode the video and stream it.

But it seems that everyone agrees that my computer should be good enough to stream on it's own. Maybe I will tweak it more. But so far my setting is 720p, at 30fps and it lags everything.

 

[alpinlol]

we need some logs to check whats going wrong

 

[crystalgem]

My current setting




15:52:10: Settings::Video: Disabling Aero
16:12:36: Open Broadcaster Software v0.554b - 64bit (　^ω^)
16:12:36: -------------------------------
16:12:36: CPU Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07GHz
16:12:36: CPU Speed: 3073MHz
16:12:36: Physical Memory: 24567MB Total, 19761MB Free
16:12:36: stepping id: 5, model 10, family 6, type 0, extmodel 0, extfamily 0, HTT 1, logical cores 8, total cores 4
16:12:36: monitor 1: pos={0, 0}, size={1920, 1200}
16:12:36: Windows Version: 6.1 Build 7601 S
16:12:36: Aero is Disabled
16:12:36: -------------------------------
16:12:36: OBS Modules:
16:12:36: Base Address Module
16:12:36: 000000003F450000 OBS.exe
16:12:36: 00000000E4CD0000 OBSApi.dll
16:12:36: 00000000F7DC0000 DShowPlugin.dll
16:12:36: 00000000F7D90000 GraphicsCapture.dll
16:12:36: 00000000F7D70000 NoiseGate.dll
16:12:36: 00000000F7D50000 PSVPlugin.dll
16:12:36: ------------------------------------------
16:12:36: Adapter 1
16:12:36: Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580
16:12:36: Video Adapter Dedicated Video Memory: 1560739840
16:12:36: Video Adapter Shared System Memory: 2683908096
16:12:36: =====Stream Start: 2013-09-16, 16:12:36===============================================
16:12:36: Multithreaded optimizations: On
16:12:36: Base resolution: 1920x1200
16:12:36: Output resolution: 1920x1200
16:12:36: ------------------------------------------
16:12:36: Loading up D3D10 on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580...
16:12:37: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawTexture.pShader.blob
16:12:37: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawSolid.pShader.blob
16:12:37: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawYUVTexture.pShader.blob
16:12:37: Playback device Default
16:12:37: ------------------------------------------
16:12:37: Using desktop audio input: Speakers (Audinst HUD-mini)
16:12:37: ------------------------------------------
16:12:37: Using auxilary audio input: Microphone (High Definition Audio Device)
16:12:37: ------------------------------------------
16:12:37: Audio Encoding: MP3
16:12:37: bitrate: 128
16:12:37: Using graphics capture
16:12:37: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawTexture_ColorAdjust.pShader.blob
16:12:38: ------------------------------------------
16:12:38: Video Encoding: x264
16:12:38: fps: 30
16:12:38: width: 1920, height: 1200
16:12:38: preset: veryfast
16:12:38: CBR: yes
16:12:38: CFR: no
16:12:38: max bitrate: 1700
16:12:38: buffer size: 1700
16:12:38: ------------------------------------------
16:12:38: MMDeviceAudioSource: Frequency for device 'Speakers (Audinst HUD-mini)' is 768000, samples per sec is 96000
16:12:38: MMDeviceAudioSource: Frequency for device 'Microphone (High Definition Audio Device)' is 352800, samples per sec is 44100
16:12:38: SharedTexCapture hooked
16:12:42: Total frames rendered: 117, number of late frames: 0 (0.00%) (it's okay for some frames to be late)
16:12:42:
16:12:42: Profiler results:
16:12:42:
16:12:42: ==============================================================
16:12:42: frame - [100%] [avg time: 3.291 ms (cpu time: avg 2.933 ms, total 343.202 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 99.9%] [unaccounted: 0.0912%]
16:12:42: | frame preprocessing and rendering - [20.7%] [avg time: 0.682 ms (cpu time: avg 0.533 ms, total 62.4 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 0%] [unaccounted: 20.7%]
16:12:42: | | scene->Preprocess - [0%] [avg time: 0 ms (cpu time: avg 0 ms, total 0 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
16:12:42: | video encoding and uploading - [79.2%] [avg time: 2.606 ms (cpu time: avg 2.4 ms, total 280.802 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 75.3%] [unaccounted: 3.86%]
16:12:42: | | flush - [5.26%] [avg time: 0.173 ms (cpu time: avg 0 ms, total 0 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
16:12:42: | | CopyResource - [0.304%] [avg time: 0.01 ms (cpu time: avg 0 ms, total 0 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:12:42: | | conversion to 4:2:0 - [0.395%] [avg time: 0.013 ms (cpu time: avg 0 ms, total 0 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:12:42: | | call to encoder - [69.4%] [avg time: 2.283 ms (cpu time: avg 2.4 ms, total 280.802 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:12:42: | | sending stuff out - [0%] [avg time: 0 ms (cpu time: avg 0 ms, total 0 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:12:42: | Convert444Threads - [1.77e+003%] [avg time: 58.106 ms (cpu time: avg 2.533 ms, total 296.401 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
16:12:42: ==============================================================
16:12:42:
16:12:42: =====Stream End: 2013-09-16, 16:12:42=================================================
16:12:48: =====Stream Start: 2013-09-16, 16:12:48===============================================
16:12:48: Multithreaded optimizations: On
16:12:48: Base resolution: 1920x1200
16:12:48: Output resolution: 1920x1200
16:12:48: ------------------------------------------
16:12:48: Loading up D3D10 on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580...
16:12:48: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawTexture.pShader.blob
16:12:48: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawSolid.pShader.blob
16:12:48: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawYUVTexture.pShader.blob
16:12:48: Playback device Default
16:12:48: ------------------------------------------
16:12:48: Using desktop audio input: Speakers (Audinst HUD-mini)
16:12:48: ------------------------------------------
16:12:48: Using auxilary audio input: Microphone (High Definition Audio Device)
16:12:48: ------------------------------------------
16:12:48: Audio Encoding: MP3
16:12:48: bitrate: 128
16:12:48: Using graphics capture
16:12:48: C:/Users/Achaea/AppData/Roaming/OBS/shaderCache/shaders/DrawTexture_ColorAdjust.pShader.blob
16:12:48: ------------------------------------------
16:12:48: Video Encoding: x264
16:12:48: fps: 30
16:12:48: width: 1920, height: 1200
16:12:48: preset: veryfast
16:12:48: CBR: yes
16:12:48: CFR: no
16:12:48: max bitrate: 1700
16:12:48: buffer size: 1700
16:12:48: ------------------------------------------
16:12:48: MMDeviceAudioSource: Frequency for device 'Speakers (Audinst HUD-mini)' is 768000, samples per sec is 96000
16:12:48: MMDeviceAudioSource: Frequency for device 'Microphone (High Definition Audio Device)' is 352800, samples per sec is 44100
16:12:48: SharedTexCapture hooked
16:12:50: Using RTMP service: Twitch / Justin.tv
16:12:50: Server selection: rtmp://live.justin.tv/app
16:12:50: Interface: Linksys LNE100TX PCI Based Fast Ethernet Adapter (ethernet, 100 mbps)
16:12:51: SO_SNDBUF was at 8192
16:12:51: SO_SNDBUF is now 65536
16:18:50: Total frames rendered: 10859, number of late frames: 2 (0.02%) (it's okay for some frames to be late)
16:18:50: RTMPPublisher::SocketLoop: Graceful loop exit
16:18:50: Number of times waited to send: 0, Waited for a total of 0 bytes
16:18:50: Number of b-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Number of p-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Total 0 (0%)
16:18:50:
16:18:50: Profiler results:
16:18:50:
16:18:50: ==============================================================
16:18:50: frame - [100%] [avg time: 3.347 ms (cpu time: avg 2.986 ms, total 32432.6 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 99.9%] [unaccounted: 0.0598%]
16:18:50: | frame preprocessing and rendering - [13.7%] [avg time: 0.46 ms (cpu time: avg 0.354 ms, total 3853.23 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 0.0299%] [unaccounted: 13.7%]
16:18:50: | | scene->Preprocess - [0.0299%] [avg time: 0.001 ms (cpu time: avg 0 ms, total 0 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
16:18:50: | video encoding and uploading - [86.2%] [avg time: 2.885 ms (cpu time: avg 2.63 ms, total 28563.8 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 85.2%] [unaccounted: 0.986%]
16:18:50: | | flush - [4.84%] [avg time: 0.162 ms (cpu time: avg 0.058 ms, total 639.605 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
16:18:50: | | CopyResource - [0.388%] [avg time: 0.013 ms (cpu time: avg 0.008 ms, total 93.601 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:18:50: | | conversion to 4:2:0 - [0.448%] [avg time: 0.015 ms (cpu time: avg 0.007 ms, total 78.001 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:18:50: | | call to encoder - [78.9%] [avg time: 2.641 ms (cpu time: avg 2.531 ms, total 27487.4 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:18:50: | | sending stuff out - [0.627%] [avg time: 0.021 ms (cpu time: avg 0.012 ms, total 140.401 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
16:18:50: | Convert444Threads - [1.99e+003%] [avg time: 66.588 ms (cpu time: avg 2.736 ms, total 29718.2 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
16:18:50: ==============================================================
16:18:50:
16:18:50: =====Stream End: 2013-09-16, 16:18:50=================================================


Last game capture log:
2013-09-16, 16:12:38: we're booting up:
16:12:38: D3D9 Present
16:12:38: D3D9EndScene called
16:12:38: D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS {
16:12:38: BackBufferWidth: 1920
16:12:38: BackBufferHeight: 1200
16:12:38: BackBufferFormat: D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8
16:12:38: BackBufferCount: 1
16:12:38: MultiSampleType: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
16:12:38: MultiSampleQuality: 0
16:12:38: SwapEffect: D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD
16:12:38: hDeviceWindow: 1181086
16:12:38: Windowed: true
16:12:38: EnableAutoDepthStencil: true
16:12:38: AutoDepthStencilFormat: D3DFMT_D24S8
16:12:38: Flags: None
16:12:38: FullScreen_RefreshRateInHz: 0
16:12:38: PresentationInterval: 1
16:12:38: };
16:12:38: successfully set up d3d9 hooks
16:12:38: D3D9Present called
16:12:38: DoD3D9GPUHook: success - d3d9ex
16:12:38: D3DSURFACE_DESC {
16:12:38: Format: D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8
16:12:38: Type: D3DRTYPE_SURFACE
16:12:38: Usage: D3DUSAGE_RENDERTARGET
16:12:38: Pool: D3DPOOL_DEFAULT
16:12:38: MultiSampleType: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
16:12:38: MultiSampleQuality: 0
16:12:38: Width: 1920
16:12:38: Height: 1200
16:12:38: };
16:12:38: successfully capturing d3d9 frames via GPU
16:12:38: NV Capture available
16:12:38: FBO available
16:12:38: GL Present
16:12:38: (half life scientist) everything.. seems to be in order
16:12:42: ---------------------- Cleared D3D9 Capture ----------------------
16:12:42: D3D9EndScene called
16:12:42: D3D9Present called
16:12:48: received restart event, capturing
16:12:48: DoD3D9GPUHook: success - d3d9ex
16:12:48: D3DSURFACE_DESC {
16:12:48: Format: D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8
16:12:48: Type: D3DRTYPE_SURFACE
16:12:48: Usage: D3DUSAGE_RENDERTARGET
16:12:48: Pool: D3DPOOL_DEFAULT
16:12:48: MultiSampleType: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
16:12:48: MultiSampleQuality: 0
16:12:48: Width: 1920
16:12:48: Height: 1200
16:12:48: };
16:12:48: successfully capturing d3d9 frames via GPU
16:18:50: ---------------------- Cleared D3D9 Capture ----------------------
16:18:50: D3D9EndScene called
16:18:50: D3D9Present called

 

[Krazy]

Try downscaling to 1280x800. It should perform a lot better

 

[alpinlol]

yup even tho your cpu is actually pretty good ... 1st gen i7's still have a problem with encoding the native resolution and tend to have performance decrease but you should be fine with 1.5 downscale (1280x800) and the lanczos filter