Question / Help Seeking Video Capture Device Suggestions

[Art Zemon]

Hello,

I know that this isn't strictly about OBS but I figure somebody here has to have some valid suggestions so here goes....

My congregation has had a Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle USB for several years. We use it to live stream our services. Nothing fancy, just a single PTZ camera with component video output. We turn the system on and expect it to run unattended for 60 to 90 minutes.

My problem is that the Blackmagic driver software is nutty unreliable. Sometime it works. Sometimes not. When it works, life is wonderful and we get a great video stream. Most of the time when it does not work, rebooting the computer fixes it. Sometimes not.

The computer is a brand new Lenovo laptop

• Lenovo IdeaPad 500S (Neweggbusiness item 9b-34-319-905)
• Windows 10 Home
• Blackmagic Desktop Video 10.8.1
• OBS

The machine does absolutely nothing else. No one else uses it between services.

This morning was a good example of a failure. I turned on the camera. I turned on the laptop. Windows booted. I started OBS. No video. No audio. I opened the Windows Device Manager and saw only one entry for a Blackmagic device. (There should be three.) Checking properties for that device gave me an error message that the driver could not be loaded because there was already a driver in memory.

What the heck?!?! Like I said... all I had done with the computer was to turn it on, wait for it to boot, and start OBS.

We have other weird glitches, too. Sometimes we get video but no audio. Sometime both work. The flakiness truly seems to be at the driver level because if OBS isn't working then neither is Blackmagic Video Express.

Should I switch to a different video capture device? My primary concern is that this needs to run reliably. Every time someone follows the instructions, they should be able to live stream. No fuss. No bother. We aren't even close.

I would appreciate your thoughts/suggestions/ideas.

-- Art Z.

 

[Rodney]

I know the pain of using a Shuttle...

I personally use a USB3HDCAP from startech which works pretty realiably, but color accuracy isn't as good as the Shuttle.
I've also heard good things about the Live Gamer Extreme's Component input quality. I don't have one myself though. It's also not that expensive iirc.

 

[Boildown]

If you can still return that laptop and get a desktop instead, then you should do it. A lot of problems happen because of the USB bus. If that's impossible, find a USB 3.0 device, like the Micomsoft XCapture 1. I assume your laptop has USB 3.0 ports. A desktop dollar for dollar is far more capable for video encoding though, having PCIe expansion slots being just one example of such.

 

[c3r1c3]

1. Could be bad memory in the computer, or...
2. A bad USB Cable/port, or...
3. A bad BMD device. Devices can go bad after a while, and while BMD's assembly line QC has gotten (a lot) better, they still let some bad ones through. See if you can get the unit exchanged for another one, or consider picking up something not USB.

(Also, while completely optional in this case, posting a log is always a good thing).

In general, PCIe cards are the way to go if you want max reliability. Then Thunderbolt, then USB 3.0... USB 2.0 (while supported) isn't good, and Firewire isn't supported at all.

As to brands, I use BMD for almost everything, but Magewell, StarTech, Mircomsoft and Avermedia make good products as well.

As to computers, desktops are superior to laptops in almost every way for streaming (and are usually cheaper to boot).

Edit: Thanks Rodney!

 

[Rodney]

@c3r1c3 you have two "2." ;)

And I'd add a 4:
4. Device has shitty and picky USB chipset that doesn't work half the time - which is the category the Shuttle falls into.

Desktops and internal devices are better, absolutely. If it needs to be external device that works with a notebook almost any other brand than blackmagic is better (for USB 3.0, BMD thunderbolt devices seem to work fine).

 

[Art Zemon]

Thanks for the suggestions. We chose a laptop because we literally do not have anywhere to put a desktop, even a tiny one. Equipment "space" for this "gig" is a closet The only horizontal surface space is the top of a 48" rack.

-- Art Z.

 

[c3r1c3]

If you have space in the rack, you can buy a rack shelf and place a desktop sideways on that (or even go all out and get a rackmount case).

That said, given your restrictions, I would go with Avermedia's USB 3 capture devices.

 

[Art Zemon]

Adding a desktop to the rack is a good idea. We do have space. I think that I will try swapping the Blackmagic out for an AVerMedia CV710 ExtremeCap U3 Capture Card first. If that doesn't work, I will replace the laptop and capture device with a desktop and a PCIe capture card. Like I said in the OP, as long as the driver loads right, the laptop and OBS work great. We have all the horsepower we need for our modest little project.

Cheers,
-- Art Z.