Question / Help Streaming with Panasonic GH4...On Mac

[G0YARD]

Ok, so I've seen the post about streaming with a GH4 before, but the one major issue I have is that I'm streaming on a mac. My current work around is using Panasonic's remote app for the ipad... connecting the GH4 and iPad through GH4's wireless network... then using quicktime to display the iPad's screen and use OBS window capture to capture and crop down to just the video preview. Complicated, yes.. But I think I could deal with the sub-par video quality if it weren't for one major issue. The connection constantly crashes.. forcing me to reconnect. I did about a 2 and a half hour stream last night and the camera had to have disconnected at least 10-20 times. Each time it disconnects, it takes about 20 seconds to get it back... and using it as the main cam on stream really turns viewers off when it crashes (I use the GH4 to stream live poker, and it is used to capture the table)

I obviously need a capture card, but my question is.. what is the best HD capture card that will work on a mac? Also with little to no lag if possible.. I can always delay the table audio to match up with the video.. but that would not be preferable long term.

 

[Furious Sty1z]

For me, the best card has been the magewell xi100dusb-hdmi. Minimal lag. I used to use the elgato to capture gameplay, but their software has a delay and it doesn't provide drivers for the Mac to play nice with OBS. The magewell was literally plug and play. It comes up in OBS as a webcam. It has a price tag, but it wasn't a waste of money at all.

 

[TheMuso]

It should be noted that the video capture driver for OS X is not as functional as it could be yet. One feature the Magewell has which is really neat is the ability to upscale or downscale in hardware, as well as allowing for multiple frame rate choices. Unfortunately the video capture plugin only allows you to choose resolutions, and nothing above 1280x720, and you cannot chose a preferred frame rate. The Magewell mentioned previously can capture up to 1920x1200, and requires a USB 3 connection to do so, although it can push up to 480p over USB 2.

If you don’t need anything over 720p, and have access to a thunderbolt connection, then the BlackMagic intensity thunderbolt is also an option, and has full support in OBS as well. It too, has a price tag.

 

[Herolordman]

I have an Intensity Pro and an Intensity Pro 4k. they both work in OBS on Mac.

 

[G0YARD]

@Furious Sty1z @TheMuso I checked out the Magewell.. Looks ok, but whats with the audio lag while streaming video games from a game console? That is not my main issue, as it will be used for streaming from a cam.. but at that price i would like the option to switch to a game console if i needed.

@Herolordman Those look like actual capture cards you put inside a pc.. how do they work with mac?

Thank you guys for responding so quickly by the way.

 

[Furious Sty1z]

I haven't noticed any audio lag and I only stream from a game console. I've had it for 2 months and have seen some console streamers using it for months and it seemed in sync.