Question / Help Using two capture cards with OBS?

[Torkel Olsen]

Hi all,

I wanted to set it up so that I could stream from my PC and my PS4 simply by swapping scenes or even stream both devices simultaneously on the same screen.

I have a separate streaming PC with a Game Capture HD60 Pro PCIe card, while I also have an old Game Capture HD60 which I used to stream with prior to building my streaming rig.

Using both these cards simultaneously seems to work fine with the Elgato Game Capture software. However, whenever I try to add one of the capture cards as a source in OBS, it will only let me use whichever capture card I installed drivers for first. I'm not even getting the option to choose which Elgato Capture card I want to use. The only other option I get from the device drop down list is Elgato Helper Device (unavailable) which does nothing.

I have tried multiple reinstallations, tried different versions of Game Capture, I've tried OBS classic, I've tried both 64 bit and 32 bit, just about anything to get it to work - but it never seems to be able to work with two capture cards, only one at a time.

Is there any way for me to work around this or fix it in any way?

Of course, a last resort solution is to use an HDMI splitter to separate the PS4 signal to go both to my monitor and my capture card and an HDMI switch to swap between my gaming PC input and my PS4 input to the Elgato Pro - however, I was hoping to avoid that and I'm not even sure if that would work. I'd much prefer swapping scenes in OBS.

If there is any additional information needed, I would be happy to add that.

Thanks for any help

 

[Paul Carter]

Also following (Sorry dude I have no answers and am a rank amateur hack still) - not capturing games but capturing video from 4 cameras and using 4 Elgato H60's keen to see how this works, currently using sparkocam as the scene switcher but causing pause between scenes, would love to get the capture cards to work independently for smoother transitions from angle to angle.

 

[Torkel Olsen]

I've seen kind of a solution to my problem on reddit in this thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/com...60_pro_capture_cards/?st=j3q3gk9k&sh=ccdc8c97

However, it seems that to do it with several Elgato capture cards it will only work with the internal Elgato HD60 pro. I might go for that solution. For me it would also mean better quality than my old HD60 external.

 

[Adrian Schofield]

You need @LtRoyalShrimp :-) sorry man hope you don't mind!

 

[Paul Carter]

Just thinking outside of the box after reading just about every post on the elgato's, it would seem that the issue is with the elgato units them self not having multi usb support. Does any one know of an alternate capture card brand or model that will work simultaneously side by side.
Only reason I am not considering the pro is I am operating off a laptop and physically do not have the space for the pro's but would still consider if an after market mini rack or similar could be bodgied up to support them.
Open to all solutions and not strictly limited to Elgato H60S.
@LtRoyalShrimp I am hoping you can come up with a resolve before I outlay the cash.

 

[Torkel Olsen]

You need @LtRoyalShrimp :-) sorry man hope you don't mind!

Yeah, I PM'ed him. But it seems to me that multiple different elgatos dont work with obs, except for the HD 60 pro.

I guess my options are buying another pro, using a different broadcasting software (any suggestions here?), or make it possible to swap inputs to the pro with a HDMI switch.

 

[Paul Carter]

I am now looking at getting 1 X Elgato, 1 X Razer Ripsaw, 1 X AverMedia GC550 and 1 X Black Magic Intensity should all be different capture devices when searching and might be the only work around without spending massive

 

[Paul Carter]

So it seems there may be a work around coming for the Elgato HD60S, they were kind enough to get back to my email:

Jason Twitchell replied:

Hello Paul,

Thank you for contacting Elgato Systems.

We, in fact, have an Experimental Driver for multiple Elgato HD60 S devices on one computer.

Experimental HD60 S Drivers:
https://gc-updates.elgato.com/windows/drivers/hd60-s/download-3ps.php

Since these Drivers are experimental, they are not guaranteed to work.

If you experience any issues, please uninstall the Experimental Drivers, and reinstall the traditional HD60 Drivers.

Elgato Game Capture HD60 S Drivers:
https://gc-updates.elgato.com/windows/drivers/hd60-s/download.php

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Jason Twitchell
Elgato Technical Support.

If any one has these cards and would like to try the experimental drivers see how you go. I dont plan on shelling out the $1000 for for cards to test experimental drivers but would be keen to see how it goes if some one already had the cards.

 

[andy tzeng]

2ea grabber card work at the same time:

1ea is USB ISO mode, and anther is BULK mode

3ea grabber card work at the same time :
2ea is USB Bulk mode and anther is ISO mode.
or
3ea is USB bulk mode

you can reference the video demo as below
( 2ea is USB Bulk mode and anther is ISO mode. )

 

[Michael Berry]

@Paul Carter, did you ever find a solution to this? I'm trying to do a similar thing, capturing two HDMI sources at one time and using them in OBS. It seems like Elgato is the wrong road to go down now that I have three of them sitting on my bench. Really trying to find some hardware that I know will work together. I need to have this up and running in the next two weeks.

Anyone have any suggestions on HDMI capture that works together simultaneously? Andy, I see your post, but the hardware looks like too big of a gamble at this point.

 

[sendblink23]

I went with avermedia c985 pci(720p60), elgato hd60s(1080p60) and startech usb3hdcap (1080p60) all 3 work perfectly fine together at the same time in OBS.

 

[Torkel Olsen]

@Paul Carter, did you ever find a solution to this? I'm trying to do a similar thing, capturing two HDMI sources at one time and using them in OBS. It seems like Elgato is the wrong road to go down now that I have three of them sitting on my bench. Really trying to find some hardware that I know will work together. I need to have this up and running in the next two weeks.

Anyone have any suggestions on HDMI capture that works together simultaneously? Andy, I see your post, but the hardware looks like too big of a gamble at this point.

I actually went down the road of just buying a new HD 60 Pro, installed this driver (http://e.lga.to/MultiHD60Pro.) and it worked like a charm. No issue after that.

My old HD 60 S is now just collecting dust.

 

[Michael Berry]

So, you have two HD60 pro's in your PC setup now? Are you able to use both at the same time (like in the same scene) if you want to, or is it just kind of an either/or thing. I'm looking to do some picture in picture type outputs of my two HDMI captures. Before I order up another HD60 Pro I want to make sure.

It would be nice if there were some documentation on this so we're not all stumbling around in the dark.

 

[Torkel Olsen]

So, you have two HD60 pro's in your PC setup now? Are you able to use both at the same time (like in the same scene) if you want to, or is it just kind of an either/or thing. I'm looking to do some picture in picture type outputs of my two HDMI captures. Before I order up another HD60 Pro I want to make sure.

It would be nice if there were some documentation on this so we're not all stumbling around in the dark.

I use 2 HD 60 pro now yes. I can also use both at the same time without any problems, in the same scene - with OBS. I'm pretty sure it will require the drivers I linked though. With that driver, I think you can have as many HD Pro's in your PC as you can fit, and use them all at the same time.