Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

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Konsolkongen
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Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Konsolkongen »

Having just recently bought a 5K iMac, which has a very nice screen. Unfortunately these computers no longer have the option of displaying an external source through HDMI. The old 1440p iMacs did, but only at 720p.

What is the best way to display a 1080p 60Hz source on a Mac with the lowest latency possible? I would like to hook up my Nintendo Switch as well as Raspberry Pis for various projects.

I have looked at the Avermedia ExtremeCap U3. It does have an input lag of about 50ms, which seems like a lot. But that's the fastest I've managed to find. Should be fine for RPGs though.

I would prefer native Mac support. But I have Parallels with Windows 10 installed as well, so I guess that could work instead, if a better option is available for Windows?

Don't really care about capturing video so recording quality is of little matter to me. But RGB444 would be appreciated if possible.

Obviously looking for USB devices. PCI devices won't do ;) Any suggestions is appreciated.
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Fudoh
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Re: Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Fudoh »

Not easy.

Are there are 3.1 capture devices by now ? The problem is that USB 3.0 ones can't deliver 1080p60 in 4:4:4. That's a bandwith issue and a reason why so many of the external capture units force you into 4:2:2/0 right from the start. Using Thunderbolt instead would help with the issue, but I don't see anything cheap. TB to PCIe interfaces are 200 EUR and a PCIe4x capture card probably another 100 EUR. The combo does 4:4:4 1080p60 without any problems, but you would have to make sure that there are OSX drives for the card.

The combo I use is a Zotac Amp Box Mini along with a Datapath or Magewell card (I have both but not yet decided on which one to settle).
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Konsolkongen »

Okay, that's a bit more than I was looking to spend, though a PCIe interface would be nice to have. Didn't realise that there would be bandwith limits on USB3 for 1080p60, that's a shame.

My guess is that Mac support for PCIe capture cards is probably very limited. So USB might still be the way to go, even if I have to settle for RGB 422.
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Konsolkongen »

What 200 eur TB to PCIe interface are you thinking of? Is it one of those that would support a graphics card as well? I was planning on getting one of those eventually, but I thought they were much more expensive.
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Fudoh
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Re: Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Fudoh »

I have the Zotac Amp Box Mini. It's way more limited when it comes to max. TDP of the installed card compared to the huge other boxes. 200 EUR incl. tax down here.
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Konsolkongen »

Doh! I did google it after reading your first post, but judging from the images I found I thought it was a NUC equivalent PC :D

That's much cheaper than I thought it would be. I remember them costing at least twice as much, which is insane.

Wonder if you could just cut a hole in the back and fit a bigger graphics card, or if the PSU has to be upgraded too :)
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Fudoh
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Re: Low lag Mac compatible HDMI input device

Post by Fudoh »

The included PSU has 200+ watts, that's pretty ok to cover a good mid rage graphics card.
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