Recommended video capture device?

[Floob]

Hi,

I'm looking to capture some of my video from a Megadrive on my LCD TV.
Any recommendations for a suitable device?

Its currently straight out of the 8 Pin DIN into a RGB Scart input on my TV, but I also hope to connect it via HDMI when my XRGB mini arrives.

Thanks.

[Fudoh]

Once you get a Mini, you just need a HDMI in/out capture box, like the Elgato or the Avermedia Portable (Lite). Those are live h264 encoders. If you want to record uncompressed or with another codec of YOUR choice on the PC, you need a USB3 box or an internal card. Really depends on your workflow which method you prefer.

[Shuco13]

Once you get a Mini, you just need a HDMI in/out capture box, like the Elgato or the Avermedia Portable (Lite). Those are live h264 encoders. If you want to record uncompressed or with another codec of YOUR choice on the PC, you need a USB3 box or an internal card. Really depends on your workflow which method you prefer.

What's the cheapest/best/easiest method if I already have a mini?

[CkRtech]

Once you get a Mini, you just need a HDMI in/out capture box, like the Elgato or the Avermedia Portable (Lite). Those are live h264 encoders. If you want to record uncompressed or with another codec of YOUR choice on the PC, you need a USB3 box or an internal card. Really depends on your workflow which method you prefer.

What's the cheapest/best/easiest method if I already have a mini?

I ended up picking up the elgato game capture HD thanks to the recommendation of users from this forum. Pairs well with the mini.

[Thrill]

+1 for the Elgato. Doesn't really have any drawbacks besides some slight issues if you ever want to stream. Although it's lossy YV12 H.264 capture, I can't see any visual difference between it and the Lossless 4:2:2 cards. The file sizes are also amazing compared to using stuff like UT Video or Lagarith for the past 2 years.

[Shuco13]

Once you get a Mini, you just need a HDMI in/out capture box, like the Elgato or the Avermedia Portable (Lite). Those are live h264 encoders. If you want to record uncompressed or with another codec of YOUR choice on the PC, you need a USB3 box or an internal card. Really depends on your workflow which method you prefer.

What's the cheapest/best/easiest method if I already have a mini?

I ended up picking up the elgato game capture HD thanks to the recommendation of users from this forum. Pairs well with the mini.

Can you also use it for any other HDMI source, such as recording TV?

[Sixfortyfive]

If you're not really particular about compression or lag or compatibility with 3rd party software and just need decent no-frills 720p HDMI capture, there are probably more than a dozen of decent or better choices in the $100-$150 range. Avermedia, Elgato, and Blackmagic are brands I'd recommend in general, although their product lines can pretty diverse and some options are better than others.

If you have more specific needs (1080p 60fps, passthrough, transcoding, more specialized inputs such as VGA, DVR functionality) or are looking to make an actual production out of things (livestreaming, support in specific video capture/editing software that you want to use, additional webcams and overlays, instant replay, etc.), then your options narrow considerably.

In a Windows setup, I'd personally never settle for something that isn't DirectShow compatible if I didn't have to because the packaged software that comes with these things is always barebones, and I want to make sure that they can be expected to work out of the box with most of the software that I already use. I stream tournaments and kind of need that extra versatility.

[darcagn]

Can you also use it for any other HDMI source, such as recording TV?

It only works with sources that don't have HDCP encryption, so I would not rely on it for recording TV stuff unless you're willing to record using component instead of HDMI.

[Fudoh]

Among the live h.264 encoders the Avermedia LGP LITE seems to be the price breaker. It's about 40% less than the Elgato (at least over here) and some reviews state a little better encoding quality as well.

[blizzz]

The AverMedia LGP Lite can record in 60 Mb/s compared to 30 Mb/s max that the Elgato can do. Or do they mean better quality at same size? Achieving better quality at double the bitrate is no big surprise.

I always recommended the Elgato HD for the following reasons:

• I own it, I have tested it with the Framemeister
• It just works and doesn't require a special USB3.0 chip
• The software gets the colors right* and lets you cut the video
• Youtube didn't support 60fps

*This seems to be an obvious point if you're new to video capturing, but even highly regarded cards as the Micomsoft SC-500N1 fail in this area sometimes.

I don't know anything about the software side of the LGP, but if all you want is 720p at 60fps or 1080p at 30fps from a console HDMI source, then the LGP Lite seems to be the better choice. Simply because it costs half as much as the Elgato. I also know that it's used by people who make money with Youtube videos, for example LinusTechTips.

If you want to record retro consoles without a Framemeister, then a simple S-Video capture device will give you good enough quality at a price that is a bit lower than the LGP Lite. When you have other requirements (streaming to Twitch, 1080p 60fps recording, support for special software) then there are other options to consider.

[fafangus]

Here is some videos that I made with the Avermedia LGP - Stream engine

Using the "new" LGP stream feature , I have reached to use it with Amarectv, and now I could play with no lag on my computer and record at the same time (previously I couldn't to it because of the 3 sec lag of the Avermedia Record program...), and the best is that I could play my pal games in full screen using the crop feature of Amarectv, of course the set up is Console (RGB) > Xsync > Framemeister > LGP > Amarectv

The setup of the stream engine for the LGP is set to 1280 X 720 with 60 mbps and 60 fps

Here is Sonic 1 Pal 50 Hz on Megadrive 1, I done the video with this game because of "the speed of the game" (maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is a good idea of what I can do with my setup, in term of rapidity and lag I mean)

http://www.gamersyde.com/thqstream_mega ... LG_fr.html

you have to choose 720p / 60 fps

Ps : I upload it to youtube but the video (even in 720p looks awfull) so I upload it to Gamersyde and the resulst is more convincing

and other video on youtube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9FmFP6 ... 3bmdjgnN3g

Check my channel on youtube there are some video done with avermedia rec program, and now I make some with amarectv due to the "new" stream engine on the LGP, it's more usefull and with more option than the "avermedia factory program"

[Fudoh]

Or do they mean better quality at same size? Achieving better quality at double the bitrate is no big surprise.

some reviews with direct comparions between the Elgato and the Avermedia mention that AT THE SAME BITRATE smaller details get mangled on the Elgato while they appear clearer on the Avermedia encodings. Just what I read/heard though - without on hand experience with both.

[Xan]

Since these generic, ubiquitous S-Video USB sticks were mentioned: they are utter garbage. I have one that produces nothing but bluescreens on my PC (both XP and 7)

[fafangus]

And for hdcp protection you could use a hdmi splitter, it's easy to find one on the bay with hdcp support for 20 - 25 €
I use this to record my ps3 sessions

[blizzz]

And for hdcp protection you could use a hdmi splitter, it's easy to find one on the bay with hdcp support for 20 - 25 €

So many people started removing HDCP that AverMedia had to put a legal warning on their product page

Since these generic, ubiquitous S-Video USB sticks were mentioned: they are utter garbage.

I meant one of the genuine Dazzle or EzCap ones. They are no great solution, but for 30€ you can get decent quality from them. I would prefer a good S-Video capture to the blurry RGB to HDMI converters that have come up recently.

[Floob]

Should I hold off getting an Elgato based on this?

https://www.elgato.com/en/elgatonext
#ElgatoNext

I would pretty much just be grabbing videos from retro consoles.

[Sixfortyfive]

And for hdcp protection you could use a hdmi splitter, it's easy to find one on the bay with hdcp support for 20 - 25 €
I use this to record my ps3 sessions

To be more precise, I think you'd want to find one that does not support HDCP. "HDCP compliant" means that it implements the copy protection.

I use a cheap HDMI-2-HDMI+audio box to strip HDCP. The audio passthrough can be kind of flaky for anything but stereo, and it does some nasty color space conversion to RGB if you feed it a YCbCr source, but it's fine otherwise.

[fafangus]

So many people started removing HDCP that AverMedia had to put a legal warning on their product page

LOL I didn't see that, maybe for copying protection, but I can't see my self copying a bluray that way... lol

[engineerer]

I'm trying to copy things from 20-year-old VHS tapes, to a hard drive, in best possible resolution. I have a VHS player with an HDMI output, and I bought a Startech PEXHDCAP capture card with an HDMI input port. But, I cannot get it to grab scenes from manufactured videos (for personal use only, will never be posted or published anywhere).
The Startech software will block those tapes entirely, and Nero Vision and Ulead can't seem to find the right card or drivers.
Can anyone help me figure it out?

[Fudoh]

You need a TBC in between to counter the Macrovision protection. Gets complicated. I would recommend getting a videoprocessor instead, that accepts composite video from your player and outputs deinterlaced through component or even HDMI already. This will take care of the copy protection as well.

[blizzz]

Some leaked information about the next Elgato device: It's an external HDMI capture device called Elgato HD60 that can record at 1080p 60fps and has a MSRP of $180 in the US.

[Floob]

Some leaked information about the next Elgato device: It's an external HDMI capture device called Elgato HD60 that can record at 1080p 60fps and has a MSRP of $180 in the US.

Would there be any reason (besides price) to get the existing model when this comes out?

[blizzz]

Official information: https://www.elgato.com/en/game-capture-hd60

480p up to 1080p60, HDMI only, USB2.0 for 170€.

If it's as good as their older version this might be an excellent device. Especially in combination with the Framemeister. I don't see any reason to get their older model anymore.

It's either AverMedia LGP Lite (+GV-USB2 for Composite and S-Video) for 1080p 30fps or Elgato HD60 (+ Framemeister) for 1080p 60fps now.

[Floob]

This is the feature the new one doesnt have:
PlayStation 3 / Retro Gaming Input (A/V In)

I'm wondering how important that is? Is it just an input for the PS3?

[blizzz]

That means that it's missing the analog input (component, S-Video, composite). The PS3 uses HDCP for HDMI, so they can't legally say that you can record PS3 over HDMI. With a simple splitter that removes HDCP you can also record PS3 on the Elgato HD60. Composite and S-Video were never great on the Elgato, so that is no big loss. Component on the other hand was pretty good, but there are no modern systems that use component anymore. If you want to record Wii, Gamecube or PS2 you might miss it though.

[Seraphic]

Wonder how they pull off 1080p60 on USB 2.0?

[blizzz]

USB2.0 can transfer ~240Mb/s on Windows. I've recorded a run of Necrodancer at 1080p 60fps earlier and encoded it with x264 crf 18. The average bitrate is 4.5 Mb/s and the peak bitrate is 10.5 Mb/s. Even with an H264 encoder that is a lot worse than x264 you'll have no problems on USB2.0. I don't know the bitrates the device can do, but I doubt it's much more than 50-60 Mb/s.

[Floob]

hmm, doesnt look like its for sale in UK yet.

[undamned]

A thought on recording old consoles w/ USB capture devices. I was looking for a nice solution for recording CPS2 stuff (240p) and picked up an Avermedia Live Gamer Portable and one of those cheapy RGB SCART->HDMI boxes. I cannot for the life of me get a stable image to capture (I tried CPS2, SNES, and some other sources. Strangely, the SCART box works fine when outputting to my Sony HD TV). I can capture other HDMI sources just fine w/ the Live Gamer Portable, but not that SCART->HDMI box. I even went so far as to buy a 2nd SCART box to rule out the possibility that my first one was defective somehow.

I'd heard that the Elgato Game Capture HD (the one that's been around for a while) works fine with that same SCART->HDMI box. I gave one of mine to a friend who owns the Elgato Game Capture HD and he had zero problems capturing off of his CPS2 setup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td7pVXD19Ag

In short, don't do what I tried to do (LGP + SCART box). At some point I'd like to do some mucking around with the HDMI signals coming out of the SCART->HDMI box (check the signal quality on an oscope, try adding some resistance/capacitance, etc.) and see what the problem is.
-ud

[blizzz]

hmm, doesnt look like its for sale in UK yet.

It was just announced a couple hours ago. You can order (pre-order?) one directly from Elgato. There's also at least a 10% off voucher ("ERROR_SORRY"). But I would strongly advise that you wait for reviews of that unit.