So I can get behind one of those gaming capture devices if it follows the same “simple” approach — sure I want to have some memories on vid of when my reflexes were hot, but not if it means having to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it to work. Good thing this Elgato game capture HD follows this philosophy or it’d never see any use, regardless of how high a resolution its capable of capturing. So is it simple to set up? Yes, but with a caveat — you need to have a laptop as a neighbor. That’s because the video coming from the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 is going into the computer for recording — even as the signal is shuttled out to the TV or monitor normally used for viewing. Let me break this down even further. You run a HDMI cable from the game console (PS3 adapter cable included for use with the A/V input instead) to the game capture HD’s input socket.
I suppose this question might be good here. So when I hook up my Elgato to the PS4 to the Monitor and also to my PC which has the Slobs on it.
A USB cable going from the game capture HD’s USB socket is already plugged into a USB socket on the laptop, so all you need to do now is run another HDMI cable from the game capture HD’s output socket to the display. The game capture HD doesn’t need any external power so that does make it more portable than others of this type. And yeah, you can record in a lower rez without that being reflected on the display. And double yeah, you can’t record anything off of HDMI that has copyright coding on it, so drop that wish right now. But the reason I said a laptop is required is that while you can use a desktop computer, who has their desktop situated next to the game console? Heck, mine is only 20 feet away from my home theater setup — where I sometimes run my PS3 when I want to see it on a projection screen and not the HDTV in the bedroom — but this means you’ll need at least one long HDMI cable and they are NOT inexpensive when lengthy. I guess in this situation you could try using a HDMI video transmitter, but that pretty much removes the whole “simple” thing, right?
- Buy Elgato Game Capture HD - Xbox and PlayStation High Definition Game Recorder for Mac and PC, Full HD 1080p: Internal TV Tuner & Capture Cards.
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So I put my Macbook Pro next to the PS3, which is in the bedroom, and make the connections noted earlier so that I can see what’s what on the HDTV. But there’s no buttons on the game capture HD to press — that’s certainly “simple,” but not so good. Guess that’s why Elgato says you need an Internet connection, ‘cause you need to load in the software from the ‘net first. Okay, that takes a few minutes and the installation goes smooth enough — so now how do I proceed?
But first a word about that laptop that is basically the controller and storage device for the game capture HD. The size of the hard drive decides how much you can save — the hardware compression that is inside the game capture HD (it’s not just a transfer box!) reduces the file size while maintaining resolution. You might need to adjust the settings as to how your hard drive is functioning, clean it up a bit and do other tweaks as needed in order to keep the laptop running at full steam. Obviously any slowdown caused by the laptop won’t be game capture HD’s fault, but that doesn’t make things right. In my case I didn’t encounter any problems over a number of recording at varying lengths.
So if you’re reasonably hip to how your laptop functions at its best, there won’t be any problems coming from your end. Doesn’t hurt to check out what the software can do first — obviously record what I’m doing on the game console and at the resolution I want, duh. But if the software doesn’t see the game capture HD connected, it don’t do jack. Okay, I get that. I can see there’s controls for playback and for audio levels (meter), along with the ability to “tag” what is recorded so that it has metadata in it when uploaded to YouTube, etc. In fact there’s a menu that ties into the editing screen that displays a host of choices, from Facebook to Twitter (the editing menu displays the timeline at the bottom). Now in the blurb about what makes the game capture HD so cool is the comment that it can “remember” to record, even when I forget to do so — that’s called the Flashback recording feature and so I can “slide back” in time and then hit Record retroactively.
I guess that means that the video going into the laptop from the game capture HD is always “live,” providing that the software is running. Elgato says you don’t have to sweat up to an hour behind you, by the way. Using the game capture HD software is pretty intuitive, and I like the Flashback feature since I can try and play without the “worry” of it being recorded. About the only thing you’ll want to adjust on the software at the front is where the content is being saved — otherwise it pretty much does its thing and expects you to have at least enough mentality to know the difference between “Record” and “not Record.” Editor’s Rating: rating:4.5/5 Excellent Bottom line: At $199 retail, the game capture HD isn’t exactly being given away. But for gamers looking for an easy path for recording their accomplishments (nice was of saying “showing off”), the simplicity of the device makes it easier to use than others of the genre. Good job, Elgato. Now just make a robot so I can write “robot Elgato” in a review sometime.
Pros. 480p – 1080i high-resolution capturing.
Elgato Game Capture Hd60
In-software video editing. Apple TV and iPads can be connected Cons. Laptop/computer required. Gadget Review works with a variety of advertisers to help monetize the site’s traffic. This is what allows us to offer our content free of charge or without a paywall. Because of this, some of the links on this page may earn us a commission when you click thru and purchase from the associated site. However, at no time, and will it never affect our rankings or judgment of the product(s) in discussion or under evaluation. In short, we’ll always remain objective and find you the best products regardless of any monetary incentive.
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Elgato Game Capture Hd Drivers
Record and stream your gaming highlights with low-latency using the Game Capture HD60 S High Definition Game Recorder from elgato. This external capture card has a USB-C 3.0 interface, which features a reversible connector, and supports up to 1080p at 60 frames per second. Advanced hardware H.264 encoding lets you capture in HD yet keeps the file size small. Game freely and never miss a moment with Flashback Recording simply slide back in time on your PC and hit the record button retroactively. For streaming, Stream Command lets you add in your webcam, overlays, live commentary, and more.
The Game Capture HD60 S can record PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U gameplay to a Windows PC via a HDMI pass-through. Mac OS X users will have to check the elgado website for software support.