What is a capture card?
A capture card is a device that works with a computer to capture what's on the screen and encode it for playback as a live stream or high-quality video file. It's commonly seen among video game streamers, recording and streaming screen content, especially video games.
What capture cards are used for
Although some modern game consoles, such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, have built-in streaming capabilities, capture cards are still very useful in some cases. Due to limitations in computer performance and data speeds, the current generation of game consoles cannot render and encode high-quality video in real time. That's where game capture cards come in handy, capturing the raw information of the game and converting it into a language that video players like YouTube or Twitch can understand. Capture cards don't encode the data themselves, but they facilitate the transmission from one end (the computer) to the other (the video player).
Choosing and setting up a capture card
If you're interested in recording or live streaming content, you need to understand how to choose the right video capture card and how to use one. Here are some key points:
1. Compatibility: The best capture cards (but not all) are compatible with current-generation video game consoles (such as Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One), PCs, some Macs (check the hardware requirements on the capture card's website), and most cameras with HDMI output.
2. Interface selection: Capture cards mainly have two interfaces: USB and PCI-e. USB external capture cards are more versatile because they allow you to carry them with you. However, PCI-e capture cards do not have the bandwidth limitations that USB external capture cards do. Therefore, if you plan to use the capture card only on a desktop computer, then PCI-e is the best choice; but if you plan to use the capture card on a laptop or plan to carry it with you, then USB is definitely a more cost-effective choice.
3. Required equipment: In order to successfully use a capture card, you need the following equipment: a host device with HDMI output and HDMI cable, a capture card compatible with the host device interface and another HDMI cable, a TV or monitor, an encoding computer, and capture card software.
How to use a capture card
The first thing you should do after unboxing your video capture device is make sure that you have all the necessary cables for an install。For a USB video capture device, you’ll need two HDMI cables and a USB cable.
1、Plug the first HDMI cable into the HDMI IN port of the capture card
2、Plug the other end of the first HDMI cable into the HDMI OUT port of the primary device (PlayStation, Xbox, etc.)
3、Plug the second HDMI cable into the HDMI OUT on the capture card
4、Plug the other end of the second HDMI cable into the HDMI IN port of the primary display (TV or monitor)
5、Connect the USB interface cable into your computer
What is a PC capture card? Since all capture cards require a “personal computer,” all capture cards are PC capture cards — but when people say “PC capture cards,” they’re usually referring to a PCI-e capture card.
For a PCI-e internal capture card, you’ll need two HDMI cables and a compatible motherboard.
Installing a PCI-e internal capture card:
1、Insert the capture card into an empty PCI-e slot on the computer’s motherboard
2、Plug the first HDMI cable into the HDMI IN port of the capture card
3、Plug the other end of the first HDMI cable into the HDMI OUT port of the primary device (PlayStation, Xbox, etc.)
4、Plug the second HDMI cable into the HDMI OUT of the capture card
5、Plug the other end of the second HDMI cable into the HDMI IN port of the primary display (TV or monitor)
6、Go to the system settings of your primary device and disable HDCP
Once you have your capture card installed, you’re going to need to download the right software and drivers to get it to work properly. Most capture card manufacturers have their own software, but many users opt to use third party services instead.
Perhaps the most-used third party game capture software is OBS Studio.
Setting up OBS Studio:
1、Download and install OBS Studio
2、Click the “+” marker in OBS Studios underneath the “sources” tab to add a new source
3、Select your capture card and name it
4、Open the “properties” window and select your capture card
5、Hit “start recording” in the bottom right corner to begin recording
It may take a little bit of trial and error before you get things working perfectly. If you run into an issue, go to the OBS Studio website and click on the “help” tab for more information.
