Elgato's HD60S + external USB video capture card, although positioned as an entry-level model, is still equipped with powerful functions and features. The loop output supports 4K60Hz HDR10 specifications, and the capture is 4K30 and 1080P 60Hz. It can be adapted to PCs or hosts on major current mainstream live broadcast platforms to achieve live streaming.
The Elgato HD60S + capture card uses a family-style blue package. The obvious position of the package shows the core selling points: 4K60Hz HDR loop-out, 1080P HDR video capture, USB3.0 high-speed interface and low-latency technology.
After opening the outer box of the HD60S+, you can see that the inner box adopts a clamshell structure, which effectively prevents the product from falling when the inner box is pulled out, and a simple and clear user guide is printed on the page of the clamshell structure. In terms of accessories, the HD60S + capture card provides HDMI 2.0 cables, USB 3.0 Type-C to Type-A cables, and LOGO stickers.
The appearance of the Elgato HD60S + capture card is simple, as round as a piece of soap. There is a light strip on the front, which will light up once when it is connected to the computer, and keep the light off after normal operation. There is a circle of non-slip pads made of silicone material on the back, which is more secure on the table.
HD60S + is also relatively small in size, only 112x75x19mm, which is not as big as a macro fixed-focus lens. Combined with a weight of 115g, it is easy to carry around, and it becomes easier to have a live broadcast on the go.
The video capture card is actually not as complicated as many people think. The basic principle is to re-encode the video output from the HDMI interface of the graphics card and transmit it via USB, so the interface is relatively simple. HD60S+ has 1 HDMI2.0 input and 1 HDMI2.0 loop-out, and the two interfaces are located at both ends, so the cable is more concise when used.
USB 3.0 Type-C is located on one side of HDMI IN, and the other side is 3.5mm audio input. This interface is especially meaningful for host host users, because the audio of the game console needs to go through HDMI to the capture card, so the general connection method, headphone audio I can’t hear it anymore, and there is a delay in using the software virtual sound card. At present, the best solution is to use a mixer or a headset that supports Line Out. The Line In is connected to the capture card, and the headset and game microphone can be used together.
The game device used in this test is the mechanical revolution Aurora Z game notebook, which is equipped with Intel’s 12th generation Core i5 12450H standard pressure processor, a 95-watt full-blood RTX3050 graphics card, and a 15.6-inch 144Hz gaming screen, which meets the requirements of most gaming machines. Competing for the needs of online game players, and in the mainstream price range of around 5000, Aurora Z is very cost-effective. In addition to the high configuration and reasonable price, the appearance is low-key and thin, and the weight of only 2kg has become a model in the gaming notebook.
The Elgato HD60S + capture card can be used without a driver. After connecting to a computer, it will be recognized as a camera by the system. The camera in the system can be used to perform operations such as preview and video recording, and a video capture device is added to the OBS software.
The HD60S + capture card supports 1920x1080@60Hz video capture by default (note that 1920x1200 is not supported). After adding the video source, try to display the screen content on another video output computer. Whether it is video recording or push streaming, you can set it arbitrarily in OBS, which is simple and convenient.
Elgato's official acquisition software 4KCU, with its own acquisition card, supports up to 4K image recording, and can also flashback recording, that is, when you forget to click the recording function, you can flashback the recording function at any time and drag the progress bar to save the image you want. Flashback to the past 4 hours. If there is no picture you want, the cache file will be cleared automatically when the device is turned off, so you don’t have to worry about the hard disk being filled with video files or forgetting to click the record button.
The display is connected to the HD60S + capture card through HDMI loop-out, and the dual-machine platform realizes recording or live broadcasting while gaming.
I believe that many people think that the use of the capture card will not have any impact on the performance of the device. In fact, this principle is not completely correct, and the specific principle is not very clear to me, but at least there will still be different degrees of performance after testing on the PC side for many times. decline. On the contrary, this problem does not occur on the host, or the host does not have a Benchmark and cannot reflect it. Fortunately, the performance degradation is very small, and the effect of direct recording with OBS stand-alone is much stronger. The specific performance is as follows:
The above chart clearly reflects the extent of performance degradation. Using OBS NVENC stand-alone direct recording, both the graphics card score and processor score in 3DMark have dropped significantly compared to when recording is not enabled. Although the score of the HD60S + capture card has also decreased slightly, the magnitude is classified as an error. In the CSGO game, the frame rate dropped by about 7% when using the capture card. On the other hand, the OBS stand-alone direct recording dropped by 17%, which is very good. But in "Metro Exit: Enhanced Edition", the frame rate of HD60S + drops by 26%, which is still better than the 37% of OBS stand-alone direct recording. The fact that the frame rate drops is really incomprehensible to me. If you have friends who know the problem, please leave a message in the comment area.
The part about delay is also something that many users are very worried about, especially professional e-sports game anchors. A slight display delay may seriously affect the performance. The Elgato HD60S + capture card has the technology to reduce the delay. When the monitor is connected to the HDMI OUT preview, the picture delay is almost invisible to the naked eye.
Through the test, I have a full understanding of the Elgato HD60S + capture card. The 1080P 60Hz recording can meet the streaming resolution of the current mainstream platforms, and the 4K60Hz loop output can also meet the needs of the game for players. The performance of HD60S + is also far better than that of NVENC encoder, achieving smoother game frame rate. It is recommended for friends who have live broadcast needs to start.
