The Games today have cutting edge animation and graphics and have movie quality to them. Many today want to capture this footage and use it for other purposes such as making a music video playing music of their choice, as with the Famous “Hellgate London” used with the song “Primo Victoria” by Sabaton playing in the background. Other people like to compete and show their skills at a particular game or teach others how to get through difficult areas.
This article is about some of the video hardware/software you can buy that gives you the ability to capture your favorite games to use for other projects of your choosing.
When you are finished you will have a good idea of what hardware is out there and the platforms they support and which game machines you can use with them. We will list them by name, who makes them, their features and their price.
We will list for you some of the pros and cons as appropriate with some of them. This way you can choose the best capture device for your needs.
Roxio Game Capture HD Pro
Roxio Game Capture HD Pro http://www.capturedevice.com/gamecapture/gamecapturehdpro.html
One of the most popular video capture cards is made by Roxio and comes in 2 flavors The “Roxio Game Capture HD PRO” and Standard at $119.99 and $49.99 from their website. These products are rated highly in the gaming world had have won Top Ten reviews for 2014. Roxio is a favorite with both music video fans as well as gaming fanatics.
Features:
PRO
- Capture and record 30FPS/60FPS in 1080
- Video editing software
- HDMI input/Output
- USB
- Live Streaming on Twitch TV or to YouTube
- Auto capture up to one hour of gaming action
- Supports Flagging of your best moments in the game
Support the popular game machines:
- Xbox One
- Xbox 360
- PS4
- PS3
- PC Game Capture
The Standard version
- Play on your HD TV and capture at 480p
- Smaller file sizes for quicker sharing
- Editing software included
- USB and RCA cables included
Review:
This reviewer finds Roxio’s capture products to be all that is claimed for them and they both deliver just what you want for game capture and other capture activities. The nice feature as it also includes the software your need to get started.
Setup is simple and straightforward. The Roxio website has the full range of setup configurations for various game boxes it supports. So that it you can hook it inline to your system quickly. The PRO edition supports most of the game machines and does so in seamlessly and it at connects at high speed through a USB 2 port. The only negatives are the reviewer would prefer the maker to update support for the even faster USB 3 ports now out on most Tablets and Laptop computers. The other drawback is that it only works with windows and therefore wouldn’t work with the iPad or Macs. The big advantage through it seems tailor made for use for live streaming to Twitch TV and that is a plus in these reviewer’s eyes for this product.
Elgato Game Capture HD
For those who like the idea of black box capture then the Elgato Game Capture HD is made just for you. It supports the Playstation 3 as well as the XBox360 and works with either the Mac or Windows.
Features:
- Record your Xbox or PlayStation gameplay to a Mac or PC
- Built-in live streaming to Twitch TV and YouTube
- Unlimited Full HD 1080p capture
- Flashback Recording feature to record retroactively
- Immediate access and full control of your captures
- Quick Start Guide
- USB cable,
- HDMI cable,
- PlayStation 3 cable, Component adapter
- One-click sharing to Twitch TV, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Review:
Roxio may be a workhorse for video capture. The Elgato is a sleek and modern unit that looks like an Art Deco piece of art rather that a component part of video capture gaming gear. But, like the cat, it is named after, it can perform smoothly, quickly, and seamlessly the capture your games and other videos you want to stream up to the net. While we are concerned mostly with the gaming aspect, this device lends itself to that and much more for the imaginative user.
The price at $179.00 can be cut a bit if you look to Amazon as your source. This reviewer found no flaws in either the installation or operations. The guide walks you through installation and using it is a snap.
Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition
If you want the crème Del la crème in video capture devices, then the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is what you are looking for and it comes at a reasonable price as well $139.00.
Features:
- With H.264 encoding in HD captures your game play
- Uses HDMI to connect to your TV set from Xbox One, Xbox 360 or PS4.
- Component Video cable to connect to PS3.
- Setup is a snap.
Comes with a 6 ft long HDMI cable to connect to your:
- Xbox One
- Xbox 360 and
- PS4, and
Comes with a Component Video cable to connect to your PS3.
Highspeed passthrough, now you can play your games with no perceivable delay while recording them.
With one click, you can share your game play with your friends and fans on Twitch TV and YouTube, or Twitter.
The HD PVR’s can be used worldwide with the only difference being the various prongs on the power supply, so an plug adapter is all that is needed.
Review:
This is another of the top-end units for those who are serious in their video capture and streaming of their gaming escapades. This blackbox lets your record or stream with just one click of a button. This unit will give the highest quality of HD output and the many previous buyers all swear by this as the many 4 and 5 star ratings attest to. This reviewer found the unit to work well for its primary use with games. Unfortunately, it will not work on copyrighted materials. Others have tried to use it for other types of video use and were disappointed with results. But for the gamers it is perfect and the unit that this reviewer received from the vendor for testing rather than Amazon worked out of the box with simple installation.
The HD pictures were excellent and suitable for steaming to Twitch TV or YouTube and for making Music videos. Which is all one can ask of a video capture device.
Movavi
http://www.movavi.com/game-capture/
Here is a product that can capture your gaming experiences for all to see at the touch of a button. Using your pc as a screen capture device through a video input or HMDI, you can also record many of the popular game machines as well. With this product, you can save your adventures to your iPhone, iPad, or other handheld or share recorded Videos on the Net.
It can create these videos in almost any format you desire from Mp4 to AVI. Movavi also records to the almost all of the popular Smartphones in formats that are used by Blackberry, Sony PSP, and Android based products.
Features:
- Full Screen recording
- Customizable Settings
- Records up to 60 FPS
- Advanced Recording Engine
- All Vida formats supported
- Supports all mobile presets
- Support online sharing
Review:
While this product does not come with a video capture card it is suitable for use with the HDMI interface this means you don’t need an external card. So, this is a good product for the game machine user as well as the PC gamer as well.
This product allows you to capture your PC gaming or online gaming from your browser as well to the output media of your choice and to a long list of mobile devices as well.
Movavi is simple to use, so it is a good way for the newbie to get their feet wet. To operate Press F10, which turns on the recording feature and a small popup, lets you know the product is running. From there the rest is up to you and your skill with your game or other computer generated video. From there you can transfer and distribute it online to Twitch TV, Facebook, YouTube, Vimo, and Amazon’s S3 Cloud.
You can edit and mix in your favorite music or perform dubbing. The only drawback this reviewer notes is that it will not record Copy Protected videos or audio. The price is very reasonable, as it is Free.
In Closing
Today we have look at only a few of the many Video capture devices out there on the market. We restricted ourselves to test those, which are suitable for gamers and for video streaming to YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch TV. These devices you have seen today are representative of the industry and are some of the best available in price ranges affordable by most avid gamers.
Video capture is an enjoy adjunct to your gaming experience and lets you share it with your friends and peers. As the technology progresses into the future, we will see even more improvements in speed and definition to support the newer game machine coming down the pipe.
Video capture has become an exciting way to expand your gaming horizons because you now get to participate in the creation of your conception of a game based on your creativity and ingenuity. Which in itself is becoming a new art form similar to Machinima videos without having to invest in the expensive hardware and software? Video capture is your art and now you have more tools available to enjoy it.
Game On!
