Capture Card Questions

[Fereydoon]

Might be better suited for the streaming section, but anyway.

Gonna probably get this card soon: http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-C985...ords=avermedia

I know PS3 streaming requires some hoop jumping iirc, would that card be fine for it? Anything else I'd need?

[Callisto]

I would probably get the AverMedia Live Gamer Portable if you don't want to deal with an HDMI splitter and something to strip HDCP. You can do component into the LGP, then HDMI out to your monitor/TV, I believe.

[Fereydoon]

That is a pretty good option, but I wanted a PCI capture card to make PC game streaming a bit easier on my system too. I was hoping to do both in one buy.

Edit: Unless that also does that? Hmmm.

[Callisto]

You can stream from the LGP, but it's usb 2.0 so there's a somewhat noticeable delay on the capture(there is no delay on the passthrough out to the monitor) so you need to find a solution for adding a delay to your microphone(this might be built in to OBS/XSplit, I'm not sure).

[Builttolast]

Live gamer portable is a good option for PC live streaming. The USB delay is the only drawback. For Xbox or PS3 or other console streaming it's just fine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9lRLmGHPss That will give you an idea of how to set it up for console.

There is a new version out that's not for streaming, it has a bay for a 2.5' HDD so you can record directly and edit after. It will record your voice if you wire up a mic so you can live record and upload to a streaming service.

[Fereydoon]

You can stream from the LGP, but it's usb 2.0 so there's a somewhat noticeable delay on the capture(there is no delay on the passthrough out to the monitor) so you need to find a solution for adding a delay to your microphone(this might be built in to OBS/XSplit, I'm not sure).

Only streaming to a couple friends most likely, so I wouldn't be streaming my mic as we'd be in a skype or something. How noticeable is the delay though? Few seconds? A minute or so?

Also, I currently use my monitor as my tv for my ps3, since I lack a TV in this room. Monitor has no speakers so HDMI into monitor for video, RCA cable into a converter thingy into speakers for sound. How would that work? I'll most likely be getting a TV for Black Friday anyway so it's no big deal, but it'd influence how earlier I buy this card.

[Callisto]

Only streaming to a couple friends most likely, so I wouldn't be streaming my mic as we'd be in a skype or something. How noticeable is the delay though? Few seconds? A minute or so?

Also, I currently use my monitor as my tv for my ps3, since I lack a TV in this room. Monitor has no speakers so HDMI into monitor for video, RCA cable into a converter thingy into speakers for sound. How would that work? I'll most likely be getting a TV for Black Friday anyway so it's no big deal, but it'd influence how earlier I buy this card.

The delay is between 1-2 seconds, closer to 1. I'm honestly not 100% sure about the audio end, there may be a 3.5mm out as well that you can run into the speakers, but I use my LGP for a very specific purpose that doesn't use any audio so I haven't really messed too much with it. I'll try to have a look at it when I get home from work if I get time.

[The Blackrose]

Callisto's recommendation is spot on. A bit more about the situation though.

If you're using a desktop to capture, then a PCI based card is going to perform better than any portable card on the market.

If you're using a laptop or want to have a "portable" solution, the quality ranking right now is Black Magic Intensity Shuttle > Avermedia LGP. Not sure where the ElGato Game Capture HD fits in - haven't got a unit to test with.

Problem with what I just listed above is that the Black Magic Intensity Shuttle is an absolute bitch to work with. You need to have the right USB 3.0 chipset (Renesas), you have to pray that the Black Magic drivers do not want to fuck with you and crash your system, and you cannot use the pass through. The only real reason people still use it is because USB 3.0 can handle a high quality stream capture being pushed through the pipe. The LGP, while being incredibly easy to set up and is not crash prone, is on USB 2.0. You will notice a bit of a stutter in both XSplit/OBS and while observing on Twitch because of how stream production programs handle capture cards (RECentral doesn't have this problem).

You shouldn't have an issue regarding mic/sound delay, though. Just a bit of stutter in your graphics output.

If you're on Skype with friends and don't want that outbound, then you will want to take a 3.5mm and connect the Audio Out to your Line In. Then tell XSplit/OBS to read in from the Line In while Skype reads from a headset. Mute the system sound in the streaming program. If you can't do this (eg. your headset is still using 3.5mm), you may need Virtual Audio Cables to isolate Skype from the incoming sound feed.

[Fereydoon]

As long as the delay isn't something absurd it should be fine. And yeah, I currently use VAC shenanigans for Skype/Streaming. I don't mind a slight delay, as long as I can also stream consoles while lessening the load on my CPU during streaming, so I can stream more intensive games. I'm currently using OBS, should I use RECentral if I get that card?

[Callisto]

I know RECentral has some streaming capabilities in itself but they're incredibly barebones, you probably would want to stick to OBS. You'd also need to get the Stream Engine thing from Aver's site to make the LGP compatible with OBS, but TBR can probably provide a bit more insight on that; all I use the LGP for is offline timeshift recording in RECentral for use as instant replay while streaming.

[The Blackrose]

As long as the delay isn't something absurd it should be fine. And yeah, I currently use VAC shenanigans for Skype/Streaming. I don't mind a slight delay, as long as I can also stream consoles while lessening the load on my CPU during streaming, so I can stream more intensive games. I'm currently using OBS, should I use RECentral if I get that card?

You would need to update the firmware to the current beta drivers and grab the Stream Engine. Stream Engine acts as a set of customizable parameters for the capture card. Then from there, you would set the capture source as the Stream Engine instead of the Live Gamer Portable.

[Fereydoon]

Alright, sounds good. I'll grab the LGP in a couple weeks when I get the chance then, unless the price spikes up a bunch. Thanks guys!

[Fereydoon]

Actually, another question I neglected to ask. I need 2 HDMI cords, yes? One from PS3 > Card and one from Card > monitor? Unless I'm spacing how does it then connect to the computer for OBS to see it?

[Callisto]

One for LGP > monitor, for PS3 you have to do component out into the LGP since the LGP by itself is not HDCP-compliant(I use a separate deal to strip HDCP). The LGP connects to the PC via USB.

[SephYuyX]

Every time this is on the main page, I keep reading it as card captor sakura.

[Fereydoon]

One for LGP > monitor, for PS3 you have to do component out into the LGP since the LGP by itself is not HDCP-compliant(I use a separate deal to strip HDCP). The LGP connects to the PC via USB.

Oh alright, seems it also comes with all the cables I need, nice. Just wanted to make sure so I don't end up waiting on two orders.