Budget Capture Cards Compared (Tech Review)
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- Опубліковано 23 чер 2020
- I have a follow up to this video with another option. You can view that video right here! • The New Budget Capture...
Comparing capture cards, with a primary focus on the $15 non-branded HDMI Capture card.
Generic Capture Card - amzn.to/3nGBtyJ
Blackmagic Mini Recorder - amzn.to/32UFSr7
AGPTek Capture Card (Don't buy this, it's junk) - www.ebay.com/i/303434858765?c...
#streaming, #zoom, #capturecard
The Gear I use to Make Videos:
Generic USB 2.0 Capture card amzn.to/3nGBtyJ
DJI Osmo Pocket amzn.to/2BAdnUw
Panasonic Lumix G7 amzn.to/2CGP5Jb
Viltrox Speedbooster amzn.to/39y42t1
Canon 50mm Lens amzn.to/305DrAt
Canon 18-55mm Lens amzn.to/30MYgzE
Comica CVM-VM10II Microphone amzn.to/2WYrzy3
Boya BY-M1 Microphone amzn.to/2D6WUYo
Blackmagic Decklink Mini Recorder amzn.to/32UFSr7
dchild=1&keywords=capture+cards&qid=1597138612&sr=8-15
Neweer Ball Head amzn.to/2OY6LSQ
Neweer Tripod amzn.to/30LtbME
Raleno Light amzn.to/3013k4c - Наука та технологія
WOW, there is something odd going on there with the audio in AGPTek. Awesome value on the unbranded $15 card.
Yeah, I was using that as my "webcam" card in the past, and I never noticed it before, because I was running an external microphone into a sound card for audio!
@@LowDoughTech Your audio backend seems to be set to 44.1kHz sample rate. The AGPTEK needs to be set to 48kHz to avoid the audio distortion.
@@LowDoughTech I got the 15 dollar capture card for 7 pounds,and its absolutely amazing for ps4 and ps3, and im thinking of testing the switch
@@moelester2092 is it good for switch
Wait so the $15 is better that the $70 one
I have been looking through so many videos to see if this capture card records audio from the HDMI source, thank you for memtioning that!
Actually, that's my primary use for a capture card! I want my voiceover work that I record at my desk to sound the same as what I record on video with my camera, so to keep everything consistent, I route the camera's HDMI output to the capture card, and source it as a mic in Audacity or Davinci resolve. It's a huge time saver in post production!
Really useful video. I was about to go buy a Brio at the bloated prices because I need to do more videoconferencing due to covid lockdown where I am. This just saved me some cash while improving my quality.
I ordered that exact same capture card, also from Ebay! It arrived just the other day, but I haven't checked it out just yet. On your test, the Ebay card did just fine, much better than the AGPTek. I puchased it for versatility in my "toolkit" as you called it. I plan on grabbing footage from my Atari Flashback 9, my multiple camcorders, my older 1080p Roku, the output on my VHS/DVD combo unit, and even the VGA output from my Win98 build (with the addition of a VGA to HDMI converter). Nice comparison, and I'm glad the product that you and I purchased is not junk.
I think the picture actually looks better than the Black magic Mini Recorder.
Thank you. Very helpful! And subscribed.
Damn, the only HDMI capture card I've found in Costa Rica is the AGPTek 🙃 to use with a GoPro or similar. Import taxes included, even a generic one will cost as much, probably less... and with that quality difference you showed? Seems like a no-brainer.
You're really helping me make a better, informed choice for my future live concerts. Solid stuff, thanks once again!
Always glad to help people save money! That's why I created this channel. :)
Woooow, one of the best videos I saw so far about capture card comparison
Happy to hear that!
excellent video, rwally happy i found an up 'n coming channel
on topic tho : surely there's sone middle ground for $50~
i tjonk 1080p 60 is the sweetspot
I'll continue to keep my eyes peeled, if I come across any that fit the bill, I'll definitely snatch one up and make a video. As a dedicated camera card, the $15 buck generic card is the best bang for the buck.
Picked one of these up from Ebay in the UK for the grand total of £5.99 with free shipping (less than $8). I was curious about it's capabilities and after some testing I found these devices ignore HDCP signals, I was able to record from BluRay and a Roku onto my laptop in testing. There's also a version which has an HDMI loopthrough which might be more suitable for game capture as this version has some major lag issues.
This thing is an absolute cheat code. Managed to get a looped version of it aswell, which should be good for gaming .
how is the looped version? Is it working just as good as the non looped version?
Hey man, Just wanted to pop in and let you know Amazon link in description is dead. I bought two from the updated video review :)
well I got a Nintendo switch, so don't need 60fps or 4k just one to live stream at the least
Yeah, my daughter has a Switch, and she streams to Twitch with this $11 capture card. ua-cam.com/video/GVW1NrnHglI/v-deo.html
you need 60 fps for games. I would never watch a game at 30 fps.
OMG this is the very card I ordered! SO glad I clicked on your other video which linked me to this one! Can't wait to receive it! Thanks very much!
Got the capture card, and it worked straight away!
The only thing I had trouble with was that there seemed to be a bit of lag, but I'll have to see it in action during a zoom meeting first before making a final judgement on this. I also had a problem with the camera data display in view, but I learnt how to crop the image down to get rid of those.
Thanks again for the heads-up!
@@huangec give a final judgment i want to buy it
@@djbsa9436 it works fine! What else can I say?
@@huangec thanks bro i will get it 3 Aug.
Well. I'm going to jump into the deep end with these. Our church service Sunday will be outdoors, so I can't bring out the inside webcast equipment easily. So I've just finished pretesting two laptops with our presentation software on one and X-split on the other. One of these little HDMI capture cards hooked to a Canon camcorder for live source. So, new hardware, software, computers and technology all at once.. (And all bits I have lying about, except a few of these capture dongles...) Test setup worked well, even using WiFi and NDI to screen share. Shots set up well, camcorder output looks great, was able to get X-Split to talk to our akamai based stream servers and the results looked pretty good! I'll feed the 'projector' screen from the Xsplit laptop to our separate encoder box to stream youtube and Facebook from it. Lots of changes quickly due to Corona resurging.. here's praying it'll all hold together! Thanks for the vid! Stu
Great find. I ordered one and will let you know how it works for me.
I got one it works well
So I connect this to a streaming PC and then get an HDMI from the GPU of my main PC to the capture card and then use ANOTHER port from my GPU for my monitor will it all work fine? Also will the sound work from the capture card? Am looking into this as a cheapo solution for dual PC streaming. Thanks!
I just got one for $23... not as feature rich as a $130 Avermedia or camlink, but those are hard to find, these cheap ones are filling the void. Great video. What size lens did you use on the close up shots?
My worry is reliability, sometimes cheaper means less inferior components. Now anyone who does this professionally wouldn't bother with el cheapo, but for the majority of us tinkering with such things, we need to make what little money we have spare go further. I purchased two of the HDMI capture USB sticks and was rather pleased with the result. It would be great to know if these units have longevity and won't burn out half way through an important stream. I suppose the answer really is to belt and brace and have set in place contingencies for such an event. Great comparisons on what one might expect. I should also mention that the latency on the cheaper card was very low, considering it's Usb 2.0 the response was fantastic with virtually no lag.
I agree! if you do this professionally, and it's your livelihood, invest in the better equipment. I personally don't do any live streams, so it's not a deal breaker for me. At $15 it seems like a no-brainer to have an extra on hand if you do any sort of live streaming.
As far as quality, the $15 card feels like a better build than the red $75 AGPTek card. The AGPTek has been nothing but junk. If the $15 card ever dies on me, I'll pin a comment to let everyone know how long it lasted.
I use the $15 capture card to send my main camera to my PC, not for video, but for more consistent audio in my voiceovers. It works out great!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks!
Got a similar cam link for 15,99 Euros (DIGITNOW HD Video Capture, resolution is up to 1080p at 30 fps max.). Works well here, too, with a Nikon D7200. You're right, you really do not need to spend more money for a capture card.
You can get this USB capture card from Alixpress, pricing is all over the place with different sellers but if you have the patience to scroll through a bit you can get one for less than USD10. Maybe a bit more with shipping. Also, shipping may take awhile so dont bother if you cant wait a few weeks.
Great content by the way, love the comparison videos, this helps with making the informed purchase decision 👍
true, got one for $7 with shipping to Brazil included.
@@mechanicallydev4536 tem o link do vendedor? vlw :)
eBay 10 uk pounds delivered.
There is brown/coffee colored 1080p@60 version of that generic capture card on aliexpress.
Accepts 4k@60 and even custom reolutions like 3440x1440 ultrawide.
The output stream will be 1080p, but you can scale it to 21:9 in OBS.
The 60fps claim is lies. It outputs 60Hz but is only really capturing 30fps footage which is frame-doubled.
Well my main problem with these capture cards are the color reproduction, I have seen many of these having really bad color, for camera, fine you might be able to get around with that, but for capturing windows stuff, I am better of using OBS, also HDCP, idk of any on them has that.
0:50 There are a USB 3.0 version that is just slightly more expensive and that records at 1080p 60fps. It is just grey, in stead of black.
So I have an issue. If I want to game on my TV and broadcast my gameplay to a laptop/computer (so I can add layovers, pop ups and such) how do I go by doing so? The input looks like a USB port while the back is the HDMI output which the HDMI chord does come with. I play on a PS4, so do I plug it in any socket and run it to a laptop? Or do I need some form of splitter to run it all. Sorry if this is confusing
The best place to get started is looking into OBS studio for overlays. If you're gaming on your TV, and sending that to a computer, you will either need a capture card with passthrough, or an HDMI splitter, to send one signal to the capture card, and one signal to the TV.
omg when you gott o he 3rd one and my ears were begging to stop, holyyy
I was gonna buy the agptek, already had the cheapo but I need/want one with passthrough for a game console...Quick little anecdote, the cheapo streams fine in obs but audio is weird first you gotta do the "use custom audio source" and it won't show levels. There's a cheapo usb3 looks a little different but that may get you guys 1080p/60fps.
After seeing a few in comparison, I would stay away from the AGPTek. There are some serious audio sync issues with the AGPTek card. It's fine for video only, if you use audio from another source, but I would avoid that card if I were to do things over again.
Have you used this pen to capture video from any other device like bluray player or gaming console?
I didn't, but my friend William over at ThriftyAV did these tests with Roku players and I think a Blueray, and he was able to capture the signal no problem. ua-cam.com/video/fltt5JhodCE/v-deo.html
is the first one possible to use for a switch? like can it work with streamlabs and stream games from the nintendo switch to the computer/twitch
My official answer is "Probably". However, I don't own a Switch to test and confirm it.
which capture card (at a small budget) do you suggest I buy to capture PS2/PS3 gameplay ?
JJBGaming: well PS3 does have an HDMI port, but you do have to be mindful of what capture card you gonna get, cause on the PS3 it wasn't easy to record, especially first party Sony games. it had HTC protection, but there's some capture cards that will record even copyright stuff. you just have to know what type to buy, and that's one area I couldn't tell you since I don't know much. the PS2 however, you might have to look into something older, because your talking about older tech. and most capture cards now a days are built for xbox, ps4, ps3, and switch. but PS2 had composite cables, and it's very hard to find those kind of cords to plug into modern devices.
@@Edridx thanks I appreciate that ! :)
@@JJBGaming__YT no problem, I'm actually looking around myself but it's hard to find a video of something you might be looking for. because at the moment the only recording device I have is my phone, I do have a chromebook but it's different than a normal laptop. but since the xbox has an app you can download on PC or phone, that's how I do it. the only downside is I can't hide the phone bar, and if I do any commentary which I do sometimes on occasion the gameplay tends to overpower my voice. other than that the quality is pretty good for a phone, granted it's a Galaxy Note 8. not the greatest technology for a phone, but I can play most mobile games, even new stuff. but I'm not much of a mobile gamer type.
What kind of lightning did you use here?
I used Neweer cn160s, I don't recommend them, they're not worth it. I've since upgraded to Raleno lighting. I did a video on the Raleno lights here. ua-cam.com/video/tO13vlabuI8/v-deo.html
Does anybody know if you can use more of these simultaneously in OBS or is only one the limit?
You can use multiple simultaneously, I have confirmed it.
i need thisss
This a bit off topic, but who was the lucky winner of the webcam you reviewed a month ago?
Hello Baba-C, I hope you are doing well!
Actually, the winner has been contacted, but they haven't responded yet. Tomorrow is their deadline before I will have to draw a new winner. I will make a public announcement when I have a winner finalized and claim the prize!
@@LowDoughTech Win or not I feel like a winner having discovered your Channel. Either way perhaps you can direct me on how to find that camera at a decent price. Wishing you the best of best!
The unbranded capture card doesn't record Stereo sound, It only outputs Mono audio and that really made me upset, bit I didn't lost hope for that so I had to use my aux cord to extract the stereo audio as a simple solution I could think of
What is the maximum length hdmi cable for dslr livestreaming? The cheapest one (hdmi capture card)
I don't know what the maximum length would be, but I'm using a 15 foot cable in this video.
Hi sir is there is any lag
honestly if your on a budget get the $15 one and play through OBS, my brother didnt wanna buy a monitor when he had a laptop so he did that just to game, not even record, and he can still clutch warzone lobbies, other youtubers complain about 2MS differences when the only reason they notice is placebo
Exactly! Put big numbers on a piece of tech, and people will buy it, because numbers! I did a follow up to this, and there's an even cheaper card out that is better now. ua-cam.com/video/GVW1NrnHglI/v-deo.html
With the $15 one can you record your party on Xbox do you know? Like record with you and your friend voice
damn, i really miss old school mmo which is no vip, power, gachas or what so ever, only in game mall item
AGPTEK has a better skin tone and detail, although it tanked in other departments, not sure why. El cheapo is fine for its price
Can i use this for my mobile device with the cheapest one?
If your mobile device has an HDMI output, I wouldn't see why not. My mobile doesn't have HDMI, so I can't test it.
i get like a green flash and on off with the 15 dollar capture card any ideas?
I'm sorry, I have no suggestions. I didn't experience that problem.
hello sir, could you make a video comparison on gpu (best budget graphic cards) for under $80 used or new. i'm not into gaming but doing a lot on photoshop and video rendering and editing. i really need second opinion on this matter but on tight budget. thank you again for this great video. have a nice day.
I wish I could, but I don't have any extra lying around...unfortunately, it would be far out of my budget to make that purchase. :(
@@LowDoughTech it's ok sir. i just thought you have a few lying around. i wish you all the best sir. no heart feeling though. hope your channel will grow more and to see more tech content in the future. cheers. :)
@@zamSEG I have some cards lying around, but they are all over 10 years old. I need to make a trip to recycling haha!
@@LowDoughTech haha, maybe could do some review about it before it going to recycle bin or center.
That stuff is more cpu dependent tbh, I upgraded to ryzen and noticed such a big difference in performance, that being said for 80 there isn't much perhaps a gtx 1050 if you're lucky
*pro tip:* When recording at 24fps, make sure your shutter speed is set to 48 or 50. The natural motion blur keeps the lesser 24fps from looking choppy. General rule of thumb: For video, your shutter speed should be double your framerate.
My shutter speed is always set at 50 when I record at 24fps. My camera doesn't have the option for 48.
@@LowDoughTech perhaps the shutter speed doesn't really apply to the live view? In this video, it looked like you had a high shutter speed for some reason.
EDIT: upon reviewing the blackmagic portion of the video, your shutter speed looks fine and motion is fluid. The $20 card at 1080p appears to be skipping/dropping frames or something. Were you using a usb hub, or is that a drawback of a $20 capture card?
@@johnson42069 According to my blackmagic mini recorder, it's grabbing at 24fps. The generic el cheapo is locked at 30. And the AGP just looked awful no matter what. I did a baseline recording directly to the SD card as well for comparison, at 3:41. That's what the video should look like.
@@LowDoughTech aha. The generic card is capturing a 24fps feed at 30fps. I'm assuming the issue with this is the same problem that presents itself when watching 24fps video on a 30hz display.
I tried a generic USB capture adapter that looked just like your generic capture card listed above. I spent about six hours trying to get it to work with no success. Windows 10 installed it automatically but none of the four programs I tried could access it including OBS which didn't even see it. Only 1 of the four programs could see it and that one told me I wasn't authorized to access it. I returned it. I would try again if you have any suggestions as to why it didn't work.
I'm not sure, you are definitely in the minority there. A lot of people have reviewed that card and it seems fairly straightforward. As a matter of fact, it was just plug and play for me, and tons easier to set up than my Blackmagic mini recorder. My friend William over at ThriftyAV also had no problems with it. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what to suggest.
Did you try multiple source feeds? William tried out a lot more devices than I did, and if I recall correctly, he didn't have problems with anything. ua-cam.com/video/fltt5JhodCE/v-deo.html
Sorry I can't be of more help.
@@LowDoughTech The reviews were good. That's why I tried it. Windows 10 Pro had no problems installing it. I just couldn't get any apps to see it. I was using my GoPro Hero 5 Black. I didn't try anything else. Thanks for the reply.
@@LowDoughTech I found the problem. I had DroidCam app installed and it was interfering with the capture card. I uninstalled the app and rebooted. That cleared up the problem.
@@dennishaggerty8155 Ah! Good to hear that!
Would they work with usb mics?
Yes they do, I test out a couple of USB mics here, and use my GoPro with one of these cards for the majority of this video. ua-cam.com/video/EuwxuXjHjXQ/v-deo.html
I wrote a reddit post about this nifty little unbranded HDMI Video Capture 2.0: www.reddit.com/r/PSP/comments/jzuj4p/budget_psp_capture_rig/
I used it for capturing some retro console games. You can get 60fps at 720p. This capture card is gold for its cheap price at A$18. Thanks for your review!
I have an i3 chromebook, would the cheapest capture card work with a i3 core processor chromebook?
I think so. I tested it out on on a Linux machine with a core 2 duo and it worked.
@@LowDoughTech thanks for getting back to me. I'm installing Linux now but it's only the beta version for my chromebook, is that an issue?
I got this capture card on amazon, it arrived last week. I can’t get it to show in my OBS. I was trying to use it for my DJ stream mixing music videos. OBS recognizes it, just can’t get my video output to show up. Even tried just hooking up my Xbox as a test and have the same issue.
I wonder if it's a framerate issue? It says it caps at 30FPS, (even though I fed in a computer at 60HZ (Surface Pro 3), and I also tested an android TV box at 60HZ, which also worked. It just took the frame rate down to 30 FPS. I don't have an XBOX to test, but it worked perfectly with my Panasonic camera at 24 FPS, and my GoPro at 30 FPS.
Maybe you got a defective unit? I think Amazon has 30 day free returns.
Are you trying to capture a camera? If so, what's the model of camera, and what framerate/resolution are you using?
Are you using a macbook?
while i got mine fairly smooth, playing ps4 through obs -_- smooth, it was on a usb3 port (I know that device is usb2)
Has anyone managed to use 2 or more of these or other cheap generic capture device simultaneously and working? I have 2 and can't make it work at the same. Only one will display my camera, and when I add the other it's just blank. TIA
That's good info. I only have the one. They're so cheap I think I'll pick up another to see what I can do. Thanks for the heads up!
@@LowDoughTech thanks for the reply. Looking forwardon its outcome. I'm guessing because the computer thinks it's only the same device, it's getting confused. For the meanwhile I'm searching for other driver to this device to test out
Hi LDT, have you thought about adding a Patreon Account. This way your best followers could help you a bit more. I really mean it mate! Continue with the awesome stuff!!!!! Cheers!
I have a Patreon I just don't promote it much. I'm just focusing on growth right now...between work, family, and the channel I need about 10 more hours in a day, haha!
Thanks for watching!
@@LowDoughTech Just trying to help you not only building an excellent channel but also help you financially so that you can. I really think you will get there is just a matter of patience and lots of work. Keep Up!
Mine lasted 3 days and stopped working, sending mine back to Amazon
Does it works on redmik20 pro
Sorry, I can't answer that. I don't have a Redmik20 Pro.
I Just realised, there's no dislikes!
Don't jinx it, haha!
@@LowDoughTech ahh too late a guy disliked it F*CK
@@artin3269 I bet they did it on purpose
Bare in mind that cheapest capture card have a huge delay. If you playing games. You will feel how bad it is.
Looks like it would be a good idea to buy an hdmi splitter with it.
The unbranded $15 card overheated and stopped working in 30 minutes.
just as a warning to anyone planning on buying a budget card, do not buy any capture cards that have the same model as the red agptek one, they all come from the same factory, and preform like dogshit
I absolutely agree. The red one was the first one I bought, so I had no point of reference before trying others, but, yes, the red card is garbage. It's worth it to take the framerate hit and use the generic $15.00 card over the red one.
@@LowDoughTech im still trying to find a good 1080p60 card that doesnt have terrible compression/color/bitrate
seems like elgato has a very tight grip on the market
I am trying to appreciate why there should be any difference between the various cards and capture methods. Why? The information is already digital, generated as digital information, right from the camera sensor, and by the D/A audio converter in the camera. Tnen this is converted to either an HDMI output and/or saved to a file on the camera.
All the HDMI to USB Capture card has to do is convert from a digital format, to maybe another. How difficult can that be? Should it not be possible to simply capture the digital audio/video input from the camera - via HDMI, without any quality loss. i.e even being able to save the output to the computer in the highest quality RAW format ?
Or is the loss of quality a function of the kind of format used by HDMI to USB capture cards, to provide a feed to apps such as OBS, and the loss in quality is a function of either the card, or the software used to capture the video/audio on the computer.
Theoretically, there should not be any difference in quality between the information captured on an SD card in the camera, and the information captured via software on the computer. In theory.. But in this case, something is going on and there is a difference in the image/audio quality between the stream captured via HDMI and that captured directly on the camera, and I hope someone can be kind enough to explain why this is the case.
My corollary is this, if I capture video/audio using a high end recording device like an Atomos Ninja, I would not expect any degrade in video quality (except for any degrade based on compression if I choose to use compression in the recording format), so why shouldn't a video capture card be capable of non destructively capturing the audio+video stream coming from the camera?
Let me begin by saying I'm not expert in cameras, just an enthusiast, so take this with a grain of salt.
As far as how capture cards transcode video signal to the PC, it's absolutely compressed by these cheap cards. But the video captured to the SD card is captured in 4k, at its native frame rate of 24 FPS(that's what I shoot in). The signal that is captured by the card is downscaled to 1080p and a few extra frames are faked(I guess?) to make it a 30p video.
Honestly, I should have captured and edited this stuff at 30, for the best results, but I make these videos very quickly because I work a full time job in addition to running this channel, and I have kids, so time gets pretty limited. I didn't consider my workflow until after all of the footage was captured.
Also, the HDMI output of this camera is downscaled to 1080p, I think that's because the screen on the camera is only something like 4 inches, so for preview output, to even something like a 7 inch field monitor(the intended design for the HDMI Output) 4k would not be necessary. I imagine there's some more image compression going out of the HDMI output for the camera as well, but again, I'm not a camera expert, just an enthusiast.
There's also a clear difference in color science between all of the cards and the camera, with the direct camera capture looking much better than the capture cards.
However, what really blew me away, when comparing capture cards only, the cheapest one looked by far the best, in my opinion. I've also done a follow-up to this video where I review an even cheaper card($11), and it performs just as well ua-cam.com/video/GVW1NrnHglI/v-deo.html
@@LowDoughTech Highly appreciate your response. Your video was quite good, demonstrating a comparison, visually based on evidence I could see with my own eyes, in spite of UA-cam's compression, that is not easily available,. at least I have not seen a similar effective comparison, on UA-cam, to my recall..
And it really made me think about how video works, a knowledge base that is still somewhat a work in progress for me ( I may need to find a good authoritative book that describes it all sufficiently, for me to grasp the formats and standards required to get video from one device to another).
My assumption that digital is digital and therefore should be accurate, and cause no loss, turns out to be just that, an assumption. I come from the hobbyist world of audio, and music, so was trying to apply that thought process to video. Recent research after I posted my initial comments, opened up a whole can of worms, which I have not fully figured out yet, but I can now appreciate that the popular HDMI to USB devices, which are used for streaming by many, are not equal - special thanks to you for your video, and I can also appreciate that there must be a difference between these cheaper HDMI to USB devices, and higher end devices used to capture the outputs from cameras, such as the Atomos Ninja.
In my case, most of what I might have wanted to record would be talking head where I am likely to be close enough to my computer anyway, most of the time, and while I may still go ahead and do this via an HDMI to USB capture device, in spite of the potential quality loss, one of the reasons why I wanted to "tether" the camera to my computer was to avoid any need for storing content on the camera itself, and having to transfer that from the camera to the computer... The other reason was, if I wanted to acquire a Canon DSLR or Mirrorless camera, I wanted to avoid being limited to the 30 minute maximum record time crippling on all of these cameras. I also wanted to avoid any compression or data loss, which is inherent in the data stored by these enthusiast/consumer grade cameras, which may not offer high end formats such as Camera DNG, and my intention was to bypass this limitation of recording time and quality loss, by recording the direct HDMI output of these cameras., without having to fork out a lot of money to buy an Atomos recorder.... Most of my intended recording will be at home, for now, and I do not need any thing mobile - "yet", at least not now while I am still finding my feet.
For anyone trying to learn this video end of things, its a minefield of standards, and it is so difficult trying to match compatibilities between devices and software, just by looking at the specs, cos many of the specs leave out the details, or maybe I do not yet understand it enough. You have definitely been a great help to trigger my critical thinking. Best wishes with your channel.
@@LowDoughTech I found this page that explained a bit more about the features of the content which is transmitted via an HDMI cable, and it really helped me understand the fundamentals (after thinking through what I read).
www.techhive.com/article/3330376/do-i-need-a-4k-hdmi-cable.html
and on the Elgato web site they have made an attempt to describe some features of HDMI outputs.
Fundamentally there seem to be 6 key aspects of the video stream (not including aspects such as the audio) and time code.
1. Bit depth - how many bits used to store each color of a pixel - Red, Green, Blue for example. typically 8, 10, or 12 bits for prosumer grade gear.
2. Resolution - how many pixels on screen - e.g 1900 x 1600, HD, Full HD, 4K UHD, etc
3. Is it Interlaced or Progressive scan - e.g 1080i or 1080p
4. Chroma sub sampling - e.g 4:4:4, 4:2:0, 4:2:2 which is a kind of compression/data reduction, which removes some of the video information that our eyes are less prone to detecting
5. Frequency - 25 hz, 30 hz, 60 hz, etc...
6. Cable standard, such as the kind of HDMI cable/or SDI cable. needed to support the data flow.,
7. Color space - 709, 2020, etc..
7, b would be Clean HDMI or No Clean HDMI output from the Camera.
So this data is sent from the camera to the capture card via HDMI or SDI, and then the capture card sends this on to the computer via USB or Thunderbolt or PCIe typically, presenting it to downstream software such as Zoom, or other apps in a format which these apps support - one example being UVC, which is the standard used by most web cams, i,e Zoom just sees the incoming feed from the camera as one of the webcams on the computer..! Transformation may occur such as reducing resolution from 4K UHD to 1080p
7c Does the capture card have its own high end processor or uses computer CPU or GPU - usually not commonly stated!!
8. Then there is the capture format, i.e how the software at the end of the chain, may or may not add compression to this video feed, such as Prores, All Intra or IBP as used in MP4 or MOV containers, to further reduce the size of the data. In the case of the data from the camera all of this conversion to the format on the SD card takes place internally. Or there is no further compression and the data is saved in RAW(like Cinema DNG) or almost RAW formats (Black Magic Raw, Prores Raw)
8.b - does the capture software use or need a high end CPU or GPU?
Looking back at your excellent capture card comparison, vs the video captured in the camera to SD card, we can deduce that, in addition to the variances introduced by the difference in the quality and features of capture , of each capture card, the compression used by the capture software such as OBS to disk, or the internal processor/software of the camera - for in-body storage to SD card, also plays its own factor in the difference we observe via your most laudable video comparison.
9. Finally, in bringing each of these "recorded" formats into one video via whatever NLE video editor you used, a further translation was made to the original video from each source, to compare them side by side. and each NLE has its own impact on how well it can handle formats, and what compromises it makes, in translation.
10. And Ultimately UA-cam then does its own compression again. typically should not be an issue, but it does appear that the noisier aspects of the video as produced by the AGPTek can "steal" priority from other less noisy bits of the comparison clips, making the other capture cards output look less pleasing - cos this is part of the flaw or rather a feature of UA-cams compression algo. - Sharp noisy details get even sharper in comparison to any other video in the composite image. !
The huge challenge for many of us is that the camera manufacturers are relatively silent about the full details of the 6 features of their HDMI output., and I speak here about consumer and prosumer cameras. I was looking at the features of a Canon camera I was interested in and there is no information about Chroma or bit depth - none., and on one of the other canon cameras was surprised to find out that the camera crops the video output of the HDMI output.
I can appreciate that for most consumers, or prosumers, they do not need this info, and probably may not know what to do with such info, if provided.
Then there is the question of personal taste. From what I can see, the AGPTek card had the most sharpening added to the translation, and preserved the most detail, at the expense of adding the most noise. Of course it also had the worst fringing at the edges. Which brings up the whole question of where to draw the line, between all the various tools that software/hardware may use in presenting their own(as coded by the manufacturer) version of the truth - Sharpening, Softening, . I am fairly confident that while the camera has a source of at least 12 bits of depth per pixel at the start of the transform to a file on the SD card, the HDMI to USB capture cards received only 8 bits of depth per pixel. as their source from the HDMI output which explains why their images display a certain reduction in dynamic range, in comparison to the video recorded on the cameras SD card.
Now that I think I have a grasp of the fundamentals, I must thank you again for leading me on to appreciate the internals of the movement of digital video from one device to another. I do hope that in the next generation of capture cards, the end user is given more choice in determining their transformation preferences in the conversion from HDMI to USB/UVC...
You bring up a lot of extremely important points, and there are so many variables to consider.
For starting out use a web cam
What's a capture card? 🤔
Capture cards are used to "capture" video signals from devices (like game consoles, GoPros, Roku Players, etc.) and convert them into signals that a computer can see. Allowing you to record or stream those video signals live to services like Twitch, UA-cam, Facebook Live, etc.
lmao why tf the 120$ capture card was sooooo noisy...
You need 60 frames for streaming games... not video. Video is best at 24 frames.
Depends on the games. Most switch games, for example, are 30fps. (29.97 to be exact, if I remember correctly) That's among many other non-switch games. If you stream a 30fps game at 60, you're just wasting computer resources.
Well u had bad settings :P
Care to enlighten me, or do you just want to leave it vague?
I guess its snapshot u had to high settings thats why picture is lagging (sorry for english but im from poland)
@@PANWiktorTMHasztagKomentujemy I record everything at 1080/23.98 FPS in OBS. My CPU usage in OBS usually runs anywhere from 2.5-4%.
Hi there,
Very strange question but I try.
Are you Chris Watts' brother? you look very much like him.
I have no idea who that is, but he sounds like a very handsome fella. Haha :D
So...after a quick google search...yikes!
@@LowDoughTech sorry I didn't mean any thing bad, I just see how he look like! thanks for sharing the video.
@@Virtualvideos11 It's all good. :)