{"video_id":"-pBPb15ykCI","title":"Does your PC Need This?? - Capture Cards Explained","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2021-05-05T14:53:29Z","duration_s":473,"segments":[{"start_s":0.16,"end_s":6.24,"text":"as you can probably imagine we deal with a ton of video around here a lot of it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.4,"end_s":11.04,"text":"comes from cameras or screen recording software but we also make frequent use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.72,"end_s":17.359,"text":"of capture cards which are typically standalone usb or pci express devices","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.12,"end_s":22.08,"text":"that can be used to record from external devices like a game console or a camera","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.08,"end_s":26.96,"text":"like on the WAN Show which raises the question why haven't we made a video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.16,"end_s":32.079,"text":"about a capture card in over five years well the truth is that i wasn't ever","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.119,"end_s":36.32,"text":"really satisfied with any of them but in recent years they have improved","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.92,"end_s":40.64,"text":"immensely and when Corsair and AMD reached out about doing a sponsored","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.079,"end_s":45.44,"text":"video about their new vengeance a4100 gaming pcs with included capture cards","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":43.68,"end_s":50.16,"text":"it seemed like a no-brainer to take a look at how far they've come and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.6,"end_s":54.96,"text":"demystify this category of products so today we talk capture cards what they do","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":52.96,"end_s":59.84,"text":"and why you should or should not buy one for your game streaming or recording","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.96,"end_s":59.84,"text":"setup","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.159,"end_s":72.32,"text":"before we get into whether you might need a capture card it's important to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.2,"end_s":74.32,"text":"understand exactly what they actually do","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.32,"end_s":78.479,"text":"a capture card is a device designed to take an unencrypted video signal and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":76.64,"end_s":82.799,"text":"convert it into a format that can be understood and recorded by the computer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.88,"end_s":87.2,"text":"it's plugged into if your intention is to record tv or movies off netflix be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.119,"end_s":92.32,"text":"warned that those signals are encrypted using hdcp and no legal device is gonna","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.159,"end_s":96.64,"text":"decrypt it for you for consumer devices it's typical to see an HDMI input like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.04,"end_s":101.04,"text":"what you'd get out of your game console but in the professional world sdi is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.04,"end_s":105.36,"text":"preferred for its longer maximum cable lengths support for time code and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.36,"end_s":109.6,"text":"locking connector now a typical capture card looks either like this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.84,"end_s":114.56,"text":"a box that here we go plugs into the usb port on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.68,"end_s":120.24,"text":"your pc or like this a well box that plugs directly into the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.6,"end_s":124.64,"text":"pci express slot on your motherboard these two styles make up the majority of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.399,"end_s":129.36,"text":"consumer capture devices and both of them are dependent on a nearby computer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":126.96,"end_s":134.16,"text":"to handle the actual processing of the data elgato offers both form factors for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.239,"end_s":139.599,"text":"both tiers of their capture devices their hd tier and their 4k tier and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":137.44,"end_s":143.76,"text":"while there are some minor benefits and drawbacks to either approach generally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.84,"end_s":147.12,"text":"they share the same functionality and when you plug them into your pc they're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.68,"end_s":151.12,"text":"going to get picked up by your capture software in a similar way there are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.2,"end_s":156.16,"text":"exceptions to this rule like the camlink series that registers as a webcam making","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.0,"end_s":161.4,"text":"it a little bit easier to use NVIDIA chat software in our experience pci","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.04,"end_s":166.56,"text":"express based capture cards tend to be significantly more reliable just like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.16,"end_s":171.519,"text":"water bottles from ltdstore.com now whether this is due to not having to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":168.56,"end_s":176.72,"text":"deal with usb driver issues because internal cards are closer to cooling","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":173.68,"end_s":179.04,"text":"fans or just because pci express is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.72,"end_s":184.159,"text":"generally a lower latency more stable interconnect than usb we're not sure","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.84,"end_s":190.159,"text":"usb cards though offer a lot more flexibility basically any computer with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.959,"end_s":192.56,"text":"a usb port that is usb3 can run them","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.159,"end_s":195.2,"text":"laptops included if you want to switch which system you're recording on you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.159,"end_s":200.4,"text":"just gotta move which usb port you're plugged into rather than having to shut down a system","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.879,"end_s":204.319,"text":"pull a pci express card shut down the other system put it in and then fire","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":202.0,"end_s":207.68,"text":"them both back up this flexibility can come with its own issues as we mentioned","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":206.159,"end_s":212.4,"text":"before though and we have found these cards tend to be a little less stable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":210.159,"end_s":217.76,"text":"for instance if you rock a budget motherboard with only a single or best","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.12,"end_s":222.08,"text":"case scenario two usb controllers on it it's actually quite likely that you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.84,"end_s":226.319,"text":"gonna end up overloading your usb controller by having too many high","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.08,"end_s":231.36,"text":"throughput devices plugged into it like if you were running say for example a 4k","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.64,"end_s":236.64,"text":"webcam and a 4k capture card for your game console at the same time","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.48,"end_s":239.599,"text":"some people might not have a pc around to plug their capture card into though","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":238.319,"end_s":244.159,"text":"like say at a latin party or a tournament fortunately as i mentioned before there","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":242.4,"end_s":249.68,"text":"are also capture cards that feature standalone encoding and recording like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.36,"end_s":254.4,"text":"the 4k 60s plus in this case a hardware encoding chip is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.239,"end_s":258.72,"text":"installed in the capture device which does the work that normally the attached","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.72,"end_s":263.04,"text":"computer would do by encoding the incoming video stream into a playable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.479,"end_s":268.08,"text":"video file that allows those to record entirely on their own just pop an sd","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":265.28,"end_s":270.639,"text":"card in and you're off to the races they do tend to be a bit more expensive","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":269.28,"end_s":275.199,"text":"though regardless of what it plugs into though","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":272.72,"end_s":281.04,"text":"basically all gaming oriented capture devices share one trait and that is ah","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.8,"end_s":284.96,"text":"there we go pass through pasture is an essential feature if you want to be able","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":282.88,"end_s":288.8,"text":"to game on the device that you're recording at the same time because","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":287.04,"end_s":293.199,"text":"otherwise you would have to deal with the crazy latency of trying to game","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":292.24,"end_s":297.759,"text":"through your obs preview window or something like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.36,"end_s":302.32,"text":"that with pass-through the main signal that you're capturing is passed through","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":300.639,"end_s":306.639,"text":"back to your display while it's being captured so this is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.16,"end_s":311.36,"text":"usually through an HDMI output port on the capture card with manufacturers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.72,"end_s":315.52,"text":"generally claiming that there is zero added latency that was something we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":313.199,"end_s":322.16,"text":"wanted to investigate in this video so we tested all three styles of recorder","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.919,"end_s":325.36,"text":"from elgato usb with the hd60s plus pci","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.16,"end_s":327.919,"text":"express with the 4k60 pro and standalone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":325.36,"end_s":331.68,"text":"with the 4k 60s plus on our latency tester and hey","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":330.0,"end_s":335.919,"text":"good news Corsair we actually didn't find any appreciable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":333.919,"end_s":341.52,"text":"increase in latency when using any of them so then it's up to you which form factor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":338.88,"end_s":345.84,"text":"of capture card is best for you though if you have the space and you don't need","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":343.44,"end_s":350.0,"text":"the extra flexibility we definitely encourage going with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":347.28,"end_s":354.8,"text":"something pci express based as for the resolution that just depends on your use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":352.16,"end_s":358.0,"text":"case if you're browsing elgato cards the price differences between their two PCIe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":356.96,"end_s":364.24,"text":"models it's pretty minimal so it's 80 to go to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":360.88,"end_s":366.319,"text":"the 4k60 pro from the hd60 pro and you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":364.24,"end_s":370.08,"text":"gain the extra flexibility of high frame rate 4k recording just make sure that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":368.24,"end_s":374.72,"text":"your source content actually pushes that resolution although even then for the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":372.16,"end_s":377.919,"text":"minimal cost it might be worth future proofing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.68,"end_s":382.0,"text":"and it seems like Corsair agrees since this happens to be the card that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":379.84,"end_s":386.0,"text":"pre-installed in the vengeance a4100 streaming pc that they sent over the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":384.16,"end_s":392.24,"text":"configuration we have here is pretty dang smack-on for streaming the ryzen","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":388.72,"end_s":394.8,"text":"3700x CPU has enough course for gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":392.24,"end_s":398.88,"text":"with some extras for video encoding and if you want less of a CPU hit the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":396.72,"end_s":402.8,"text":"equipped rtx 2070 super comes with NVIDIA's latest nvinc encoding chip","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":400.96,"end_s":406.8,"text":"which allows for a near zero performance hit while encoding directly on the GPU","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":404.88,"end_s":412.08,"text":"our specific config also comes with both a 480 gig NVMe drive for excellent os","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":409.759,"end_s":416.8,"text":"responsiveness and two terabytes of mass storage for games video clips duh or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":415.199,"end_s":422.639,"text":"what have you so now we know what all the capture cards sort of look like and what they do","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":420.56,"end_s":425.759,"text":"but the final question is do you actually need one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.16,"end_s":430.319,"text":"can't you just capture your screen with fraps or obs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.68,"end_s":433.599,"text":"well in a lot of cases yes if you're strictly a pc gamer and you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":432.16,"end_s":439.599,"text":"don't have any external capture requirements like no dslr camera xbox","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":437.599,"end_s":444.479,"text":"nintendo switch or the like then there really isn't any major benefit to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":442.4,"end_s":448.479,"text":"running a capture card in your system fortunately for you though the vengeance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":446.16,"end_s":452.16,"text":"a4100 along with Corsair's other gaming systems is available without a capture","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":450.639,"end_s":456.56,"text":"card to save you the unnecessary purchase if you don't need it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":454.4,"end_s":460.319,"text":"so thanks for watching if you're interested in more technical streaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.639,"end_s":464.4,"text":"recording stuff maybe check out our video on building a streaming setup on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.24,"end_s":470.319,"text":"the cheap and get subscribed so you don't miss future videos like this crazy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.039,"end_s":472.08,"text":"acetech pci express slot radiator water","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":470.319,"end_s":474.319,"text":"cooler thing that we've got coming very soon","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"as you can probably imagine we deal with a ton of video around here a lot of it comes from cameras or screen recording software but we also make frequent use of capture cards which are typically standalone usb or pci express devices that can be used to record from external devices like a game console or a camera like on the WAN Show which raises the question why haven't we made a video about a capture card in over five years well the truth is that i wasn't ever really satisfied with any of them but in recent years they have improved immensely and when Corsair and AMD reached out about doing a sponsored video about their new vengeance a4100 gaming pcs with included capture cards it seemed like a no-brainer to take a look at how far they've come and demystify this category of products so today we talk capture cards what they do and why you should or should not buy one for your game streaming or recording setup before we get into whether you might need a capture card it's important to understand exactly what they actually do a capture card is a device designed to take an unencrypted video signal and convert it into a format that can be understood and recorded by the computer it's plugged into if your intention is to record tv or movies off netflix be warned that those signals are encrypted using hdcp and no legal device is gonna decrypt it for you for consumer devices it's typical to see an HDMI input like what you'd get out of your game console but in the professional world sdi is preferred for its longer maximum cable lengths support for time code and locking connector now a typical capture card looks either like this a box that here we go plugs into the usb port on your pc or like this a well box that plugs directly into the pci express slot on your motherboard these two styles make up the majority of consumer capture devices and both of them are dependent on a nearby computer to handle the actual processing of the data elgato offers both form factors for both tiers of their capture devices their hd tier and their 4k tier and while there are some minor benefits and drawbacks to either approach generally they share the same functionality and when you plug them into your pc they're going to get picked up by your capture software in a similar way there are exceptions to this rule like the camlink series that registers as a webcam making it a little bit easier to use NVIDIA chat software in our experience pci express based capture cards tend to be significantly more reliable just like water bottles from ltdstore.com now whether this is due to not having to deal with usb driver issues because internal cards are closer to cooling fans or just because pci express is generally a lower latency more stable interconnect than usb we're not sure usb cards though offer a lot more flexibility basically any computer with a usb port that is usb3 can run them laptops included if you want to switch which system you're recording on you just gotta move which usb port you're plugged into rather than having to shut down a system pull a pci express card shut down the other system put it in and then fire them both back up this flexibility can come with its own issues as we mentioned before though and we have found these cards tend to be a little less stable for instance if you rock a budget motherboard with only a single or best case scenario two usb controllers on it it's actually quite likely that you're gonna end up overloading your usb controller by having too many high throughput devices plugged into it like if you were running say for example a 4k webcam and a 4k capture card for your game console at the same time some people might not have a pc around to plug their capture card into though like say at a latin party or a tournament fortunately as i mentioned before there are also capture cards that feature standalone encoding and recording like the 4k 60s plus in this case a hardware encoding chip is installed in the capture device which does the work that normally the attached computer would do by encoding the incoming video stream into a playable video file that allows those to record entirely on their own just pop an sd card in and you're off to the races they do tend to be a bit more expensive though regardless of what it plugs into though basically all gaming oriented capture devices share one trait and that is ah there we go pass through pasture is an essential feature if you want to be able to game on the device that you're recording at the same time because otherwise you would have to deal with the crazy latency of trying to game through your obs preview window or something like that with pass-through the main signal that you're capturing is passed through back to your display while it's being captured so this is usually through an HDMI output port on the capture card with manufacturers generally claiming that there is zero added latency that was something we wanted to investigate in this video so we tested all three styles of recorder from elgato usb with the hd60s plus pci express with the 4k60 pro and standalone with the 4k 60s plus on our latency tester and hey good news Corsair we actually didn't find any appreciable increase in latency when using any of them so then it's up to you which form factor of capture card is best for you though if you have the space and you don't need the extra flexibility we definitely encourage going with something pci express based as for the resolution that just depends on your use case if you're browsing elgato cards the price differences between their two PCIe models it's pretty minimal so it's 80 to go to the 4k60 pro from the hd60 pro and you gain the extra flexibility of high frame rate 4k recording just make sure that your source content actually pushes that resolution although even then for the minimal cost it might be worth future proofing and it seems like Corsair agrees since this happens to be the card that's pre-installed in the vengeance a4100 streaming pc that they sent over the configuration we have here is pretty dang smack-on for streaming the ryzen 3700x CPU has enough course for gaming with some extras for video encoding and if you want less of a CPU hit the equipped rtx 2070 super comes with NVIDIA's latest nvinc encoding chip which allows for a near zero performance hit while encoding directly on the GPU our specific config also comes with both a 480 gig NVMe drive for excellent os responsiveness and two terabytes of mass storage for games video clips duh or what have you so now we know what all the capture cards sort of look like and what they do but the final question is do you actually need one can't you just capture your screen with fraps or obs well in a lot of cases yes if you're strictly a pc gamer and you don't have any external capture requirements like no dslr camera xbox nintendo switch or the like then there really isn't any major benefit to running a capture card in your system fortunately for you though the vengeance a4100 along with Corsair's other gaming systems is available without a capture card to save you the unnecessary purchase if you don't need it so thanks for watching if you're interested in more technical streaming recording stuff maybe check out our video on building a streaming setup on the cheap and get subscribed so you don't miss future videos like this crazy acetech pci express slot radiator water cooler thing that we've got coming very soon"}