Graphics, Video & TV Cards

Capture Cards: Which One Is Right For You?

Capture Cards: everyone’s heard of them but what actually are they?

Well, A Capture Card in the simplest possible terms, Is a graphics card that is either internal or external that can be hooked up to a  T.V or a visual device that a games console is plugged in to and you can record what-ever may be on the screen at the time be it, normal T.V or a DVD, Once it has finished recording it is saved on to your HDD (Hard Drive).

There are many different types of Capture Card but in this article we will be covering 3, a budget low spec Capture Card and 2 high end top of the range Capture Cards.

During the early days of people capturing game-play for either montages or game-play/commentary one of the few cards on the market that was affordable to most people was the Pinnacle Dazzle Video Creator Platinum.

To use this handy piece of kit the T.V that you are using has to have an OUTPUT so that you can get the image that you are viewing in to the Dazzle that then plugs in to the pc via a USB . With the Dazzle comes the editing software that  you need to get the recording all shiny and ready for public consumption, we here at Epicfailgamer.com feel that the Dazzle is a decent piece of kit perfect for the low budget gamer trying to make it in the world of Youtube, It may not give you the best quality in the world but it gives you a chance to get your content straight on to the web.

Pinnacle Dazzle Video Creator Platinum can be picked up on Amazon for around £55 ($150).

Conclusion on the Pinnacle Dazzle Video Creator Platinum

Pros: cheap, good value for money, allows you to edit your footage as soon as your finished playing.

Cons: you do get some lag from the T.V to the pc but that isn’t noticeable when there watching it on Youtube.

For the gamer with a bit more cash to spare the options open up as to which capture card you go for (internal/external) One of the best HD capture cards on the market is the “Hauppauge HD PVR” which is used by such Youtube legends as Hutch & Mr.Sark. With this Capture Card there is no need for your T.V to have an output as all the cables are plugged in to the Hauppauge. The games console is plugged in to the input connectors and the output connectors are plugged in the the T.V and like the Dazzle it plugs in to the PC via a USB cable. prices for the Hauppauge HD PVR start on Amazon from £175 ($209)

Conclusion for the Hauppauge HD PVR.

Pros: Well Designed, gives you beautiful video quality, no need to purchase extra wires as  all the wires come packed in with it

Cons: A little bit pricey but you pay for quality, its another thing that takes up a plug socket in the already over packed extension cable, it requires you to have a PC or a laptop near it as the USB cable doesn’t stretch that far

As you can see the Cons slightly outweigh the Pros but never the less this is an amazing Capture Card

If you prefer that you didn’t have another thing on your desk/entertainment centre then you can always opt for the internal capture card on the high end of the market right up there with the Hauppauge is the Blackmagic Intensity Pro this lovely piece of kit fits in to your PCI-E X1 slot but is compatible with PCI-E X4, X8 and X16, the Blackmagic Intensity Pro has 2 HDMI  ports “input” & “output” this means that you have to plug your games console in to the “input” slot via HDMI and from the “output” on the Blackmagic to your HD T.V, if you don’t have a HD T.V then never fear the Blackmagic comes packed with a bunch of composite cables so that you can plug your console directly in to it and play your games off the monitor. the Blackmagic Intensity Pro can be found on Amazon and starts from £150 ($190)

Conclusion for Blackmagic Intensity Pro.

Pros: Provides beautifully clear visuals, your paying for quality so the price tag is defiantly worth it.

Cons: you have to take the cover off of your PC to install it, you need to correctly identify the PCI-E X1, X4, X8 or X16 slots but its not exactly rocket science, you also need a fairly decent computer for the rendering to be fast enough so that your not waiting a week to post content.

as you can see the Blackmagic Intensity Pro is a decent Capture Card with a fair price tag the quality is suburb and with the price at £25 cheaper than the Hauppauge HD PVR you cant go wrong.

Well that just about wraps it up for the Capture Cards I hope that this article was helpful to you in choosing the right one for your budget and computer knowledge, please feel free to comment and rate.

About the Author

zuric a writer at http://www.epicfailgamer.com the gaming website.

What is the best capture card for somebody on a budget?

I want to record my PS3 sound and video.

I run Win Vista 32bit

What is the best cheap capture card?

hi mate
im not too clued up on ps3 and xbox360 however theres something called “HDfury”( http://www.hdfury.com/ ) which i reckon will record ingame footage from your ps3 to the pc
its not too technical and should be ok to connect to the pc running vista….
good luck mate