
Elgato just announced their newest capture card for gaming – the Elgato Game Capture HD60 S.
The Elgato Game Capture HD60 S will be available on April 18 for $179.95 or €189.95. Elgato is running a new “early access” program where users can sign up to be one of the first to try out the HD60 S with special “Day 0 Edition” branding on their units. The signup form is here.
Let’s take a look at what this Elgato HD60 S (for short) is and how it differs from the normal HD60 and HD60 Pro.
HD60 S – What’s New?
First, let’s take a look at the HD60 S.
The HD60 S comes in a similar form factor to the original HD60 capture card – but with more clear emphasis on the “HDMI IN” and “HDMI OUT” labelling (the labels on the HD60 were very hard to see) and an almighty USB Type-C connection. This replaces the standard mini-USB 2.0 found on the previous models and is necessary for the higher fidelity image quality and low-latency streaming via the “Instant Gameview” mode.
“Instant Gameview” is a feature previously only available on the Game Capture HD60 Pro model, which allows the video preview (via their Game Capture software or a third-party streaming app such as OBS Studio to have very minimal latency between the real-time video stream and the feed that’s being recorded or broadcasted.
Such latency issues made live streaming with the previous Game Capture cards very complicated when using third-party apps, as manual delays had to be applied to microphone inputs and any webcam inputs within streaming software to sync them up together.
HD60 S vs. HD60 Pro vs. HD60
Besides the Instant Gameview feature, how does the HD60 S stack up against the previous HD60 models from Elgato?
For the first time, Elgato is requiring users to be running Windows 10 64-bit and have an available built-in USB 3.0 port to connect the device. This requirement will limit who can actually use the card. Thankfully the HD60 S does not require a USB Type-C port, specifically, and a USB Type-C to USB 3.0 cable is included in the box, along with a HDMI cable and the device itself.
Priced in-between their primary HD60 capture card and their more professionally-oriented HD60 Pro model, this device features a nice middle-ground of the capabilities of the two cards.
The Instant Gameview feature and claims that Elgato has fixed the audio de-sync issues which plagued the original HD60 release makes this card ideal for streamers who can’t work with an internal PCIe card like the HD60 Pro – but that’s only if the audio de-sync issues have been resolved. (Such issues are still a problem with the HD60 and the HD60 Pro.)
The HD60 S also feeds an uncompressed video signal to the user’s PC to help keep the latency down, and so users can also use third-party apps such as VirtualDub or OBS Studio to record a lossless or completely uncompressed video file from the device. While lacking 10-bit color depth, this does pose the HD60 S and HD60 Pro (which can also do this) closer as a competitive to more professional capture solutions (such as from BlackMagic) for those who want to capture the highest possible quality from their HDMI sources.
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Elgato HD60 S | Elgato HD60 Pro | Elgato Game Capture HD |
While YouTube-compressed uploads don’t entirely convey the video quality that can be achieved by any device, Elgato has uploaded a few quality samples at 1080p 60fps to provide a general idea of what videos from the HD60 S would look like on YouTube:
Price Positioning
At this point, Elgato has covered every price point between $100 and $200 with a capture card that does something for just about everyone. The original Game Capture HD is still a great pick for those looking to record older retro consoles or get very basic 1080p recording over HDMI, whereas the HD60 Pro is what those who stream or record on a more professional level might want – with the dual H.264 encoders and uncompressed access via PCIe.
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Elgato HD60 S | Elgato HD60 Pro | Elgato Game Capture HD |
Those looking to stream and want an external solution, but have a powerful PC to drive it, the HD60 S now poses an appealing choice to buy. However, if you have a desktop with a free PCIe slot, it’s hard to not recommend just saving up the extra $20 to get the HD60 Pro instead.
For a hands-on look at the HD60 S, here’s a brief overview from Falken1974.