New PCIe cards for streamers offer up to 4K@144Hz captures with full HDMI 2.1 support

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Check it out: Modern gaming hardware and capture software are often "good enough" to satisfy players' need to record a gaming session or stream their valiant deeds on Twitch. However, professional streamers could get better results with these dedicated internal PCIe cards.

AVerMedia introduced two new PCIe cards for game capture and streaming tasks. The Taiwan-based manufacturer now offers the no-compromise Live Gamer 4K 2.1 recording card – the PCIe version of the previously introduced Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 USB device – and the entry-level Live Streamer Ultra HD card.

AVerMedia describes the Live Gamer 4K 2.1 as the world's premier consumer-grade HDMI 2.1 PCIe capture card. The device offers HDMI 2.1 connectivity, Ultra HD recording, and streaming with high frame rate support. Players can capture a 4K60 video clip or broadcast in 4K at 144Hz with VRR passthrough and HDR support.

The less capable Live Streamer Ultra HD card is designed for early explorers of the live-streaming world. The PCIe card can broadcast and capture at 4K resolutions, albeit at lower frame rates (60/30 fps) than the high-end card. However, capturing game sessions at lower resolutions (1080p) can boost the frame rate up to 120.

"Whether you're seeking to play the latest 4K games, looking for HDMI 2.1 compatibility, or preferring PCIe connectivity, we've been continually expanding our capture card line to meet the needs of the streaming community," the CEO said.

AVerMedia also provides RECentral, a free dedicated software for the newly introduced capture cards. The program allows simultaneous streaming and broadcasting to multiple platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook. RECentral also works "effortlessly" with other third-party capturing and live-streaming platforms.

AVerMedia's capture devices are already available for purchase through Amazon. The Live Gamer 4K 2.1 card is on sale at a suggested retail price of $270, while the entry-level Live Streamer Ultra HD card costs $180.

AVerMedia capture cards offer low-latency recording and streaming capabilities for PCs but can also work with consoles/PC setups. However, players need a spare PCIe slot to get the best results out of the hardware. Alternative, software-based solutions such as OBS Studio or GeForce ShadowPlay can usually provide excellent results for both streaming and recording tasks with sufficiently powerful hardware.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/101575-new-pcie-capture-cards-streamers-bring-up-4k144hz.html

 

[bviktor]

DisplayPort support would be much appreciated

 

[gamerk2]

DisplayPort support would be much appreciated

HDMI 2.1 already handles 8k120 (with DSC) and 4k144, so why add a second connector? Especially since there's no Displayport 2.0 products on the horizon?

 

[Burty117]

Especially since there's no Displayport 2.0 products on the horizon?

What? AMD and Intel GPU’s already output DP2.1? And there’s 4K 240Hz screens releasing in the next few months with DP2.1 on them.

I’d argue putting DP 2.1 on the card would have been a good future-proofing method.

 

[bviktor]

HDMI 2.1 already handles 8k120 (with DSC) and 4k144, so why add a second connector? Especially since there's no Displayport 2.0 products on the horizon?

Right, so we shouldn't support DP in our product, because there are no products that support it? That's a self-fulfilling prophecy if I ever saw one.

And why? Because DisplayPort is a free and open standard, does everything that HDMI does and then some (in fact, you can have much better refresh rates on DP, almost twice the bandwidth), and isn't filling the pockets of these HDMI consortium conglomerates.

 

[DukeJukem]

HDMI 2.1 already handles 8k120 (with DSC) and 4k144, so why add a second connector? Especially since there's no Displayport 2.0 products on the horizon?

perhaps we want something that doesn't need DSC to achieve what it claims.

 

[Burty117]

Edit: I somehow missed quoted and didn’t read properly, please delete this comment.

 

[yesnt]

Check EposVox' opinion on this. He was disappointed.

 

[loki1944]

DisplayPort support would be much appreciated

my thought exactly

 

[bandit8623]

perhaps we want something that doesn't need DSC to achieve what it claims.

there are no claims. there is raw bandwidth and then there is bandwidth with dsc.
both dp and hdmi both support dsc ... on both you can get higher res and frames using dsc. dp 2.1 has higher overall bandwidth without dsc as well compared to hdmi 2.1.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-display-stream-compression-dsc/

0.5-microsecond increase in overall latency using dsc. and no visual loss.

 

[zekepliskin]

It's a shame AVerMedia don't do proper standalone capture boxes with IR remotes for those a bit more casual about their gameplay recording - they're all PCIe based meaning you need a Windows PC as usual, fine if that's your main gaming platform but a bit of an expense otherwise.

I have a now fairly old Game Capture HD II which is a standalone with internal SATA port, USB port on the front and a slightly clunky UI but works fine for capturing stuff up to 1080p/30 (PS3 needs a HDMI v1.3b splitter inline to remove HDCP but most consoles allow you to toggle it) but is starting to show its age beyond just resolution with lower bitrate video (20Mbps maximum on 1080p, 15Mbps on 1080i) which does macroblock on fast motion.

I love the product though and would be someone who'd pick up a "Game Capture 4K" version, even if it topped out at 4K60, maybe even if HDR support wasn't there. My guess was the standalones didn't sell too well - niche even for the fairly niche product of HDMI video capture outside of a pro TV type environment - so they'll never do it again.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

HDMI 2.1 already handles 8k120 (with DSC) and 4k144, so why add a second connector? Especially since there's no Displayport 2.0 products on the horizon?

Are you living in inside an event Horizon. A lot of products announced like new monitors with DP2.1 support, AMD RDNA3 GPU's have DP2.0, but Nvidia which you might only use, only support DP1.4. Sure it's not widespread yet but is already released and going forward I would not buy anything that did not support it.

 

[Scshadow]

DisplayPort support would be much appreciated

I think they are really targeting PS5 and XBOX One X streamers out there. Since those consoles don't have DP to begin with, it doesn't make much sense to passthrough to DP. If you are just capturing your own PC, you can just capture natively and don't really need a capture card.