Capture card inputs/outputs?

[Akreontage]

Hey ROG!

Long time no see. Didn't know where else could ask this question.

I have never used capture cards in my life, and I was wondering what is possible and what is not when it comes to actual setup. I watched a few youtube videos and setup usually looks like this: you connect your video card to input port (hdmi/dvi) of capture card and then you use output port to connect to your monitor. Now my question is can you connect your monitor to your graphics card and use separate dvi/hdmi port to connect it to capture card? For example I use G-Sync monitor (display port). Can I keep it connected to my gpu and use dvi/hdmi port to capture video? What are my options here?

Thanks!

[offthewall69]

Short answer: yes. The specifics are based on the particular capture card you use, but what you described (gsync monitor to DP, capture card to HDMI) is the preferred method for keeping costs down.

[Akreontage]

offthewall69 wrote:
Short answer: yes. The specifics are based on the particular capture card you use, but what you described (gsync monitor to DP, capture card to HDMI) is the preferred method for keeping costs down.

Could you suggest some capture card which allows to use separate interfaces for capture card and monitor? I was "youtubing" this question, and in every video people use output ports of capture card to connect their monitors. It clearly adds additional input lag, so why don't they use separate video card ports?

[Korth]

Elgato and Avermedia are basically the NVIDIA and AMD of the video capture hardware world. There's lot of generic "cheap" Made-In-Asia brands which might work perfectly fine ... or might not.

I would personally recommend an external (USB) model vs an internal (PCIe card) model. Easier to setup, easier move around between machines, always works even when the computer doesn't. The only real advantage of an internal model is that it doesn't occupy desk space or have any wire clutter. (Well that, and it doesn't get dropped as often, lol.)

Basically the important specs are signal type (HDMI, DisplayPort, etc) and resolution@frames (most are 1080@30fps, some up to 2160@60fps or more). Some of the external ones have storage capability (SD card slots, maybe even a SATA interface).

There is really no way to assign "unused" GPU outputs to video capture in Windows, it can be done with a linux hypervisor and KVM switching or GPU passthrough. There is really no way to avoid putting capture hardware in-line between your GPU and your fancy 165Hz gaming monitor.

There are also numerous video capture softwares. They always impose a performance hit, though it can be unnoticeable on beefy systems.

I actually use repurposed Android TV boxes for this task, lol, although they required some minor hardware modding and different firmware, but they're able to capture/decrypt/store streamed content, which I find handy.

[offthewall69]

Korth wrote:
...There is really no way to assign "unused" GPU outputs to video capture in Windows, it can be done with a linux hypervisor and KVM switching or GPU passthrough. There is really no way to avoid putting capture hardware in-line between your GPU and your fancy 165Hz gaming monitor.

Unless you can... how-to-use-a-144hz-monitor-and-the-elgato-hd60-pro-at-the-same-time

Basically you are setting up a dual monitor with your gsync display as primary and you capture card duplicating the primary at 1080p and 60Hz

[Korth]

http://ltroyalshrimp.com/guides/how-to-use-a-144hz-monitor-and-the-elgato-hd60-pro-at-the-same-time/

I didn't know it could be configured so easily. Apparently things have improved since I last tried it (with Elgato hardware and Win8) a couple years ago.

[offthewall69]

Sometimes hardware manufacturers listen to their customers 😉