It's also worth noting that when the XR1 first launched there were reports of setting up in OBS being a convoluted process that involved separate audio sources that needed to be added. In the months since I don't know if EVGA changed something or OBS did, but that's not an issue. Hooking up is the same as any other capture card, with the audio coming along with the video feed. On the contrary, a good capture card could increase the quality of your stream, potentially lighten the load on your main PC, and improve the performance of your games while streaming. So where does that leave the XR1? The most obvious competitor is the Elgato HD60S+. Like the XR1 it can handle 4K pass-through but also capture, albeit at 30 FPS. It does have some gremlins with HDCP, and it's more expensive and requires specialist drivers. Your eyes aren't deceiving you; that's RGB lighting and a control dial on the EVGA XR1, a capture card with some style. The XR1 gives you control over your content without diving into endless menus. The dial handles everything from volume mixing to controlling the lighting effects.

HDMI capture cards, or HDMI capture devices, are extremely valuable tools with a wide variety of uses. As the description implies, these devices allow virtually any HDMI feed to be routed through them to be captured by a computer. The HDMI inputs on capture devices can be used with game consoles, video cameras, or even another computer -- just about any HDMI video source. This signal can then be encoded on the fly for a livestream, recorded for preservation, or both simultaneously. Most capture cards also allow for an HDMI output which passes a signal through the device, directly to a display with minimal latency. The market is fairly saturated with models capable of taking in 1080p60 footage and spitting 1080p60 footage out, but some devices are able to cater to more specific needs and offer higher quality output options. The EVGA XR1 Capture Device is one such solution which may appeal to gamers with 4K or otherwise high refresh rate or high resolution displays, who also wish to stream or record at 1080p. To truly use this capture card to its full potential, you need a 4K-ready console, 4K monitor with HDR support (not cheap), and a PC beefy enough to edit 4K HDR footage (really not cheap). Let’s not even get into the amount of bandwidth required to upload 4K video, let alone stream it. Thankfully, if you're strictly a console gamer, then you're covered on all fronts for now. The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X are capable of resolutions up to 4K with 60 frames per second, something multiple capture cards are capable of recording directly from the game console. Several consoles also feature HDR support, and while you may want to record everything you're able to see from your console, HDR capture isn't necessarily something you should worry about. HDR stands for high-dynamic range, which refers to the range of colours a device and game are able to display. TVs and content that support HDR often have beautiful bright colours, making a huge impact on the overall image quality. Capturing HDR footage from your gaming console is an appealing prospect, but it requires expensive equipment and only people with HDR-capable screens will be able to enjoy it. If you still want to experience your console's HDR for yourself, then you'll want to keep an eye out for devices capable of HDR passthrough.While the control dial for audio mixing is a nice feature, it becomes troublesome when introducing more complicated audio scenarios like piping in a Discord call during a session. That means you can record gameplay without putting any load on your CPU. The included StreamEngine software (only available on Windows) allows you to record a copy of your gameplay directly to storage while using streaming software like XSplit or OBS. You can record your stream without any CPU overhead, or you can record gameplay on an older laptop without worrying about CPU load. Outside of StreamEngine, the Live Gamer Mini also comes with RECentral, allowing you to easily stream to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and more.

The Signal HD60 is perfect for streaming newbies, as the setup is practically idiot-proof. We love its discreet, travel-friendly design. More importantly, it plays well with consoles, for the most part. If you want to feature in-game voice chats in your steams, that'll require creative solutions (and a cheap cable). I probably wouldn’t even have come across the issue if I wasn’t using the RECentral 4 software as a screen to play games on rather than using passthrough. This is actually a testament to the latency because it was good enough that I didn’t really notice. Nowadays, capture cards come in all shapes and sizes. Best of all, they no longer require you to pry open your PC and hope you have an extra card slot next to your GPU to install it. External capture cards are much more portable, so much easier to use, and in some cases, cheaper than their internal counterparts since they connect to your PC via USB 3.0 or USB Type C.

EVGA's capture card is actually pretty good, but it's easy to think you're getting something you aren't.

With the hardware encoder, you can get by with a less powerful computer. AverMedia recommends a third-gen Intel Core i5 with a GTX 650 or better and 4GB of RAM on Windows, and a quad-core i5 with a GT 750M or better on Mac. It’s important to note that the system requirements are for streaming. If you’re just recording gameplay, you can use almost any Windows computer. This description is a little confusing when one considers that, under features, the mode is listed as “1440p@120fps HDR Advanced Pass Through”. For current-gen console owners (and by that I mean Xbox owners as PS5 only supports 120 Hz at 4K) this means that you can have your Xbox connected to a 120 Hz 2560×1440 monitor, with the XR1 in between. HOWEVER, this does not work while capturing. 4K/HDR can also be passed through – but not during capture. Whether you're going to use the audio features is another matter, but you're well catered for if you want it. It features an APT (Advance Pass Through) button on the dial that'll let you toggle between 1440p/120fps passthrough and 1080p 60fps capture on the fly without needing to swap cables or force you to change the display settings on your gaming PC when you're not streaming.