So every now and then, I'm away from a TV (but have a PC around), and still want to play console games. (Emulators are not an option for me; the PC isn't powerful enough.) Unfortunately, most video capture cards introduce enough lag/delay that most games (especially racing games) are unplayable. A quick Google shows that there was a video capture card specifically designed for my situation, called the GameBridge. Problem is, the GameBridge doesn't work on x64 Windows, which is what I'm using.
So, anyone know of a video capture card (preferably USB; internal could be acceptable if necessary) that is suitable for playing games without lag, and works on x64 Windows? High video quality would be nice, but is secondary to the lag issue.
Thanks!
USB has 1ms latency on transfers, so lag shouldn't be that big of an issue. Personally, I use a KWorld something-or-other el-cheapo, and it works just fine. But I hardly ever *play* games anymore...lol.
Quote from: dcx2 on May 14, 2011, 01:48:11 AM
USB has 1ms latency on transfers, so lag shouldn't be that big of an issue. Personally, I use a KWorld something-or-other el-cheapo, and it works just fine. But I hardly ever *play* games anymore...lol.
USB itself isn't really the problem; most of the cards out there either try to encode to MPEG2 on-board the card before sending the video to the PC (to save bandwidth/storage/CPU), or try to buffer it (probably for stability reasons). Either case results in serious lag (anywhere from 4-5 frames up to several seconds). The test I run on a capture card to measure the lag is, at the Wii system menu, wave the Wiimote in a circle at about 2Hz, and check where the pointer shows up when my hand is at the top of the circle. The better of my two cards is off by about 90 degrees. (My worse card is off by several rotations.)
Does your card actually show the Wiimote pointer where your hand is pointing when you wave the Wiimote in a circle quickly, as opposed to being off by 90 degrees of the circle or so? Also, what program are you using to display it; does the choice of programs make a huge difference?
Thanks. :)
I use the free version of Debut. I don't notice any lag while waving the wiimote in circles; sub-200 ms at least, probably sub-100ms (I used to play dance games so my timing is pretty sharp).
Quote from: dcx2 on May 14, 2011, 04:33:40 AM
I use the free version of Debut. I don't notice any lag while waving the wiimote in circles; sub-200 ms at least, probably sub-100ms (I used to play dance games so my timing is pretty sharp).
Hmm, nice. Would I be correct in assuming that this is your capture card? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100112
The NewEgg comments seem to agree that it works well for playing games. Not particularly expensive either... looks like a win. :)
Yeah, that looks like it. I even bought it from newegg, too.
why don´t you guys make some cool hacking videos then? 8)
Quote from: Bully@Wiiplaza on May 14, 2011, 08:36:11 AM
why don´t you guys make some cool hacking videos then? 8)
It's quite possible that you'll see videos from me which were made with the capture card discussed above (which I will probably buy).
one thing i noticed though about USB >. is that some of them are not that great .. as in Picture is grainy .. iv dont alot of video editing using Pinical and many other higher end Video Imput divices .. and for best results id say grab one that uses PCIE or something like that it will alow high rez..
But if your just looking for simple playing of the game and dont care about Quality of the picture to much then USB will be fine ..
u could try something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Avertv-Definition-Analog-Capture-MTVHDDVRR/dp/B002SQE1O0/ref=pd_cp_pc_1
or BLackmagic .. if u want to go a little more Expensive ..
Quote from: Skiller on May 17, 2011, 04:24:12 AM
one thing i noticed though about USB >. is that some of them are not that great .. as in Picture is grainy .. iv dont alot of video editing using Pinical and many other higher end Video Imput divices .. and for best results id say grab one that uses PCIE or something like that it will alow high rez..
But if your just looking for simple playing of the game and dont care about Quality of the picture to much then USB will be fine ..
u could try something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Avertv-Definition-Analog-Capture-MTVHDDVRR/dp/B002SQE1O0/ref=pd_cp_pc_1
or BLackmagic .. if u want to go a little more Expensive ..
Yeah, I own a Colossus (HD-res internal card)... the quality is great, except that it lags by 3 seconds. Apparently it's hard to make something high-quality and also low-latency. The quality on a $30 USB card is fine for my purposes, it's the latency that makes or breaks the deal.
Sounds like a classic engineering problem.
Fast, good, cheap; pick two.
Quote from: dcx2 on May 17, 2011, 04:57:20 AM
Sounds like a classic engineering problem.
Fast, good, cheap; pick two.
At first i thought this was a joke, but then i realized that it pretty much applies to all electronics @_@ feels bad man.
heh.
The real joke is that sometimes you only get to pick one.
I realize that I'm bumping an old thread, but I just wanted to mention that I finally had a chance to buy the KWorld DVD Maker USB 2.0 capture card which dcx2 recommended, and wow, it's awesome. No visible lag whatsoever; gaming works great on it. The quality is acceptable too. To top it off, I got it for <$20 on eBay.
Big thanks to dcx2 for mentioning it; I would definitely recommend this card to anyone who wants to play games from a USB capture card.
This one?
http://www.amazon.com/KWorld-Expert-Video-Maker-KW-USB2800D/dp/B000234SMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312487236&sr=8-1
Quote from: James0x57 on August 04, 2011, 08:48:48 PM
This one?
http://www.amazon.com/KWorld-Expert-Video-Maker-KW-USB2800D/dp/B000234SMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312487236&sr=8-1
Yes, that's the one.
As a side note, if you're on Windows Vista/7, don't install the drivers that come on the CD; just plug it into your PC and let Windows install its drivers automatically. (I'm told that the drivers on the CD are for XP only.) I'm currently using Debut for capturing/viewing the video as per dcx2's suggestion... I heard that the software that comes on the CD is crap, so I never tried it.
Looks like it. The Amazon says the model number is KW-USB2800D while newegg says the model number is VS- USB2800. Close enough.
Yeah, I didn't use the crap that came on the CD. I never use CD crap, always download the latest from the manufacturer web site (assuming Windows doesn't just recognize it).
If someone finds another good and free video capture app I'm all for it.
Also, i use Blackmagic Intensity Pro. It's an PCIe capture card, with Component, HDMI, Composide and s-video input and output (for playback to tv)
But you need a really fast HDD. Unfortunetly 480p isn't supported. But 480i, 720p/i and 1080i.
Same capture card is as USB 3.0 version avaiable, too^^
Quote from: CosmoCortney on November 21, 2011, 10:53:30 PM
Also, i use Blackmagic Intensity Pro. It's an PCIe capture card, with Component, HDMI, Composide and s-video input and output (for playback to tv)
But you need a really fast HDD. Unfortunetly 480p isn't supported. But 480i, 720p/i and 1080i.
Same capture card is as USB 3.0 version avaiable, too^^
I've heard of the Blackmagic Intensity Pro; I'm on a laptop so I can't use PCIe, and I couldn't find any reviews of the USB3 version's lag or lack thereof. Is the USB3 version completely lag free for gaming purposes? Also, does the driver show up as a standard DirectShow video device in Windows (i.e. works with any video capture program), or does it require its own program to display?
the blackmagic intensity pro usb 3.0 version (shuttle) isn't compatible to every capture program. but there is a capture program avaiable on the producer's webside. the program is called blackmagic media express.
and it's compatible to adobe premiere pro and a couple number of other programs. but i don't know if the usb 3.0 version is lag free. but i think it will lag. because of that i recommand to connect the playback interfaces back to your tv. so you can play it on your tv as usual and record it to your pc on same time.
Also if you want to record your videos from your wii:
Do not set the graphics of your wii to 480p. plug in the Wii's component cable to the input interfaces of the black magic intensity shuttle. one more component cable is required, to connect the shuttle's playback interfaces to your tv's input interfaces. now connect the shuttle via USB 3.0 to your laptop and start media express. after you set the preferences correctly, you will see the video on the right side of media express and on your tv.
but please note:
installing and setting up the preferences is sometimes a bit complicated.
you need a really fast hdd. (like 7200rpm)
no sound will be displayed in media express. (only way to verify that you will record the sound is by having a look to the sound's graph)
the quality often the captured video often looks a bit grappy. but captured videos from the hdmi interface looks pretty good.
if you record longer videos, it could happen that the sound wont be synchrone to the video.
Quote from: CosmoCortney on November 22, 2011, 08:46:19 AM
the blackmagic intensity pro usb 3.0 version (shuttle) isn't compatible to every capture program. but there is a capture program avaiable on the producer's webside. the program is called blackmagic media express.
and it's compatible to adobe premiere pro and a couple number of other programs. but i don't know if the usb 3.0 version is lag free. but i think it will lag. because of that i recommand to connect the playback interfaces back to your tv. so you can play it on your tv as usual and record it to your pc on same time.
Also if you want to record your videos from your wii:
Do not set the graphics of your wii to 480p. plug in the Wii's component cable to the input interfaces of the black magic intensity shuttle. one more component cable is required, to connect the shuttle's playback interfaces to your tv's input interfaces. now connect the shuttle via USB 3.0 to your laptop and start media express. after you set the preferences correctly, you will see the video on the right side of media express and on your tv.
but please note:
installing and setting up the preferences is sometimes a bit complicated.
you need a really fast hdd. (like 7200rpm)
no sound will be displayed in media express. (only way to verify that you will record the sound is by having a look to the sound's graph)
the quality often the captured video often looks a bit grappy. but captured videos from the hdmi interface looks pretty good.
if you record longer videos, it could happen that the sound wont be synchrone to the video.
So yeah, in that case this is kind of irrelevant to this thread. If you have a TV handy, yes, any capture card is usable for recording gameplay. My post was about actually gaming with the capture card (without a TV). You may or may not have figured this out based on my other posts (based on your post count I'm guessing you're unaware), but the reason I brought up this question was because I was running the Wii's output into Stereoscopic Player for 3D gaming, so the capture card had to be 100% lag-free since the PC was the display used by the gamer. (I released the relevant code a while after I made this thread.) I realize that my use case is somewhat extreme; I'm still amazed at how good the KWorld USB capture card is at this... I wasn't expecting to find anything that's playable, but the KWorld is better than playable; it feels perfect. Nice video quality via S-Video as well.
But, regardless, thank you for sharing the info. :)