Video Capture Card Suitable for Playing Games?

[biolizard89]

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!

[dcx2]

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.

[biolizard89]

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.  :)

[dcx2]

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).

[biolizard89]

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.  :)

[dcx2]

Yeah, that looks like it.  I even bought it from newegg, too.

[Bully@Wiiplaza]

why don´t you guys make some cool hacking videos then? 8)

[biolizard89]

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).

[Skiller]

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 ..

[biolizard89]

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.

[dcx2]

Sounds like a classic engineering problem.

Fast, good, cheap; pick two.

[hetoan2]

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.

[dcx2]

heh.

The real joke is that sometimes you only get to pick one.

[biolizard89]

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.

[James0x57]

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