Gorfias said:
Neronium said:
There are a few reasons why you shouldn't always use YouTube for comparisons.
First off, YouTube caps at 30 frames per second so that's always fun. Two, different capture cards capture at different bit rates, and depending on the editor you don't know if it's being upscaler in there or not. For example, I have an HD PVR 2 that can record at maximum of 1080p and at a maximum bit rate of 14Mbps. I recently upgraded to an Elgato and that can record at 1080p with differing bit rates. For example, my PS2 when recording on an Elgato can go to a maximum bit rate of 15 Mbps, but my PS3 can go to a maximum of 23 Mbps, and so can my Wii U and 360. Plus on the YouTube videos you don't no whether they are using composite, s-video, component, or HDMI unless they tell you.
Main point is, YouTube isn't always the best option for doing graphics comparisons.
Those sound like some fun toys. I'll have to look into them.
A friend's been talking about vimeo.com as a sort of high end but less traveled youtube. I'll check them out to. Headed to Amazon to check out the Elgato.
Capture cards are expensive my friend believe me. You get what you pay for in the end. I've been doing Let's Plays for about 2 years now, which is why I replaced my HD PVR 2 since it was dying.
There are some things to keep in mind though when recording. First off, PS3 is HDCP encrypted so to record via HDMI on a PS3, and PS4 at this time, you'd need an HDCP stripper. Other than that to record the PS3 you'll need composite or component inputs. As for Optical audio support, Elgato diesn'r have it, but I do know the newer HD PVR 2 Plusses support it as well as the AverMedia Player.
Second is bit rates, the oh so important blood when recording. If your bit rate is too low for the current resolution, you'll see more pixels while moving (when at 60 fps it'll annoy you). Put before you set that bit rate to max there are problems that can occur. If the bit rate is too high, it has the probability of crashing the system or the game in question. An example of this would be when I tried to run the PS2 Sonic Heroes at 10 Mbps, game lagged and skipped frames in recording, then crashed. The maximum bit rate depends on the game in general though so experimentation is needed on this one.
Finally, when getting a capture card, make sure you computer can handle it. For most capture cards they require at least a duo core CPU around 2.0 GHz, and at least 2GB of RAM. The Elgato is the only one I've ever encountered that requires 4 GB of RAM, but that's because it's more powerful than others. Some capture cards are only USB plug in, but some require an outlet for a plug (HD PVRs need them). Going back to computer specs though, be wary of having certain other large processes going on as if you are recording you have a chance of dropping frames. Now editors are a whole other story. For editing software, you have many different ones to choose from. Worst ones I've used are Pinnacle Studios and Movie Maker. Current one I use is Sony Movie Studio Platinum 12; it's downgrade from Sony Vegas in akin that it just doesn't have 'Vegas' in it's title. Adobe Premier is another good one to use, although it's more expensive than most other video editors, ala Adobe's business model. For Mac editors, I can't tell you since neither I, nor any of my friends, use Macs for editing. XD
Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions regarding capture cards or editors.
