Elgato Game Capture HD60

The Elgato HD60 is a game capture device that allows you take footage of your favourite console games. Although consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 now incorporate this technology, their output is limited. Normally, you can only record up to five minutes of footage, but with the Elgato, you can record as much as you like.

It’s a small device that has a miniUSB slot, a stereo jack socket and an HDMI connection for grabbing footage from your console. You’ll also be able to carry this device around as it’s incredibly portable. If you’re thinking of taking it to your friends houses, you’ll have no issues with this. It’s fairly durable as well, as it’s coated in a tough plastic material that will survive a few bounces on the floor. This protects it from scratches too.

You’ll need to connect the device up to your console and PC simultaneously, so make sure your PC is actually able to run the software that comes with it. Although it’s easy to use and does the job well, older computers will struggle. This is especially true if you’re throwing 1080p, 60fps video at it. Speaking of 60fps, the ability to capture it is a particular highlight of the device. Traditional game capture devices often used to output at 30fps, which made the game look half as smooth in comparison. It’s definitely a big plus in my book.

Once you’ve recorded your content, you can edit around and alter your video as you require. You can upload your content to places like YouTube and Facebook from the software, and it generally has everything you might need. The image quality is really good, although you can notice just a bit of blurriness in the image. That said, the picture still looks sharp and detailed, and you won’t be disappointed.

If you’re browsing a review website like this, the chances are you want to know the bad points as well. Fortunately, there aren’t many, but they do exist. The most important one in my view is that you can only connect to HDMI devices. That means that if you have an old PlayStation or Nintendo 64, and you want to capture some retro footage, you can’t do it with the Elgato. Considering the cost of the device, I’m a bit disappointed that I’d have to buy something separate to do that job as well.

That’s where we come to the price. You’re going to be looking at over £100/$150 to buy one of these, which is a significant investment. If you’re not planning to capture video often, I can’t recommend it. However, if you’re looking to stream on Twitch and upload lots of YouTube content, it’s one of the best options out there. The added 60fps framerate, easy software and portability mean that it’ll do the job you ask of it.

I’d suggest researching other alternatives on the market if you’re not too serious about game capture. If you are, though, this is worth the money if you’re willing to spend it.

Image Sourced From Wikipedia