AverMedia dropped a little tease on Twitter yesterday, mentioning an “external 4Kp60 HDR Capture device.” CES kicks off next week, so an official announcement might not be too far off.
If you want to capture 4K gameplay at 60 frames per second with HDR today, you have to slap the card inside your PC. Both AverMedia and Elgato only offer cards that slide into your PC that can handle capturing gameplay at those specs.
AverMedia offers the Live Gamer Ultra, but that only has passthrough for 4K60 HDR. Recordings are limited to 4K30 HDR (along with higher frame rates at 1080p).
You will want to keep tabs on what AverMedia and Elgato are bringing in 2020 though, especially if you plan on upgrading to the PS5 or Xbox Series X at launch. Both platforms will include support for HDMI 2.1. Basically, HDMI 2.1 offers support for higher frame rates at higher resolutions like 4K at 120 frames per second or 8K at 120 frames per second.
4K60 should work fine with whatever you have right now, but higher frame rates will need support for HDMI 2.1. Hopefully, we get clarification soon about older cards supporting new console hardware. And we’ll see if AverMedia has any plans for an internal card supporting the higher FPS at higher resolutions.
With livestreaming getting bigger and bigger, it’ll be fun to see what companies have in store for us at CES. Will new companies try to enter the fray? How will AverMedia and others currently in the space innovate?
