If you’re looking to purchase a capture card for your xbox or xbox one, sometimes it can be difficult to determine which one might be the right fit for you. After all, xbox capture cards and broadcasting live gaming has become immensely popular over the last 5 years with the advent of Twitch and YouTube Gaming. Whether you’re a gamer on Microsoft’s Xbox One, or Sony’s PS4, the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is a high quality capture card that is budget friendly, and includes powerful features that allows you to easily increase the quality of your video productions. This, and many other reasons, is why the HD PVR 2 by Hauppauge is the best capture card for Xbox One and Playstation 4.
What Comes with the Hauppauge HD PVR 2?
When opening the Hauppauge HD PVR 2, you can immediately tell that the product was created with quality in mind. This quality approach towards designing the best capture card for your Xbox or Playstation is why the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 continues to be the best capture card for gamers everywhere. The surface of the device is brushed brushed aluminum, wrapped in a high gloss plastic finish. Surrounding the unit is a beautifully designed status light indicates if the unit is powered on, recording, on standby, or not connected properly.
Aside from the HD PVR 2 unit, the box also includes:
- 6 ft. USB Cord
- HDMI Cord
- Power Cord
- Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Capture Software and Drivers [CD-ROM]
- Instruction Manual
- Warranty Manual
This is everything that you need to begin recording high definition gaming footage with your Hauppauge HD PVR 2.
Setting Up the Hauppauge HD PVR 2
Setting up the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 can be a bit tricky at first. Fear not, between the instructions present below, and the video I posted up top you should be up and running in no time.
You also need to install the Hauppauge Capture Application in order to capture recorded game play on to your PC. If you’re a Mac user, there is an option. HDPVRCapture is software developed for Mac OS X that will help you record and capture game play so you can edit it on your Macbook or iMac.
Recording with the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition
Once you have your Hauppauge HD PVR 2 out of the box, set up with software installed, capturing from the Hauppauge Capture application is extremely easy and hassle free. Either by utilizing the mapped hardware key on top of the Hauppauge unit, or by pressing record on the capture application, recording with the HD PVR 2 turns your on screen actions into an easy to edit .mpeg file. This file will fall into the directory that you’ve selected in the capture application settings window. It’s as simple as that. There are of course many options and settings you can tweak, such as the output resolution, FPS, aspect ratio, and many more.
There are even features that allow you to edit your capture videos, upload your video directly to YouTube, or stream live using the StreamEez tab (not available in the Mac version of the capture software). Both of these features offer a wealth of options to make media production and editing a breeze. Personally, I prefer to save my footage in a raw HD format (1080p) on my external hard drive, and edit the footage in Final Cut Pro or Sony Vegas 13. If you’re planning on creating a lot of content down the road, or any of that content in HD, this will leave with you tons of footage to use that can be edited into future or existing videos, without having to reshoot which can be time consuming on larger projects.
The Verdict?: Two Thumbs Up For the Hauppage HD PVR 2 Capture Card
Overall Rating: 9/10
When it’s all said and done the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is the best capture card for streaming on Xbox. At roughly $154 USD, the HD PVR 2 is within reach for anyone who is serious about producing gaming media and publishing it on the web.
Video Quality: 10/10
There were zero problems with video quality, capturing exactly what the user was seeing on the screen with precise detail. The videos looked just a rich and vibrant on an external monitor when editing, and viewing videos later.
Set Up: 9/10
Set up was straight forward after referring to the Hauppauge diagram listed above. One downfall is that I was unable to get it to work on my Sharp Aquos 32” LCD-TV. This may or may not have been due to past problems with drivers, and specific to my TV. It worked wonderfully on a 22” Vizio LCD-TV that I use next to my laptop and other external monitor to capture, edit, and publish gaming related media.
Product Quality: 9/10
The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 is a well crafted unit that is durable, yet portable, and convenient to set up and use in multiple locations. All outlets and plugs are well made with no loose ends. The plastic on the top of the unit will get scratched, so if you’re worried about the appearance of the unit after use then you may want to look for an all brushed aluminum or rubber capture card, like Elgato Game Capture HD60.
Other Notes:
The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 is great for someone who is looking to get in to gaming related media production. However, if you’re looking for a more advanced unit, complete with a hard drive that records gameplay footage directly on to the unit [you must record on to an external PC or Mac with the HD PVR 2], then something along the lines of the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle 2 SSD Video Recorder, 2.5″ SATA SSD Drives, HD-SDI Input & Output where you can record right to a SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of having to hook up your PC or Mac.
Hopefully this article has made your search for the best capture card for your Xbox One or PS4 a little bit easier. If you’re looking for more information, Amazon has a full selection of capture cards that are ready for you to purchase with Free 2 Day shipping when you sign up to be an Amazon Prime member. Other best capture cards besides the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 are the Elgato Game Capture HD60 ($129.95), and the AGPtEK HD Game Capture Card ($69.99).