I've owned and have been using this card for several months now. My main purpose for getting this card was to support a livestreaming hobby on twitch.tv. Let me go over a few things I've learned and recommendations if you're considering buying this product (TL;DR? skip to the bottom):
-The card does not do 1080p60.
-The software that comes with the card is adequate for local recording.
-Make sure you update to the latest drivers as soon as you get the card (a given for just about any piece of new hardware).
-This card has HDMI passthrough.
-This card works nicely with XSplit and Open Broadcaster Software.
-If you just want to record videos to a local drive without livestreaming, this is an excellent card to buy. You can encode compressed video to a local drive with virtually no CPU impact. Even though using extreme light compression with DXTory or Fraps also has minimal impact to CPU usage, the amount of drive speed and space required to record is enormous. Recording with this card at ~20Mbps saves a ton of space over software-only options and maintains good quality.
-If you want to livestream PC gaming on a single machine, this card alone is not a good option. You have to understand that CPU usage depends on how much ENCODING has to be done to a video stream before it gets sent over the net. While this card does have an on-board encoder, it is not nearly powerful enough to stream good-quality video at a realistic bandwidth. For instance, you absolutely will not be able to stream even decent quality 720p video at bandwidths in the 'normal' range for HD (2.5-4 Mbps) using the on-board encoder. Thus, you would have to rely on your main CPU to do the encoding, which defeats the purpose of having a dedicated card to begin with. If you are NOT willing to buy another PC to use as a dedicated streaming box, then stick with software-only solutions, as you won't be gaining much by getting this card (Open Broadcaster Software is an excellent, all-in-one, free choice).
-For livestreaming PC gaming, my recommendation is to plan on buying a dedicated PC to house this capture card. For about $500-700, you can have this card and a powerful streaming PC that will allow you to send excellent quality video over the net with very efficient bandwidth usage - not to mention exactly no impact to your main gaming PC.
-For livestreaming console gaming, this card is an excellent choice. If you have a decent CPU (1st gen i5 or a Phenom II, for instance), then you'll have no problem sending great quality streams to the net. The HDMI passthrough makes it easy to maintain the full quality of the console output while manipulating the stream on the PC for efficient encoding and bandwidth usage.
-I know quite a lot about setting this card up for livestreaming. Leave a comment if you want more info.
----------------- TL;DR -----------------
-For local recording, this card is superb. Recommended!
-For console livestreaming, this card is superb (if you have a decent CPU; 1st gen i5 or Phenom II or above). Recommended!
-For PC game livestreaming, you gain almost nothing without a dedicated streaming PC. Not recommended!
| Brand | AVerMedia |
|---|---|
| Series | MTVLIVGHD(C985) |
| Item model number | C985 |
| Hardware Platform | PC |
| Item Weight | 1.81 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 12.91 x 8.58 x 2.68 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 12.91 x 8.58 x 2.68 inches |
| Color | Black |
| Number of Processors | 1 |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Department | tv tuner |
| Manufacturer | AVer Information Inc. |
| ASIN | B007UXJ6LE |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | April 27, 2012 |
