Elgato HD60S+ Capture Card review: An Xbox One X and PS4 Pro streamer's dream

Elgato HD60S+ Source: Windows Key

The Elgato HD USB capture cards accept long been one of the virtually user-friendly means to stream and capture gameplay footage for console gamers. A elementary in-line connectedness between your console and Television receiver, the Elgato capture cards excerpt the data straight out of your HDMI via USB to a connected PC. Up until now, though, they've had a bit of a downside for 4K panel gamers.

The previous Elgato cards downgraded the HDMI point to 1080p, which meant that you lot couldn't play games at 4K resolution while connected upwards to the carte. The HD60S+ does abroad with this brake, though, allowing for total 4K HDR pass-through. And it works like a dream. Here'south our review.

Elgato's all-time

Elgato HD60S+

$200

Bottom line: The HD60S+ is Elgato'southward best USB capture card to engagement, with flawless functioning and 4K pass-through convenience.

Pros:

Flawless 4K HDR pass-through
Small, lightweight design
Corking software

Cons:

Blocks HDCP signals (every bit a legal requirement)
4K Capture software doesn't support native HDR preview and playback

What you'll dearest most the Elgato HD60S+

Elgato HD60S Plus Source: Windows Central

Category	Spec
Dimensions	112 x 75 x 19 mm
Weight	115 chiliad
Minimum system requirements	quaternary gen quad-core Intel NVIDIA GeForce x-series 4GB RAM
HDR capture	HDR10 (Windows simply)
Capture resolutions	2160p30, 1080p60 HDR, 1080p60, 1080p30, 1080i, 720p60, 576p, 480p
Passthrough	up to 2160p, 60 FPS, HDR
In the box	HD60 Southward+, USB 3.0 cable, HDMI 2.0 cable
Cost	$200

The Elgato HD60S+ is easily the all-time USB-based capture card the company has offered, which side-stepped some of the early bugs that came with the HD60S and other capture cards of yesteryear. I've streamed with this device for several hours on our Mixer page without any issue, consummate with a 4K HDR signal loud and proud on my QLED Tv.

Operationally, the Elgato HD60S+ is identical to previous USB capture cards the company has released, sitting in-line between two HDMI cables that connect to your Goggle box and your gaming device, with an additional USB-C to USB-A cablevision that sends data to your PC.

The data is then picked up via Elgato's 4K capture utility, which makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to extract footage and screenshots from a virtually-lagless live feed. Information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to navigate your recordings via the app to and so export them into relevant video editing software and so on. My only complaint was that information technology wasn't possible to extract screenshots from captured footage, just Elgato is already planning to add that feature in a hereafter update.

The Elgato HD60S+ itself has a minimal footprint, at around 120 grams, with 112 x 75 x 19 mm dimensions, making it hardly bigger than a smartphone. It generates a scrap of heat in utilize, but nothing that should be crusade for business organisation. It as well has a calorie-free strip across its trunk to permit you know when it's active.

Elgato HD60S Plus Source: Windows Central

It has HDMI ports at either, besides as a USB-C port for its PC connection, and a three.5mm-in for mixing in audio for alive commentary recording and so on, although you can use your PC's audio devices for that too.

When connected through to a 4K Goggle box from a compatible device like an Xbox Ane X or a PS4 Pro, the HD60S+ simply passes through the total UHD HDR signal equally though there wasn't a device in the acting at all. On-screen, it doesn't impact responsiveness or picture quality in any way, which was a bit of a business. The capture bill of fare itself extracts footage at 1080p upwards to 60 frames per second, although there are a few downsides worth being aware of.

What you'll dislike about the Elgato HD60S+

Elgato HD60S Plus Source: Windows Central

The primary annoyance with the HD60S+ isn't exactly Elgato's fault, but information technology blocks HDCP re-create protection signals, which some media apps crave to prevent piracy. It'south a legal requirement for copyright police, just if you watch a lot of Xbox Movies & Boob tube, you lot might need to option up an additional HDMI switch to alternating the signal between the capture bill of fare and HDCP-compliant cables in guild to watch your content.

Additionally, sometimes captured footage tin can look a trivial washed out. The 4K Capture Utility does offer the power to arrange dissimilarity and fiddle with HDR settings. Nonetheless, it seems like some games that take HDR enabled come through the other stop looking a fiddling flat, in specific configuration scenarios. Although it's a limitation on the HDR encoding/decoding procedure, and not exactly Elgato's error.

Source: Windows Central | Elgato HD60S+ capture sample.

Again, this isn't the capture card'due south fault, but it's worth being aware of as a limitation of capturing footage in HDR, then reproducing it on a non-HDR brandish. When converting downwards from HDR to SDR, it does seem like some color information gets lost in the process. The Elgato 4K Capture Utility also does non output in HDR even if you connect it to a compatible display, which makes it hard to analyze color information correctly without converting it first, which is a flake of a shame. Hopefully, they tin fix this in a futurity update.

Should you buy the Elgato HD60S+?

Elgato HD60S Plus Source: Windows Central

If y'all're a content creator using an Xbox One X or a PS4 Pro, the Elgato HD60S+ is an absolute must-buy product that makes capturing footage so much easier than using the console'southward recording features. This is especially true in the case of the Xbox One X, which has maddeningly deadening and clunky sharing features.

It's a little pricey at $200, but it's more than worth the asking price if yous're someone who will get a lot of use out of it. The capture software is speedy and well-built, the device itself is sleek and convenient, and the 4K laissez passer-through works flawlessly. Merely an all-round first-class product.

Leading capture solution

Elgato HD60S Plus

Elgato HD60S+

4K pass-through with 1080p sixty FPS recording.

Want to record gameplay footage without losing the 4K HDR indicate on your Xbox One X or PS4 Pro? Then you need to take hold of this device.

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