StarTech USB3HDCAP (XCAPTURE-1 Clone?)

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

StarTech USB3HDCAP (XCAPTURE-1 Clone?)

StarTech released this capture device last month (obviously to facilitate newer consoles and YouTube's migration to 60 fps): http://www.startech.com/AV/Converters/Video/usb-3-0-video-capture-device-hdmi-dvi-vga~USB3HDCAP

It captures Composite, S-Video, Component, VGA, DVI and HDMI. Since it is USB3, it will support 1080p60. Based on the drivers having the same chipset as the XCAPTURE-1 (CY3014), we can assume this is a slightly remodeled version of that device. The only difference is that they decided not to include passthrough. This device turns out to be cheaper than the XCAPTURE-1 but I don't think it's cheap enough to warrant the removal of passthrough.

It's very strange actually. They specifically state in the PDF that you can buy a HDMI splitter to play laglessly. However, that only handles HDMI and leaves the other connections unaccounted for. I doubt the preview window will be lagless and even if it is, not many people want to play on the monitor the PC is attached to. They obviously had gamers in mind as they mention one of the features is streaming to Twitch. Very strange not to have increased the price slightly to throw in passthrough.

I feel like StarTech missed a huge opportunity here to grab hold of the video game capture market. They could have managed to take sales from Micomsoft and introduced local product support and easy returns. They just had to think about gamer's requirements being just more than 1080p60.

1 comment:

James5 January 2015 at 11:06
I bought my XCAPTURE-1 not too long ago. For my use, I can't imagine having no passthrough (I like to livestream, for instance, and play games on my TV).

Keep up the good work, by the way. I found your blog by way of searches for the XCAPTURE last month :)
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About Me

I'm just a guy from the UK that has a passion for video games and speedrunning (and of course capturing them). I originally started this blog because I wanted to share my knowledge and research I've gained over the years. Below is a brief history on my speedrunning and capture cards

I started speedrunning in mid 2006 with Resident Evil 4. Over the years I ran other games to world record level such as the Uncharted series, other Resident Evil titles, Heavy Rain and Clock Tower. I also enjoy glitch hunting video games. I was part of the team that found ways to skip 7 bosses in the original Metal Gear Solid game for PS1.

In early 2010, my first capture card was the Hauppauge HD PVR. Streaming with that device in 2010 was very difficult (basically screen region or nothing) so I moved onto the Blackmagic Intensity Pro in late 2010 since it was a DirectShow device. From then on I've added countless more capture cards to my collection from various companies such as AVerMedia, Blackmagic, Micomsoft, Dazzle and Elgato. I was also the first Western user to own and document the Micomsoft SC-512 capture card. It is now probably the most popular gaming capture card because of this.