Let's see what AVerMedia's latest product has to offer. I've never really been a fan of AVerMedia but let's give them a second... no third try.
Package and Contents
First a picture of the outer packaging. Click to enlarge all pictures.
Nothing too amazing here compared to some other products I've seen but it doesn't really matter what it looks like. I'd be happy with a plain white box. The side also tells us the contents.
Package Contents:
Live Gamer Extreme Capture Card
USB 3.0 Cable
3.5mm Audio Cable
HDMI Cable
Component Breakout Cable
Component to PS3 Cable
Quick set up guide
Backup screw and Exclusive cover
That last one... yeah I don't know what they are thinking here. I don't want to print out a design and put it in my capture card. I want to you know... play and capture my gameplay. As you can probably guess, this device will capture HDMI and Component video.
Installation
The installation was rather easy. Just download the latest software and drivers from AVerMedia's site and then click past a wizard. It's then just a case of plugging in the USB3 cable and after about 10 seconds, the device will be installed and ready for use.
DirectShow layout and options
When I first learned about the device I was really confused if it was DirectShow or not but fortunately I can confirm it is. However, this leads us to the first big problem with the device. This is what AmaRecTV provides us in the Device tab configuration.
We're stuck at 60.00 fps and you cannot change this as AmaRec will spit out errors. It's pretty common knowledge that all HDMI consoles output 59.94 and nothing else. The only thing they got right here was using YUY2 sampling. The selection does not change when you choose Component either.
Clicking Device Setting brings us the DirectShow interface.
Here you can select video input between HDMI and Component as well as mix in the audio sources from aux or microphone. You will however notice that changing HDMI range levels is not selectable here. In order to change between 0-255 and 16-235, you must do it in the RECentral software and then this setting will stick when you reopen AmaRecTV. Not the most elegant solution but it works. I'd like to see the color range selectable on the DirectShow interface for future updates.
USB3 Capturing, preview and latency
I think USB3 capture cards have gotten a bad name from the Blackmagic Shuttle but don't let that put you off buying another brand. I am pleased to say that this device handles 1080p60 without any frame drops or lagging. The fps view display in AmaRec is a tad more erratic than I'd like, but still decent. It will hover between the ranges of 59.88 and sometimes go up to 61.
The preview is described as "Ultra-low Latency" but watch this video I put together.
That's definitely not ultra low. What is weird is that the RECentral software is much laggier than the AmaRecTV preview, by about 2 frames. The approx 2 frames of AmaRecTV is acceptable to describe as low but I personally would not call it "ultra low".
RECentral 2 Software
The RECentral 2 software is pretty bare bones and I personally don't like it as they give the user too much customization. For example, you can capture a 480p source at 1080p and select a configurable frame rate. You should always capture native res and framerate which AVerMedia is not enforcing here. This will always lead to the end user making mistakes or forgetting they set 720p when they were capturing a 480p source. I should also state that 59.94 is also not an option here.
You can however record upto 60 Mbps and AAC up to 256 kbps. No idea why manufacturers don't want us to go to 320 kbps with audio but it's probably because 256 kbps is good enough for stereo sound. The only container format you can choose is mp4 which I have no issue with. Gives great compatibility with almost every editing program and you shouldn't have any problems. It is however limited to YV12 which I guess I can't blame them for.
Another review said the software was constantly crashing but I didn't get one crash and was always stable. Might have been user error or operating system/hardware dependant.
HDMI capture quality
It's HDMI... it's supposed to be good. No complaints here besides color range being awkward to select as mentioned previously. Would also like 59.94fps selectable in the future updates.
Component capture quality
I'm actually very surprised to say the quality is far better than I expected, especially after the abysmal quality of the H727E. It's definitely on par with the other top cards out right now like the Elgato and Micomsoft. Here is Donkey Kong Country 480p from the Wii Virtual Console with the top 3 cards. Apologies for not the same frame but you get the idea.
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| AVerMedia GC550 |
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| Elgato |
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| Micomsoft |
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| AVerMedia GC550 |
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| Blackmagic Shuttle |
I should also note here that the Component to HDMI passthrough is lagless as far as I can tell.
Heat
After about an hours use, the card got pretty hot at the base. It wasn't so uncomfortable you couldn't keep your hand there but I'll need to do a thorough test of 5-6 hours use to know if it will cause any problems over longer sessions.
Extras
I know this is a rather short review but I just wanted to get the main points down. I could write an extra page or so evaluating other stuff but I don't feel the need when it can't even get the basic functions correct.
Conclusion
It's not a bad effort from AVerMedia and your casual user probably doesn't even care about the problems I listed. If you're just looking for a good external capture solution, I'd probably recommend picking this up. However, if you really care about getting correct frame rates and ease of use, I'd look elsewhere or at least wait till the drivers and software are updated to fix these issues... if they ever are. Even if it is the best Component capture solution, doesn't mean anything if your frame rates are wrong.
I will say that the price is very appealing and might sway some users into buying it. I was able to pick this up from Amazon for £110. That's pretty crazy for a YUY2 1080p60 solution.
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