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USB HDMI 1080p Capture Dongle Suggestions
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nethfel  
#1 Posted : Tuesday, December 20, 2016 12:51:32 PM(UTC)
nethfel

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Hi all,

I know that vMix has quite a bit of good hardware support. There are many options and I see a lot of mixed feedback on various units on Amazon. So - to my question:

What USB capture dongles have people been using that provide decent quality results for non-bank breaking costs? The ones I'm using right now are relatively inexpensive (a set of StarTech USB2 HDMI capture dongles) and work OK (using H264 Fast from how vMix recognizes the data, I doubt the bitrate is all that high), but I'd love a bit higher quality. I work for a school though, so our budget isn't huge so please be gentle ;).
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SportsNetUSA.net  
#2 Posted : Tuesday, December 20, 2016 5:34:29 PM(UTC)
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Many vMix users have had success with the Magewell USB Capture HDMI, XI100DUSB-HDMI. I've used it for football games with no problems at all. Simple, no drivers, no problems. $300.00 most places or find a slightly used one on eBay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OT0GoALSLM

AJA has their U-TAP, which goes for $345. I've never used it but I have other AJA products and they have been absolutely reliable.

If your system has the right specs, you could look at the Elgato HD 60 S. It costs less than Magewell, AJA, or Inogeni.

Watch out for the low-cost Magewell knockoffs that sell for $125-$150 on eBay and Amazon. I have one which I tested for 6 hours with no problem. Then took it out to a game broadcast. It didn't work. Used it months later for a secondary camera on a game, no problems. Used it the next week, worked for half a game, then wouldn't. Luckily each time it didn't work, I happened to have my Magewell XI100DUSB with me. Of course others may have had great results and no issues with the knockoffs.

Best to buy a device listed on the vMix Supported Hardware Page.

http://www.vmix.com/software/supported-hardware.aspx
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nethfel  
#3 Posted : Tuesday, December 20, 2016 5:55:20 PM(UTC)
nethfel

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Yeah, I've been going down the supported hardware list to find my options, some just have such mixed reviews on Amazon, it's hard to tell if it's really good or not. I've heard a lot of people using the Magewell. I wasn't sure if it was the best bang for the buck for a usb dongle or not. If I have to go to my director with a requisition for multiple $300+ items, I wanna make sure it won't come back and bite me :)
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SportsNetUSA.net  
#4 Posted : Tuesday, December 20, 2016 8:14:30 PM(UTC)
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I don't think you would get bitten with the Magewell USB Capture.

However, what kind of setup do you have? Is this for laptop capture or a desktop? There could be some multiple HDMI inputs/one device options.
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nethfel  
#5 Posted : Wednesday, December 21, 2016 10:37:27 AM(UTC)
nethfel

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SportsNetUSA.net wrote:
I don't think you would get bitten with the Magewell USB Capture.

However, what kind of setup do you have? Is this for laptop capture or a desktop? There could be some multiple HDMI inputs/one device options.


Both. Right now laptop - I had purchased a license for myself which I am using on my laptop to handle events until next year when I can submit a requisition to get a license for the school which will most likely be installed on a desktop - but I will still need to use the dongles on a laptop for if I need to stream a graduation or other off site event since it's not done on campus.
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Speegs  
#6 Posted : Sunday, December 25, 2016 6:40:35 PM(UTC)
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Magewell products work as advertised, not always the cheapest option. Generally middle of the road on pricing. The best part on Magewell as they have hardware (scaler) that changes frame rates and basic things like flipping video on some models built it.

Leaves Vmix doing a little less work when you are trying to bring all your inputs into the same format. Of course if your inputs are all identical you don't use that feature. I love the flexability of being able to convert things with no penalty to the cpu powering Vmix.

If using USB 3, you have to be sure your computer's USB 3 buses are up to scratch. That will depend on the hardware you connect it to and avoid usb hubs they share usb bandwidth of the original port, they don't get you any extra bandwidth.
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martinw  
#7 Posted : Tuesday, December 27, 2016 10:15:31 AM(UTC)
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SportsNetUSA.net wrote:


Watch out for the low-cost Magewell knockoffs that sell for $125-$150 on eBay and Amazon.......... Of course others may have had great results and no issues with the knockoffs.

Best to buy a device listed on the vMix Supported Hardware Page.

http://www.vmix.com/software/supported-hardware.aspx


I've got a couple of the Magewell look-alikes. I bought one on the off-chance it might work - no great pain if it didn't. Then bought a second as back-up. It works ok at 1280x720 30fps through my i5 w10 laptop (no dropped frames from source or renderer). I tried it at 1920x1080 and the renderer starts to drop frames. I've tried using them both simultaneously and again they're ok at 1280x720 no dropped frames, cpu usage about 30%
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