Hey guys,

Does anyone have any tips on troubleshooting capture cards? I feel like I'm getting more and more instances where I fail to get a signal.

Here's what I do to try and fix it:

- reboot the maching
- check the connections
- check the source
- check to see if there's a signal in the software from the manufacturer
- try a different source


Right now I'm using 5 capture cards of which I can't get 3 of them to work.

Blackmagic Intensity Pro 4k (works)
Blackmagic Intensity Pro (works)
Blackmagic Intensity Pro (doesn't work)
Avermedia Game Live Gamer HD (doesn't work)
Avermedia Game Live Gamer HD (doesn't work)

I'm using the most recent HD version of vMix.

Other specs:
Intel i7-4790k (4x4 GHz)
Corsair H55 watercooling
ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II 2GB
FSP 600W PSU
NZXT H230 Silent Midtower
G.Skill Ripjaws 4x4 GB (2133 MHz)
Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB SSD
Seagate Barracuda 2TB
MSI Z97 Gaming 5 motherboard

Thanks! :)

Oh I forgot to mention, it's not a new setup. Everything has worked, all at the same time. I started getting problems with signals not showing, which I at first could fix by rebooting.

Another thing I've since noticed is that the Intensity Pro which I thought didn't work, will work if I send it a 1080i50 signal.

I have 3 different signal types. 2 x 1080i50 from two Sony HDV-Z1 cameras (component converted to HDMI). 2 x 720p59,94 from a GoPro Hero+ 4 and a Nikon D800 as well as 1080p59,94 from our HDMI splitter which is feed from a HDMI switch that has 5 inputs (Gaming PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U and our Nintendo 3DS capture box (component upscaled to 1080p59,94).

My plan now is to label the cards and test them individually to see which ones works.

Edit: so I've now tested the cards individually. I didn't test the Intensity Pro 4k card as that one has worked flawlessly

Blackmagic Intensity Pro #1
1080i50: WORKS
720p59.94: WORKS

Blackmagic Intensity Pro #2
1080i50: NO SIGNAL (also tested in Wirecast 7, BMD Media Express, Xsplit, OBS)
720p59.94: NO SIGNAL (also tested in Wirecast 7, BMD Media Express, Xsplit, OBS)
Weird as this card worked with 1080i50 yesterday

Blackmagic Intensity Pro #3 (old card, capacitor has fallen off)
1080i50: NO SIGNAL (also tested in Wirecast 7, BMD Media Express, Xsplit, OBS)
720p59.94: WORKS (WTF)

Avermedia #1
1080i50: NO SIGNAL (also tested in reccentral, OBS, Wirecast 7, Xsplit)
720p59.94: WORKS

Avermedia #2
1080i50: NO SIGNAL (also tested in reccentral)
720p59.94: WORKS

I don't really understand why a card will work with one signal and not with the other. Do I really need to replace them to get them to work with all signals again?

That could explain some weird render time spikes, but that doesn't explain the problems with the cards being in there alone?
I could try and take out the GPU and purely use the on board graphics. But should that make a difference?

I have been thinking about using a capture card with multiple inputs in one. The problem with the Blackmagic one is that literally none of my inputs use SDI so that would be a big expense for converters. I have in stead been looking a little at the Yuan cards, but I haven't been able to find a place that sells them in Denmark or nearby.

We use it for lots of stuff. Anything from "daily news" greenscreen videos, simple gameplay streams to bigger and more ambitious streams. Our main page is Pixel.tv. Where do you do stuff? We don't do as much e-sports as I'd like but I've done some production and commentating at Copenhagen Games.

I had all 5 cards working. What's bothering me is how they just randomly die. Is there anything I can do or will I have to RMA the cards?


I have been looking at that card, but I'm afraid it will just die as well. It seems better to replace one card with 1 input rather than with 4 because of the cost.

I'll absolutely do that. :)



But if the GPU uses x8 then the total should be 16? All cards except the 4k card are x1, so x1+x1+x1+x1+x4+x8=x16?



I have a 750W in a different machine. If I can't get it to work otherwise I'll have to try it out.

The mainboard you have now will operate at 8x4x4 when you populate the slots that connect directly to the processor. The x1 slots connect to the chipset and there should be enough DMI bandwidth to drive them all at the same time. There is nothing in the manual about limitations and when you look at the block-diagram of the chipset there are no other causes for problems.

Your i7-4790K is a socket 1150 chip and will not fit into a X99 mainboard, as that is a socket 2011-v3 mainboard, which supports more pci express lanes directly to the processor and is a totally different socket.

So I understand you feel you are stuck here. Did you already try to install desktop video 10.6.5 and add the cards one by one? Maybe some of them did not update their firmware, and is that causing the problem.

In my opinion when you buy new hardware, the best option is to get a good X99 mainboard, with a socket 2011-v3 cpu with as much cores you can afford that runs turbo speed around 3GHz.
Then get yourself a quad or eight input card that you install into a slot that connects directly to the processor. So you have a graphics card running at x16 and the capture card at x8. No worries about the capture card dying, I have decklink cards here that are 10 years old that still work. (not on current os though)
A nice cpu cooler, nvidia GTX1070, 16GB minimum memory, a M.2 NVME drive to put the system on and a 2TB SSD for recording would finish it if you already have the case and PSU.