Retro game captures made... Easy? | The Near Perfect Capture Card - Startech USB3HDCAP Review

For a long time I've been looking for a good, modern solution for capturing older game consoles with low latency and uncompressed video feeds. At last I have found it - but is it worth it? Find out in my StarTech USB3HDCAP Review, right here!
This capture card has some quirks, but it's a great option for retro game capturing - Nintendo 64, SNES, Gamecube, PS1, PS2, etc.

It's worth noting that I have a BIG stack of like 20 analog capture cards I'm working through. I wanted to get a solo review of this one out, but I will be doing a big video comparing them all soon.

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[EposVox]

It's worth noting that I have a BIG stack of like 20 analog capture cards I'm working through. I wanted to get a solo review of this one out, but I will be doing a big video comparing them all soon.

[metaldragongaming]

I own every retro game console from the 80s needed something like this thank you!

[renegonzalez]

Thank you so much for helping me find a perfect capture device for my vintage video machines hobby. I use a $59 ebay purchased Panasonic DMR-ES15 "quasi" time base corrector and $700 ebay purchased AJA FS1 time base corrector/Frame synch setup that has allowed me to correct vintage video recordings from the early 90's, 80's and 70's.

My setup is able to upconvert vintage analog video tape recordings (1975 Quasar VX, 1976 Sanyo V-Cord II and 1980 CVC Microvideo) to composite 720p. The 720p component video looks amazing considering the 40+ year old analog magnetic video tape sources.

The reason for such a strange upconversion with multiple devices is mainly due to the nature of analog video tape. Jitter, timing issues, droped frames and screen tearing need to be repaired in real time before being digitally captured. Many frames are discarded, de-noised, un-teared, repaired and reconstructed in real time which is no small feat.

There is a 1.5 second latency in my setup (yes, 1.5 second) which shows how much work is needed to repair such vintage recordings. Luckily both of my correctors process audio which keeps the audio in synch.

The weakest link in my settup is my collection of three USB 2.0 capture devices (Diamond One Touch USB 2.0, Elgato USB 2.0 and V-Top AVC03M USB 2.0.) These budget low end capture devices are dropping frames and having audio synch problems. The other drawback is that they only allow composite and S-video inputs. I want to capture a component video signal as a bare minimum with an HDMI option (with a digital SDI to HDMI adapter.)

I like seing that there is an HDMI input on this Startech video capture device. My AJA FS1 is able to upconvert to digital SDI. I might consider purchasing a SDI to HDMI adapter for the best analog to digital transfer.

I have seen what upconverting a 29.97fps video to 60fps can do and it is amazing. I know it is difficult to capture a 60fps HDMI video signal. Internal/external PCI Express or Thunderbolt 3 are required for such a task.

Thank you for making such a detailed review.

[RetroTechSelect]

Solid work here. I've been using the Elgato HD for my content over the past few years, but I've had to put quite a few workarounds in place for many of my consoles. I've seen this card recommended in a few places and I think you review might just have finally sold me on it.

[ridiculous_gaming]

I cannot see the purpose of purchasing this device for a PS4 or Xbox One/X, but for every other console that released via past console generations, this device looks very useful. Fantastic and professional video thank you.

[pseudoscience]

Good shit, bro. This was incredibly helpful. I've struggled for many years trying to get my channel running because the tech industry likes to make it hard for us nostalgic gamers. Like you said, you threw out an abundance of varying information, but I was impressed at how cohesive you were in presenting such an amount of information is a way that is easy to digest. That is not an easy feat, my friend. kudos.

[AndehX]

Nice review. This card is definitely a winner. The 1440x240p thing is a quirk in the newer drivers since Startech dropped 240p support recently. Rolling back to an earlier driver should restore proper 720x240p support for composite/s-video etc. I get the exact same issue on my PEXHDCAP with the latest drivers. I have to use a really old driver when streaming 240p content, and then switch to the latest driver when streaming HDMI content. Annoying, but not the end of the world.

[Leny]

Finally! Something I been looking for quite awhile...

[TacoBelmont]

SUPER informative, thank you so much!

[imsatoboi]

Says this content wont put me to sleep.

I fell asleep because of his sexy voice.

[geoffreydonaldson]

Thanks for the recommendation gonna buy it and try it out. I have a NES and sega genius. Will give my full review again after i get it

[bolouko]

Nes Contra streams here I come! Thanks for the vid

[samysnes]

Hey I remember having that conversation on the CRT collective haha. I was waiting for that video review and I forgot about it! Glad I got to see it. Great job man!

[mlluke]

I am using the Startech 3.0 for VHS tape capture. After much tweaking in OBS to get a true 4x3 aspect, which most all older vhs tapes are, I was unable to get a true 4x3. Using PowerDirector the 4x3 looked better & very easy to obtain. Captured Video quality was the same; But, in OBS I was never able to record audio from the card. Did all the tips I could find on you tube.Gamers seem to capture easier with OBS than what I experienced with VHS for my clients. Conclusion: Card is great depending on capture program.

[Pyroja]

I love hearing those Pylot tracks in videos =)

[kennylauderdale_en]

So...how do I feed this RGB? I have BNC out from my CRT.

[JonnySelProductions]

Hi Epos, just wanted to thank you for sharing info about that card. I never knew about it until I saw this new upload of yours. :)

[iankphone]

I know this is an old video, but I'm glad I found it. Needed uncompressed analog capture.

[chaide]

Very cool. I've got a Yuan sc512n1-l (rolls right off the tongue) PCI capture card on one of my computers, and it appears to have identical software for settings. From my understanding, they ended up being rebranded as Micomsoft cards down the line. I've been wanting another like it for a 2nd computer, so I'm definitely going to put this one on my radar considering the price. Great review!

[gardiner_bryant]

...but does it work on Linux? (You know I had to ask)