Roxio Game Capture HD Pro Review

I don’t always write hardware reviews. But when I do, I make it informative with jokes along the way. Heath Hindman UghRochester is the Most Interesting Gamer in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Hello, everyone! A Week ago, Game Revolution’s DanielBischoff wrote a review for his new Hauppauge HD PVR 2. I have to admit, I was quite jealous of what he had. When I saw YouTube videos of the quality he is capable of recording, I decided I wanted to search for something similar and cheaper, because let’s face it, my Pinnacle Dazzle DVC100 was not the best quality. Luckily, I found something new…and cheaper.

What I have found was the Roxio Game Capture HD Pro. Few weeks ago, Roxio released their new HD recording device. I was lucky, because their original price was $149.99, but with promo codes, I would be able to get it cheaper, $40 cheaper that is. Anyways, I had to ask myself, “Would it be worth it purchase this?” I did some research before buying this. Not much was detailed, because it was still new and customers haven’t posted much about it. However, I saw YouTube videos of the quality compared to be the HD PVR. The HD PVR does have a better image quality, but not by that much. Both are amazing for recording HD, as it was compared and both of them has an HDMI port. So, I decided to purchase one.

Unboxing:

When it came in the mail, I quickly opened the box to see what was in there. What you’ll have in the box is the capturing device, software and a gold plated USB cord to connect to your computer. The USB cord isn’t universal and I wished it was. What I like about the device is you don’t have worry about getting extra wire splitters, because both inputs and outputs are all in one. However, it’s disappointing, because you have to get an extra component or HDMI cable. It’s like receiving a gift requiring batteries, but wasn’t with your gift. The software that came with your device is located behind a cardboard flap. You won’t be able to see it until you bend the box to make an open gap. You’ll also find a manual for the device. The manual is made me chuckle inside, because it has little information about how to set it up with the Xbox 360, but has all these pictures and directions for the PS3. That’s everything that is in the box.

Using the Device:

After installing the software to my laptop, I thought I was ready. So, I turned on my TV first and then my Xbox 360, but I didn’t receive any signal. So, I tried again and the results were the same. So, I turned them both off and connected my laptop to my capturing device and tried again. Well, I’ll be a horse’s anus. You need have your device powered by USB in order for your TV to receive signal from your video game console. This isn’t really a big problem, but it is annoying to have the device powered by USB. Once I figured that out, I was able to capture and record videos in HD. Due to the device being powered by USB, it sometimes lags during recording. However, this works greatly for recording. If you have no video editing software, the software includes editing tools.

Live Streaming:

With this device, you’re able to live stream directly to Justin/Twitch TV. Changing settings to stream a better quality sucks more than that person using a straw to get the last drop of beverage from their cup. The only thing you can do is change your output, whether you want to stream in higher or lower qualities. You can also change your bitrate. That’s the only changes you can make to stream. Once I started getting used to the device, I went to a program called “Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder (FMLE)” I use this free software to help me make changes to my encoding in order to get a better stream with my Dazzle. So, it recognized my new device as both video and audio, but it wouldn’t support its content. I found out the codec for this device has MTS2 encoding. Roxio said they used this format for better quality of video, which is cool, but all other programs for streaming will not support this device, because of its format. So, you’re left with only streaming to Justin/Twitch TV.

Overall the Roxio Game Capture HD Pro is a great device. Comparing its quality to the HD PVR 2, I’m pretty impressed. It’s also much smaller than the HD PVR 2. I’m going to give this device 3.5 out of 5. It does everything like it says, but I wanted more options with live streaming.

+ Great price

+ Records HD

+ HDMI Port

+/- USB powered

- Live Streaming Options

*Based on gamerevolution.com's grading scale.*