When streaming took the gaming industry by storm, it was dominated primarily by PC gamers. This isn’t because it was the more popular platform, but due mostly to technical limitations.
On a PC, it’s trivial to set up screen capture software to record your session. Video is typically high quality, enjoyable, and doesn’t add any lag.
If you want to stream directly from your console, there are a few more challenges to face. Yes, there are plenty of capture cards on the market. The problem is that many of them add a delay. If you’re good enough that people want to watch you play, unnecessary lag is a huge issue.
The Live Gamer HD2 is a capture card with a unique twist. The output is completely passive. The video travels back out to your TV or monitor in real time, ensuring that there is zero lag. The first version of this card was popular among streamers, and well received. With the latest version, they’ve added a few features that might come in handy for streamers. Is it worth the money? We went hands-on to find out what this card can really do.
Overview
TheLive Gamer HD2.是一个PCIe卡，可以安装到计算机中的任何1x插槽中。虽然董事会相当紧凑，但它采用漂亮时尚的铝箱，将在您的高端桌面中看起来对。它支持每秒60帧的1080p视频，这对于甚至高质量的流是足够的。视频是通过自己的专有软件捕获的，专为垃圾媒体设计。
Setup Procedure
One of the first things you notice about AVerMedia is the amount of care they take to create a positive unboxing experience. Between the stylish design, the high-quality box, and the unique way that it opens, you definitely feel as if you’ve bought something luxurious.
里面，你会发现三件事。卡本身首先出现，然后是HDMI电缆和快速入门指南。首先要做的是关闭计算机，并在可用的PCIe插槽中安装卡。通常有大量的1x插槽可用，但如果您需要此卡实际上与任何PCIe插槽实际上兼容。甚至x4或x16也将起作用。
启动计算机，我们很高兴地了解此卡是完全即插即用的兼容。这是Windows 7的一个例外7.幸运的是，下一步是安装垂度，Avermedia的自定义录音室。如有必要，此应用程序会自动为Windows 7安装驱动程序。
Finally, the last step is to connect your console. The output from your system goes into the leftmost port on the card, while the rightmost port connects to your TV.
视频Quality
一旦我们跑了我们的卡，我们检查过的第一件事就是视频源。令人印象深刻，输出看起来就像电视上那样好。从前代的主要升级是能够以每秒60帧录制视频。这使得更平滑的输出，并允许您使用最高的流质量。
卡的另一个优势是支持奥特曼atic scaling. Many consoles have to revert to 720p during graphically intense gaming sessions, so having this automatically scaled up will keep your stream clear and consistent. By correcting these two issues, this card gives you the ability to create near-perfect representations of your actual game. This is a huge improvement over the older analog cards, and we’re glad to see this technology come to fruition.
据说，几乎无损的视频需要一些非常漂亮的压缩，这是一块全新的障碍。
压缩
高质量视频的一个缺点是文件大小。如果您尝试上传对Internet未压缩，则您的连接将快速开始滞后。通常，您希望将视频压缩成一种良好和轻量级的格式。这不仅会使您的互联网连接是否有效，但任何观看您的流的人都会非常感激。
Live Gamer HD 2有两种形式的压缩：硬件和软件。硬件压缩使用MJPEG。虽然这不是一种常见格式，但它是高质量，非常容易使用CPU。这意味着当您的台式电脑在软件压缩时嘎吱声时，您将获得比使用未压缩流工作的更好的性能。
There is one unique alternative to software compression. If you have an Nvidia graphics card, you can actually offload all of the compression there. This means that while your GPU handles all the hard work, you’re using zero CPU. If you have this option, it means that you can disable MJPEG and convert directly from the uncompressed stream.
在流媒体软件,您将哈ve the ability to change more advanced compression settings. H.264 is the compression that is set by default, and this is what most streamers will want to use. You’re given an incredible amount of control over these options. Beginners can simply select low, medium, or high quality from the drop-down menu. Others will want to play around with the specifics.
The most important setting is bitrate. You can choose anything from 1Mbps up to 100 Mbps. Our recommendation would be to choose 60 Mbps if you have a fast-enough internet connection, with 10 Mbps being the lowest acceptable setting.
You can also choose resolution, refresh rate (FPS), Audio bitrate, and keyframe frequency. For most users, we’d recommend leaving these on default settings.
软件
In our eyes, Recentral is one of the biggest advantages to this platform. Recentral 3, the latest edition, provides several key updates over the previous. This is evident from the moment you open it up. In the center of the screen, you’ve got a real-time video feed. This is a great way to see how your current settings work.
您可以使用亮度，对比度，色调和饱和选项调整您的照片。您可以调整游戏的音量，如果您愿意，可以使用麦克风混合音频。一旦你喜欢它看起来，有两个选择。您可以直接录制到硬盘驱动器，或者您可以单击“社交网络帐户”选项。这允许您直接链接到所选的流服务，从软件本身控制您的流。
There are some scene settings available, which allow you to use certain visual effects or overlay a logo. We’re happy to see this come to the platform, however it still isn’t quite as advanced as other options.
如果您附加到第三方流媒体软件，Live Gamer HD2确实具有充当标准流卡的能力。您应该看到两次可用源列表中的界面。以“Streamengine”为前缀的是未压缩的馈送，而自称选项可以让您访问MJPEG Feed。
缺点
The one tradeoff for 60 FPS is demand. This card requires a pretty powerful PC to run. Officially, you need at least an I5-3330 or higher and 4GB of ram. We would highly recommend a minimum of a 3rd generation i7 and up, or a 4th generation i5 and up. Lower CPUs will still get you buy on lower quality settings, but that defeats the purpose of this card.
Final Verdict
主要优势Avermedia Live Gamer HD2is the ability to record in 60 FPS. If you’re trying to make a name for yourself in the world of streaming, this can be a huge asset. Viewers with the latest monitors are going to want to enjoy high quality streams that help them get into the game, and this is currently one of the best options on the market.
Even if you’re new, the easy to use software comes bundled can be learned in a few hours. As far as the essentials are concerned, this is a package deal that gives you everything you need to get started.
如果您真的想将自己与其他拖车分开，我们建议添加到任何设置。Elgato Stream Deck是一个按钮界面，允许您触发您已设置的任何命令或脚本。从过滤器到视频效果，这是一块硬件，可以与您的捕获卡结合起来，以创建您的观众将被粘合到的东西。
