Need help with what capture devices to buy (video included.)

[MJN SEIFER]

I plan on doing (among other things) animation reviews on my YouTube channel, but in order to be the channel I want to be, I need to be able to play clips of what I'm reviewing in the Review (I will keep things within legal/fear use boundaries, and only show what is needed), so I need a capture device, but it's hard to know which device I need, so I have uploaded a video for you to see, which shows the kind of television I use, among other possibly important things.

I also plan on doing gaming videos, but I don't know if I can get away with putting my capture device in my TV for this as well, or if I need to attach it to my console.

Please answer as soon as possible, as the sooner I can do this, the sooner I can become the YouTuber I want to be, but if anything isn't clear about my question, please say, and I will try to explain further.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYXMEn1B-kM

[Skyblade]

What I use:
https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60-pro

This one is an integrated card that fits into a PCIe slot on your motherboard.

If you don't feel like adding a card, they do sell an external model that attaches to your computer via USB:
https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60

For capture cards, the basic way they function is as a splitter. Essentially, instead of plugging a console or DVD player or whatever into your TV, you plug it into the capture card. Then the capture card plugs into both your computer, and your TV. The TV thus gets the same image it always would (unless your PC is turned off, as that kills power to the capture card, so it can't send the image on), and the computer gets a copy of it as well. Depending on the card in question, the image sent to your PC is either directly recorded to a recognizable file format, like an MP4, or the capture card will come with recording/streaming/editing software to do a bit more with it (Elgato's products offer their own software).

So, your TV doesn't need a separate connection to handle it. Instead, you'd remove whatever system you currently want to record, plug it into your capture card, and the capture card has another plug that you'd then use to replace the original plug you removed.

The Elgato cards I linked you to accept HDMI cables, which are by far the most common form of AV transmission for monitors and TVs right now. If you want to record an older console, with RCA cables or such, it would be easier to get an adapter than to find a capture card that supports them.

I hope this helps.

[MJN SEIFER]

Thanks for your help, I'm currently researching the product (sorry for the delay). From the look at what you said, it can record DVDs as well as games, but would I be able to record off the actual TV too? I don't own all of the things I would review on DVD or even video, so I have to rely on my TiVo recordings for that one - would there be something I could plug into for it to record the TV itself (sorry if you said this already, I just want to make sure)?

[Skyblade]

Here, I made up a couple crude images which might help.
No Capture Card.png
This is what the average home entertainment setup looks like. Multiple video sources feeding in to a television, usually with the PC as a separate unit.
With Capture Card.png
This is what it looks like with a capture card in the mix. You can add the capture card in to any of the systems that feed the television, but only one at a time. So if you want to record from your gaming console, you'd have to plug the capture card into the gaming console, instead of the cable box. Then just switch it again whenever you're ready to record from a new source.

Now, if your television generates an image on its own, if you have a Smart TV connected to the internet that handles your Netflix or whatever, you might NOT be able to record from that. That would depend entirely on if your TV has a video out capability, and I'd need to know what sort of TV you have to tell you that.

[MJN SEIFER]

Thanks for the diagrams.

So based on them, I should be able to record off my TiVo, as cable boxes are included in your diagrams? That is ultimately what I mean by "recording from the television", rather from the actual TV itself.

So I could basically connect the TiVo box, and then capture something I recorded from that. Is that right, or do you still need to know what kind of TV I have?

I'm sure I'm stating the obvious, but these are not Netflix or anything, they are episodes/movies that have aired on TV and I have recorded them (or by TiVo has recorded them for me, more accurately.)

[Skyblade]

Thanks for the diagrams.

So based on them, I should be able to record off my TiVo, as cable boxes are included in your diagrams? That is ultimately what I mean by "recording from the television", rather from the actual TV itself.

So I could basically connect the TiVo box, and then capture something I recorded from that. Is that right, or do you still need to know what kind of TV I have?

I'm sure I'm stating the obvious, but these are not Netflix or anything, they are episodes/movies that have aired on TV and I have recorded them (or by TiVo has recorded them for me, more accurately.)

Yep, you can record from the TiVo box fine.

[MJN SEIFER]

Thanks for the diagrams.

So based on them, I should be able to record off my TiVo, as cable boxes are included in your diagrams? That is ultimately what I mean by "recording from the television", rather from the actual TV itself.

So I could basically connect the TiVo box, and then capture something I recorded from that. Is that right, or do you still need to know what kind of TV I have?

I'm sure I'm stating the obvious, but these are not Netflix or anything, they are episodes/movies that have aired on TV and I have recorded them (or by TiVo has recorded them for me, more accurately.)

Yep, you can record from the TiVo box fine.

Awesome, thank you. I'll try to get one ordered soon, unless I find more things to ask. I deeply appreciate all the help.