Latest News
The barbarian from Killer Instinct 2, Tusk will make his return to the franchise in Killer Instinct Season 3.
... [read more]
The latest Nintendo Direct had info about some up Nintendo's upcoming games, but let's face it, the start of the show was Star Fox Zero.
... [read more]
On Feb. 26, Capcom's Neidel "Haunts" Crisan revealed that rage quitter's were going to get punished, but he didn't give specifics. In his latest blog, he revealed the fate of those who can't take the loss.
... [read more]
Latest Articles
Compared to last year, PAX South 2016 was lacking major developers. This would explain why I was excited to see Capcom in attendance. I don’t play Resident Evil games, but something about the previews I had seen compelled me to stand in line to play Umbrella Corps.... [read more]
Whether it’s trash talking or teabagging, some people are looking for a nicer online experience. Guess what? We’re not in elementary school anymore. This is digital dodgeball and players like me are aiming for your head.
... [read more]
There's no doubt that the top two MOBA games are DotA 2 and League of Legends, and with the control layout for those games, it's unlikely we'll see those games make the jump to the consoles. However, Smite, the third-person perspective MOBA game and arguably the third most p... [read more]
Latest Reviews
Firewatch is the first game developed by San Francisco-based company, Campo Santo. Needless to say, for this to be their first game it was certainly on fire. ... [read more]
I saw the trailer for Pony Island and thought to myself “Well, this looks like a fun puzzle game at least and it’s a pretty funny title”. I gave it a shot and I wasn’t disappointed.... [read more]
Toby Fox first made himself known to the public with his ROM hack, “Press the B Button, Stupid!” for an Earthbound Halloween Pack back in 2008. With the help of artist Temmie Chang, he created a game that will take you back in time with its 8-bit look, music and turn-bas... [read more]
Latest Videos
If you never thought you wanted a poker RPG, then you haven't played Lords of New York from Lunchtime Studios.
... [read more]
Moving Hazard is a new take on the zombie action game. The multiplayer shooter makes the zombies the weapon to take out the other team.
... [read more]
Dire Wolf Digital is jumping into the card game genre with Eternal. Unlike other card games, Eternal lets players make decisions both on offense and defense.
... [read more]
A new kind of star is coming up in the internet world. No, it’s not the game reviewers or the Let’s Play people; those guys have had their time in the spotlight. Instead, it’s the awesome player that uploads videos of them kicking ass in a game like Black Ops or Halo Reach as part of the YouTube channel, namely those people on the Respawn Army Channel. Trying to start the process of being a YouTube sensation with your mad skillz used to require you to purchase equipment for your PC to do the recording. With the AverMedia Game Capture HD, you can now do all the recording without the use of a PC.
RECORD TILL YOUR HEART'S CONTENT
As Simple As It Gets - Having used other capture devices, the AverMedia Game Capture HD is the easiest of the bunch. It works more like a DVR than a regular capture device since it doesn’t connect to a PC. All you have to do is connect it to your console, go through a quick setup process via the on-screen menu, and hit record whenever you’re ready. Once done, take the hard drive out (I would highly recommend using an external drive), connect it to your PC then drag over the files. There’s no worry about issues like software compatibility, if you have enough RAM, or anything else that would commonly cause you a headache if you have a dated computer . All the work is handled by the device making it less of a fuss to deal with.
Instant Replay! - Ever play a match in Call of Duty or Super Street Fighter 4 AE that was so amazing you wish you could watch it again right away? Now you can, with the AverMedia Game Capture HD. After you stop your recording, you can immediately playback what you recorded. This is an ideal feature for players wanting to improve their game by watching recordings of their games right after you played it.
Not a Hint of Lag - Capture devices that require you to pass-thru them tend to have noticeable input lag. This means when you press a button on the controller it takes an extra fraction of a second for the action to happen on your TV. It doesn’t sound like much, but it makes some games, particularly fighting games, unplayable. I can say that the AverMedia Game Capture HD has hardly any lag. When playing Street Fighter, I can pull off the same combos connected to it that I could without using it.
Bring Your Own Memory - Since the AverMedia Game Capture HD doesn’t connect to your computer, all the recordings are done to a hard drive. You can use an internal 2.5 hard drive or an external USB drive with the external being ideal since you can quickly disconnect the drive from the box to PC without having to open up the box. The problem is that you have to supply the hard drive. That means there is at least an extra $50 to add to the cost of this device unless you already have a spare hard drive. I wouldn’t mind except that devices that do the same functions, for the same price, don’t usually need an additional hard drive. If the price was slightly lower, say $130, I would say that the price is perfect for what you get, but at $150 without a hard drive, it’s a little on the pricey side for what you get.
No Streaming - The AverMedia Game Capture HD is strictly a recording device. You can use it to record your “Let’s Play” videos and gameplay footage, but forget about streaming. Being that it doesn’t connect to your PC at all, that makes streaming pretty much impossible. I’m bringing it up simply because other devices in the same price range can be used for streaming which can come into play for some when deciding on a capture device.
Don't Forget to Convert - All recordings use an uncompressed AVI format meaning that every hour of gameplay uses about 7GB of space on the optimal settings. I noticed that when I tried to edit the footage, I was having a little trouble with it. Similar to the Roxio Game Capture, the footage after editing was off with the audio wether speeding up or becoming out of sync. It took me some time to realize that I needed to convert the AVI file to another format. Once that was done, all editing issues were gone. I contacted AverMedia about this and was advised that a AVI to MP4 tool was in the works, but for now, they suggested I use a MPEG encoder such as the ImTOO MPEG Encoder.
Being someone that’s been recording and streaming gameplay for a couple of years now, the AverMedia Game Capture HD is a real wonder. There’s no worrying about the specs of your PC, software that hardly works, or having you PC be completely bogged down while recording. Instead, it’s just a matter of plugging it in and start recording. At a slightly lower price to offset the price of supplying your own hard drive, this device would be phenomenal. However, for the gamer that wants to record gameplay with as little fuss as possible, the AverMedia Game Capture HD is the ideal device for the job.
Here's a sample of recording quality:
What's your most anticipated game for March?
