Re: Software for Hdmi capture?

Hi Richard,

I believe the way your question is phrased may be causing some confusion - a software app has nothing to do with HDMI capture - you need specialized hardware for that. Some people assume that if their computer graphics card has an HDMI port, that it can somehow be used for recording, but those are output only, not sure if that was your angle?

There are HDMI capture cards from Matrox, BlackMagic, AJA, MOTU, but most are PCI-e cards that do not connect to a laptop. Matrox and MOTU have the option to use an ExpressCard34 adapter, and BlackMagic has the Intensity Shuttle with USB 3.0, though that can be finicky about which USB 3.0 chipset it works well with.

But you are correct in theory - with an MXO2 Mini for instance connected to laptop, you CAN take the HDMI out from camera during a live shoot and record direct to the computer with 4:2:2 using a better quality codec than the camera has.

I have done this myself, albeit with a workstation and not a laptop. Hardly portable, but you work with what you have! I had a long weekend shooting 6 dance recital shows and figured I could save about 15 hours by not having to capture all the HDV tapes, so brought my workstation and MXO2 Mini and recorded "live" to PC, and footage was immediately ready for edit then! In fact, between shows I was putting together little highlights of the shows and putting them on the HD display out in the lobby. Didn't hurt sales!

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor