What AVerMedia’s HDMI 2.1 Capture Cards Mean for Streamers
HDMI 2.1 has become an increasingly common standard, especially since 2020 with its inclusion in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Streamers can now rejoice as the very first capture cards supporting HDMI 2.1 were announced by AVerMedia and ASUS. We’ll discuss the news and what this means for streamers moving forward.
AVerMedia Unveils HDMI 2.1 Game Capture Cards
AVerMedia, one of the longest-running capture card companies, announced the first-ever consumer HDMI 2.1 capture cards at the Computex event in Taiwan. These devices are the Live Gamer ULTRA 2.1, which uses USB 3.2 connectivity, and the Live Gamer 4K 2.1, which connects over PCIe.
These cards share the same key specs: HDMI passes through up to 4K144 with capture up to 4K60. Additionally, the Live Gamer ULTRA 2.1 is the first USB capture card to support 4K60 capture—this was a capture spec previously restricted to PCIe and Thunderbolt connectivity.
AVerMedia Wasn’t Alone
ASUS also announced an HDMI 2.1 capture card, though they are a more recent entry in the world of capture cards. This card is the TUF Gaming Capture Box-4KPro, which shares the same notable specs as the ULTRA 2.1.
Additionally, both ASUS and AVerMedia’s capture cards may receive updates and improvements to their specs via firmware updates.
Why HDMI 2.1 Matters to Streamers
Most modern gaming—the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and most modern GPUs—supports HDMI 2.1 and video specs of up to 4K144. But up until now, most capture cards did not. If you wanted to capture these devices, you only had HDMI 2.0 capture cards, which capped at 4K60 inputs.
Thus, even if you had a console like the PS5 and anHDMI 2.1 monitorthat allowed gaming at 4K144, you were required to limit everything to 4K60, 1440p144, or lower to fit into your HDMI 2.0 capture card’s pass-through specs.
Your HDMI 2.0 capture card was unable to pass through the 4K144 video signal from your console to your display, but an HDMI 2.1 capture card can.
In other words, HDMI 2.0 capture cards used to be the HDMI signal bottleneck streamers had to accommodate in their broadcast, limiting their gameplay. With HDMI 2.1 cards from AVerMedia and ASUS, there is no longer a bottleneck.
Streamers can finally play their modern consoles and PCs at full visual specs thanks to 4K144 pass-through and still go live. Remember toupgrade your HDMI cablesto ones that support HDMI 2.1 as well!
Your viewers likely won’t notice a difference, as Twitch remains limited to 1080p60 streams at a relatively low bitrate. That said, you now won’t have to make any compromises with your gameplay while streaming anymore. Enjoy the full specs of your console and monitor in your gameplay.
Progress in Tech, but Overkill for Most
HDMI 2.1 is an impressive achievement for a capture card’s specs, but it still remains overkill. HDMI 2.1 TVs and monitors are still fairly niche and expensive, so most people still cannot even make use of these new devices due to lacking a suitable display.
However, as tech constantly improves and HDMI 2.1 becomes more common, we’ll be glad to have this level of capture card around.
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