Capture cards are an extremely subjective topic around gamers. Everyone has their own favourite brand, preferred card and correct setup for their gaming style and set of consoles they use. Depending on issues experienced on older cards, opinions can be massively skewed and it seems that Hauppauge may have suffered in this light with users using older cards to capture newer consoles. Hopefully, this article will go to demonstrate how things have changed with the PVR HD 2 Gaming Edition Plus (Ultra Alpha HD Remix 6 X Tekken).
Despite the impressive mouthful of a model name, the device itself is incredibly simplistic. All of your cables are included in the box regardless of which console you are looking to capture from with it covering PS3/4, Xbox 360/One and Wii-U straight out of the box. Install a set of drivers, plug it all in and you're done. No fiddling about with settings to get things to work, no trying cables in every available port and combination. It just works.
“Oh, a device that works you say. What a marvel” you are all sarcastically thinking. Well, in the world of capture devices, frankly yes. This fact alone is enough to cement this capture device in a position extremely high in my estimations. With HDCP, various different video and audio sources along with a plethora of other possible issues, the fact the card manages all of these effortlessly is something just short of a minor miracle. Fortunately, this isn't all the device has to offer but it's a damned good start all things considered.
Perhaps a little background should be provided here. Collectively, the team at Senshudo TV have used more or less every brand of capture card available (barring a few of the cheap and nasty cards in the <£50 bracket). All of them have presented issues capturing one console or another in some capacity. From cards in the Elgato series suffering progressive audio lag issues over time to Avermedia cards refusing to be captured in any sensible fashion, we've pretty much seen it all. Admittedly, there have been concerns raised over the original Hauppauge PVR 1 having issues with OBS, but this is certainly been resolved with this most recent offering.
Onto some of the perks and features: you can expect the ability to receive both HDMI and composite feeds into the device with optical cable options for audio if you want to explore a full 5.1 surround recording/streaming option. You are also equipped with a HDMI out allowing you to continue to play on your TV as usual while capturing the gameplay through your PC/Mac (yes, Mac support is included!). Plus, if you are a highlight capturer, you can use the button placed on top of the unit to start and stop recording on the fly without fiddling around with your mouse and windows to capture your gameplay. It's a pretty useful option to be able to grab footage in the middle of a firefight.
For those that are perhaps a little less experienced with streaming or editing videos, there is software bundled in with the capture device to get you started. This is all included as part of the Hauppauge Capture suite provided in the box on a CD or downloadable online. It makes for a very well labelled and user-friendly experience with sliders and check boxes making option selection easy for newcomers. This represents a nice simplification from the usual menus hidden with menus that is found with most devices.
Using the StreamEez tab, you can broadcast directly to your Twitch or Ustream channel with ease, albeit with a fairly basic setup. You can include a logo on all of your footage using their Personal Logo inserter, use your microphone and pop in a facecam all via the software suit provided. This is definitely an option for those inexperienced with broadcasting but may make for a nice middle ground for those used to utilising their console's in-built broadcasting option but wanting an alternate option to setting OBS/XSplit.
The Edit tab provides, again, fairly rudimentary options for those inexperienced with video editing software. Just enough to be useful to take off some rough edges but not so much that someone could be overwhelmed. Once done with editing this footage, you can upload to Youtube directly from the same application, making for a simplistic and seamless process.
Overall, Hauppauge have come to the table with something impressive. They've made a universally working capture device which is both simplistic and packing features other manufacturers can be jealous of. Hauppauge were one of the very first players out of the blocks with video game capture devices but seemed to lag behind the pack for a short period in the middle of the last gen consoles lifespan. With this release, alongside the HD PVR Rocket model (which we will review next week), they seem to have regained their position at the front of the pack.
The pricepoint for this device sites around the £130 mark, which is pretty much in-line with industry standard for capture cards. If you are not concerned with the ability to capture 5.1 surround sound or capturing through a Mac, most likely the base model of this card (HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition, no Plus included) would more than cover your needs at around a £20 saving in cost.
Finally, if you are an owner of the older HD PVR 1 and feel it's time for a trade-up, Hauppauge run a surprisingly generous trade-in scheme allowing you to trade in your old device to pick up a card from their newest range for around $75. That's approximately £50 for a capture device at the cost of giving up a device that may well have been left at the wayside when you picked up your next gen console. This really makes a trade-up to a PVR 2 model a no-brainer for existing Hauppauge users.
The final word on this really boils down to this. After having tested the device on every console we own, we couldn't fault it. It does everything you need plus probably a few others you didn't realise you'd like to have, and it does it without complaint or hassle. Out of the devices available at time of writing, this is the one that gets our vote.