In January of 2015 we got our hands on two other Hauppauge products the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus and the HD PVR Rocket. But searching for a good quality capture device to record all your gaming content can be a challenge, there’s a lot of capture devices out on the market and you don’t always get chance to try them. So reviews from content creators such as broadcasters on services like Twitch, Hitbox or YouTube are often the best way to finding out how good a product really is.
Like all Hauppauge Capture products, it’s best to keep in mind that there is a two second delay between the capture software and the device. And zero delay on the HDMI pass-through. This is to help ensure high quality and smooth frame capture is processed as it’s captured.
Priced at £119.99 / €179.99 / $159, what makes the HD PVR 60 different to its predecessors?
Like its predecessors, the HD PVR 60 also comes with a 2 meter HDMI cable and a 4 foot USB cable to help get you started, and you still don't need to download any drivers it’s as simple as plug and play. The benefit of the HD PVR 60 is there’s now less cable clutter, drawing power directly from your machine via the USB cable, getting rid of the extra plug. And while the products design hasn’t changed, the hardware now allows for a smooth 60 frames per seconds capture.
The system requirements for using a HD PVR 60 are as follows:
- Processor: 3.0GHz single-core or 2.0GHz multi-core or faster (Intel i5 / Intel i7 recommended when using Facecam with Hauppauge Capture)
- Windows Vista / 7 / 8.1 / 10
- Graphics Card with at least 258MB of memory
The HD PVR 60 is aimed at content creators looking to create content with the current generation of consoles, Xbox One & PlayStation 4. However, it still supports the capture of Xbox 360, Wii U and PC. So how well does it capture? Below is the very first video we captured using XSplit’s local recording feature at 1080p 60 FPS (Frames Per Second).
One of the added bonuses is if you’ve not tried XSplit yet the HD PVR 60 includes a 6 Month Premium code to get you started.
But by this point you’re most likely asking why didn’t we use the Hauppauge Capture Software that’s comes highly recommended with the device?
Unfortunately, we ran into issues getting it to run on our machines, at the time of publishing this review the current release is version 33352, a common struggle of locating the correct version of the Hauppauge Software over their span of multiple website is also a worrying sign. A sign of aging software that needs to be rebuilt, unified as a platform of services and modernized from its early 2000 UI Design. The drawback, of course, is that the HD PVR 60 is currently only supported in XSplit and the Hauppauge Capture software (which would not open for us on multiple systems at time of review).
While it maybe $10 cheaper than the PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus, we feel that Hauppauge could have made a bigger improvement to the device by offering both an external and internal card, but also offering an option to drop the two second delay. Broadcasting and recording content are different styles with different needs. The delay can really throw a spanner in the works for someone new to it. A lot of high quality capture cards now allow capture of 1080p and 60 FPS or higher and offer no delay. We also feel that the design of the product could have been made a little more unique to this product rather than a rehash of the existing shell, giving it a newer lease of life.
Is it worth the buy? We'd probably say no. When there are other devices able to offer similar features for a little less and with less hitches (awkward capture software with issues, a fixed delay for streaming), it makes this updated hardware a little tough to take. However, if you're on one of the older Hauppauge cards and are looking for an upgrade while staying loyal to the brand, this is the better bet over the PVR 2 Gaming Edition +.