How to Choose the Best Capture Card for Your Mac

Macs, especially those with Apple silicon chips, occasionally have compatibility issues with USB devices and other peripherals. The same applies when using a capture card with a Mac.

Whether you want a capture card for streaming, using your external camera as a webcam, or something else, you need to make some additional considerations to choose the best capture card for a Mac. These considerations relate to both the technical requirements and what you want to capture.

connectivity? You need USB and UVC

Before we begin, make sure you understand the basics of what a capture card is and how it works before we dive into the most pressing considerations for Mac users choosing a card.

An important rule of thumb when looking for peripherals for Macs is to use what generally already works on all major platforms, and this is especially true when it comes to capture cards.

First off, even if you have an Intel Mac Pro with PCIe slots, only external USB capture cards are compatible with Mac, and barring a few exceptions, those capture cards must also follow the UVC (USB Video Class) protocol.

Almost all computers, whether Windows, Mac or Linux, have broad driver support for UVC devices right from the start. If your capture card follows UVC, no driver installation is required.

Depending on your model, software and firmware updates may be required, but a UVC capture card works right out of the box. Almost all newer USB capture cards from major vendors like Elgato, AVerMedia, and EVGA are UVC (or have specific support for Apple silicon). ), so chances are your favorite USB capture card is fine.

The only exception that we are aware of is for later Intel Macs with Thunderbolt 3 support. The AVerMedia Live Gamer Bolt, a Thunderbolt 3 capture card, has drivers for Intel Macs, but it’s still missing drivers that support Apple silicon, meaning it’s completely incompatible if you’re using an M1 or M2 -Mac have. Therefore, Apple silicon requires external USB UVC capture cards.

A crash course on HDMI passthrough

In most cases, in addition to recording your camera as a webcam, you will need a capture card with passthrough capabilities. In this case, your console’s HDMI signal is fed into the capture card’s input, and the capture card captures it to output via USB to your computer and HDMI out to your monitor or TV.

To put it simply, passthrough signals emanate from your console and become what you see on your monitor or television, while the card captures that video and sends it to your computer. Note that the capture resolution never exceeds the passthrough resolution. Most USB capture cards (the ones you use on the Mac) will pass through higher resolutions or frame rates than they capture because USB bandwidth is generally lower than HDMI.

This is important for streaming games on Mac. For example, if you have an Elgato HD60 X, it will pass up to 4K60 but capture up to 4K30 or downscale the video signal to 1080p60. In this example, you can play at 4K60 and watch your live stream in 1080p60, which is the maximum resolution Twitch supports anyway.

Since passthrough is the limiting factor in a capture card, make sure the specs meet your needs. For example, a Nintendo Switch only needs a 1080p60 maximum capture card for passthrough and capture, but you need 4K60 passthrough to play in full quality on your high-spec gaming PC, PS5, or even Xbox Series X if you only 1080p60 recording.

Find out what resolution you’re capturing, then find cards that at least support it for passthrough. It’s also worth noting that passthrough is lag-free on all current capture cards from Elgato, AVerMedia, and other major vendors. This means the capture card doesn’t add any delay to what you see on your monitor or TV, which is vital for competitive gaming.

Consider reputable companies that specialize in capturing

Understanding UVC compatibility and HDMI passthrough is paramount when choosing a capture card, but there are other factors to consider. Numerous reputable brands make solid capture cards, like EVGA’s XR1 series, but capture cards aren’t many brands’ specialty, meaning quality or ongoing support won’t be their priority.

On the other hand, Elgato and AVerMedia generally have more robust software, ecosystems, and support options than other brands due to their specialization in capture cards and other developer peripherals. In addition, a capture card may receive firmware updates from AVerMedia or Elgato to add or improve features, capture resolutions, or more. Companies that specialize in capture cards are much more likely to make such improvements than less focused or serious ones.

You can find many inexpensive capture cards on Amazon that might work for you, but they lack the level of support and quality control that more reputable vendors have. Seriousness aside, your capture card also needs to be able to connect to your Mac in the first place.

Consider swapping the USB cable (or getting a hub)

Most capture cards come with USB-A to USB-C cables or USB-A to Micro-USB cables, but modern MacBooks only have USB-C ports. Unless you’re using an iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Studio with USB-A ports, you’ll need either a USB hub with sufficient bandwidth (especially for USB 3.0 cards) or a USB-C cable of equal or better bandwidth.

This bandwidth is particularly important depending on the resolution you choose to capture.

Consider your focus: streaming or recording?

If you play at high resolutions like 1440p or 4K, you may have different requirements depending on how you intend to use the card. For streaming, getting the right resolution for passthrough is essential, but for Twitch, the best you need is a 1080p60 recording. Additionally, if you’re streaming on your Mac, consider other relevant peripherals like the Stream Deck and unique ways they can even be used for productivity on macOS.

If you focus on high-resolution shots, you might want to focus on higher-resolution shots, such as B. Devices that support 4K30 or 1440p60. While most current high-end 4K USB capture cards can run 4K60, 1440p144, or 1080p240, their capture frame rates are limited by USB bandwidth, generally to 4K30, 1440p60, or 1080p120, respectively.

This is the main disadvantage of streaming or otherwise capturing content on a Mac compared to using a PC with a PCIe capture card. Whether it’s streaming or recording, as long as you know your passthrough and capture needs, you’re likely to find a capture card that fits your needs!

Go out and conquer

Choosing the right capture card for your Mac can seem more confusing than it needs to be. Make sure you select a UVC card with adequate passthrough and capture capabilities for your needs (ideally from a reputable company). If you’ve ticked those boxes and are buying from a reputable brand, you shouldn’t have a problem. So get out there and start taking pictures!