ELGATO has long been at the forefront of streaming hardware since 1999 when the company was established and has been there for millions of streamers since game streaming became a thing.
Whether you need a light, greenscreen or a capture card, Elgato has a product for everyone. So what is the Elgato HD X capture card? Is it a revolution, or evolution of its game capture hardware?
When I first received the new Elgato HD X the first thing I noticed on the box was the totally new design, abandoning the dome-like design that had been the same look since the USB line of capture cards since the popular HD S line had been released and the more recently released and squared off 4K 60 S+ (that one is a mouthful) in favor of a more refined mixture of the two designs.
Opting to have all of the connections at the back of the device, apart from an analogue audio connection at the front for headsets, the new HD X has more desk appeal for you to be able to show off the capture card instead of trying to hide it behind your desktop or laptop without fear of HDMI and USB cables being an eyesore on the more traditional side in and side out connections. I feel they made the right decision in this design change as you can have the card presented on your desk and have the cables disappear behind your desk.
But who is the Elgato HD X intended for? Well with the rise of the current generation of consoles from PlayStation and Xbox the issue with the popular HD60 series of capture cards there was one main problem for streamers like myself – you could only output 1080p images and upload them to your monitors and streaming service of choice, or even just capture game content for video playback to show your friends. The HD X provides the ability to gain up to 4K and 60 frames per second to your desired TV or monitor while not compromising the image on the streamer’s end, but also keeping that streaming friendly resolution of 1080p for viewers.
It doesn’t stop there either, not only does the Elgato HD X provide 4K 60fps passthrough but it offers many more options, such as 4K 30 fps and 1440p 60 fps capture also, so if you are wanting that extra boost for capturing gameplay to upload to YouTube, Elgato has you covered. Along with more options for passthrough such as 1440p 120 or 1080p 120, there are many options for the budding streamers out there to play there current generation of consoles without missing out on the intended image clarity they have to offer. On top of that it even offers VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and HDR10 (High Dynamic Range) for not only passthrough, but capture also.
I have been using the HD60S for a few years now and cannot describe my happiness when plugging in my Xbox Series S to this new capture card and having the simple pop up ask me, ‘There is a new resolution found for your screen, would you like to change?’ I’ve always said that I feel the Series S is the perfect companion for streamers out there and feel this was a miss step by the marketing team to promote the console as a perfect streaming companion. Well I guess now with the new Elgato HD X, I can change my tone on that comment as the new capture card now makes all new consoles from PlayStation and Xbox the perfect streaming companion. No longer do I have to compromise image quality on my end.
From the new design to the options of passthrough for your console of choice I feel the Elgato HD X should be the new standard for streamers and game capture enthusiasts out there. So is it an evolution or revolution? This is Elgato keeping with the times of gaming technology and evolving its product to suit the current gen of consoles at the cost of less then $50 more than the HD S+ line of capture cards, with an RRP of AUD$296 this is a great upgrade.
