Any standout or "gold standard" extractors and capture cards I should consider? All recommendations and reviews welcome. Thanks!
Thanks for the info Assault. That is an eager and curious forge cam on your site. Still looking for capture card suggestions. I have a large amount of material I want to release, but I want to make sure this gets done right. I might head over to TCOJ for some testing. I'm, of course, open to having a friendly neighbor help me capture some video, but I don't want it to be an imposition. Maybe I'll throw out some screens and map previews to see if anyone's interested first.
If you want to make a video, you should try and get the attention of the big guys. I wouldn't bother buying a HD capture card if you want to do a couple of map trailers, and cheaper alternatives are good if you want to experiment, but if you want to properly advertise screenies would be better than a basic SD trailer. However, for a capture card if you want to spend the money, a HD PVR would be great. There is basically no difference between 1 and 2, and PVR1 and PVR1 gaming edition are the exact same thing, just with different colour lights.
Thanks! Newegg is having a sale for the Diamond GC1000 ($50 off list price), but I've read a lot of not-so-great reviews. The HD PVR looks like a quality investment like you suggested, but I also like the outstanding reviews for the Elgato GCHD. These two are about the same price. A Black Magic Intensity Shuttle goes for around $200 to $250 (USB 3.0 vs. Thunderbolt), and the Intensity Extreme is compatible with most video editors, which would be great, but again, the price is high (around $300). Still thinking. One thing's for sure. I need a decent flash drive stat.
Elgato is the EXACT same as a £30 ezcap. Don't buy it. It claims to be HD but it just upscales. Buy under no circumstances! BMIntensitys are the same as the PVR for all intents and purposes, just a little bit more saturated. Go with whatever is cheapest out of PVR or BMI. NEVER Elgato. Or just £20 on an Ezcap DC60+
Cheeze recorded gameplay for me with his Elgato and I wouldn't say it is the same quality as a £30 ezcap. It looks pretty darn good. Halo 4- Forgehub 2v2 Dust-up Forge map: Citrus - El Trocity - YouTube
Go with the Hauppauge HD PVR. Even the entry level version (1212) is pretty cheap. I got mine for $50 through Craigslist used. It outputs in 720p and utilizes a passthrough system, meaning that there's no card to install on your PC, and no unhooking your 360 from your tv and then into your capture card when you want to record.
Thanks guys, this is all really good information. If anyone's interested in any Black Magic, know that the Intensity Shuttle is not backwards compatible. USB 3.0 and up, so says the guy from Black Magic. Signs point to the HD PVR for USB 2.0 compatibility, but Elliot's post makes me wonder about the Elgato still.
yea elliot's citris video looks pretty good. not quite full HD, but good. The issue with SD vs HD in game videos is that it needs to be crisp enough to make out details. While watching that video I was lost in the gameplay and didn't think about the quality hardly at all, so that means it's pretty decent in my book. also shopping around for a device that is better than the EzCap because that is pure **** for good gaming vids. I also host racing events in Gran Turismo so names of drivers and ther details need to be legible on the screen. Need HD for that.