Are there capture cards with such low latency you can use them to game through a computer?

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨CorrodedCranium@leminal.space⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I have a few consoles setup on my desk and I think it would be neat to be able forgo switching inputs on my monitor.

It could be useful for setting up a picture-in-picture system and using the inputs in EmuVR to play non-Retroarch consoles like my Xbox 360 and original Xbox.

Is this feasible? I would be fine playing at lower resolutions. I have attempted it with a cheap Ali Express HDMI to USB device but the latency through a wrench into that idea. I am wondering if a more capable capture device could be the answer.

Also would my graphics card play a big factor? I have 1070ti so I feel like it should be fine.

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doczombie@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If all you’re looking to do is nicer input switching, a KVM switch would be a better solve.

Capture cards would be more useful if you wanted to record the gaming sessions. AFAIK they will always introduce latency as they are usually designed for a situation where that is fine.

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- CorrodedCranium@leminal.space ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  What I am more so after is combining inputs rather than switching them.
  
  EmuVR for example lets you add custom video files to the CRTs in your virtual bedroom and I think with some effort it would be possible to use the feed from a capture card in it. I would essentially be using the consoles’ controller and playing on real hardware but in a virtual world.
  
  It would also be nice to be able to simply add some kind of picture-in-picture mode to my monitor so I can watch Seinfeld in the corner of the screen while I play Elden Ring. So I would be fine with a device specifically for that purpose instead of a software solution.
  
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  - NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    High end capture cards might be able to get a low res stream with minimal delay, but you will still notice the delay. Let alone the software side
    
    And at that price? You are better off buying a tv that supports picture in picture. Or a tablet
    
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  - PeachMan@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    There are software solutions for this: reddit.com/…/for_pc_players_who_like_to_stream_vi…
    
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  - SolOrion@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    amazon.com/…/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_26J5X31M7PX5R1QKS… Here’s an HDMI switch with PIP. Zero clue how good of an experience that would be, but that sort of thing exists.
    
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TechAdmin@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I have never seen a capture device with USB interface have any kind of usable latency, you’ll want one with PCI Express interface.

Elgato makes a capture card with PCI Express interface, I had a friend who used one to play all of his consoles on big virtual screen in VR. I tried out Mario Kart 8 for the Switch and it played great.

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- CorrodedCranium@leminal.space ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Really? No major hiccups?
  
  Someone else suggested the same thing and it sounds like it might be what I am looking for. I was only using my USB device because it’s what I had on-hand. A PCI-E device would be fine
  
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Karlos_Cantana@sopuli.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I hate to be the negative person, but I think you would be adding so much complications that it would necessarily cause delay at the very least. I’d be fascinated to see if you could prove me wrong, though.

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- CorrodedCranium@leminal.space ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  No worries. I was wondering if anyone else has done it already so I wouldn’t need to do some potentially expensive experimenting. I feel like I’ve seen devices specifically for splitting and sharing inputs somewhere before.
  
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Rexios@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
It’s not cheap but I did this just fine with the Elgato 4K

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- CorrodedCranium@leminal.space ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  The latency isn’t too bad? At $200 that doesn’t seem too bad compared to some alternatives I’ve seen suggested
  
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  - Rexios@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I used the PCIE card. The latency is imperceptible. It’s meant to be in between your GPU and monitor for streaming from a second PC.
    
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- linearchaos@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Yep, that’s what we use at work.
  
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TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I feel like it’d have to be pretty expensive and you may as well just… buy a 2nd monitor?

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Num10ck@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
search for a video mixer.

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0x4E4F@infosec.pub ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If a DeckLink or an Aja card doesn’t cut it, nothing will.

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Decipher0771@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Sunshine and Moonlight are what you want instead.

github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine

github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-qt

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- vithigar@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  How does that help him play his 360 without swapping inputs around?
  
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  - Decipher0771@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Sorry thought he wanted to play emulators from his 1070 rig.
    
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