Best Video Capture Card and TV Tuner Card for PC in
TV Tuners For PC is a device that captures video played on your computer from TV, gaming consoles, movies, or any other input. A popular type of Video Capture Card is a TV Tuner Card which is generally used to view and record movies or to watch TV on a computer. A Video Card should not be confused with Video Capture Card because a Video Card or Graphics Card is used to output or play video from the computer to your monitor. In contrast, Video Capture Card records or captures video from the input source.
However, you will require a powerful processor and graphics card for the smooth functioning of the video capture card. The most common use of video capture cards is to capture video and audio for internet video streaming. It is also used to capture gameplay videos from consoles and videos from DVR. This post will provide you with the best video capture cards for professional video recording and other video-capturing work.
Best Internal Video Capture Cards & TV Tuner Cards for PC
Here are the best internal video capture cards and TV tuner cards you can use to record or capture videos in HD / 1080p on your PC. Internal Video Capture Cards or TV Tuner Cards offer better performance and features than a USB Video Capture Card.
Hauppauge Colossus 2 HD Video Capture Card
The first video capture card on our list is Hauppauge Colossus 2. Hauppauge is an American electronics company making high-quality video capture and TV tuner cards. Hauppauge Colossus 2 is an HD Internal Video Capture Card that allows you to record your TV programs from cable TV, DVR, or satellite TV box, capture videos from DVR, and record Xbox, Playstation, or PC gameplay in HD. Hauppauge Colossus 2 lets you record videos from HDMI (non-HDCP encrypted HDMI) and Component Video at 1080p resolution at 30FPS. It also includes an HDMI passthrough for watching videos at 1080p at 60 frames per second while recording simultaneously.
The audio input for this HDMI capture card includes Left/ Right RCA and Optical audio input. It also has an IR Blaster in/out port for controlling your cable or satellite set-top box from the card itself. The video capture card has built-in hardware support for H.264 Variable bit rate (VBR) and Constant bit rate (CBR) encoding, video downscaling, and a logo inserter for putting ‘bugs’ or logos on your recordings or video streams. It uses a high-quality Analog Devices front end and a Magnum studio video encoder. The Magnum encoder supports data rates from .2Mbits/second to 13.5 Mbits/sec CBR, with VBR datarates running to about 21 Mbits/sec. Below you can see the various input and output ports of this video capture card for PC.
This video capture card includes StreamEez to stream live videos on the internet. It also includes Personal Logo Inserter so you can add your logo to your video recordings and Twitch and Ustream channels. The bundled software applications with this card include Hauppauge Capture for video recording, trim, and streaming with Hauppauge’s StreamEez application and Hauppauge WinTV v8 application with support for the Hauppauge IR blaster. You may have to download the software from Hauppauge’s official website. This video recorder card works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows. Overall a tremendous feature-rich video capture card that is quite affordable, too—highly recommended by me.
| Hauppauge Colossus 2 HD Video Capture Card Specifications | |
| Video Recording support | TV Recording from cable or setup box, Gameplay from Xbox, Playstation, or PC, DVR support |
| Input Ports | HDMI in, Component Video in, Microphone, SP/DIF optical audio in, IR Receiver/Blaster in/out |
| Output Ports | HDMI out, IR Receiver/Blaster in/out |
| Interface | PCI Express x1 or x16 |
| Features | HD Recording (1080p) @ 30fps, Live Video Streaming on Twitch, YouTube, or Upstream, HDMI Passthrough |
| Operating System support | Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista (32 or 64-bit), or Windows XP Service Pack 3 |
Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro
As the name suggests, Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro is a game capture card for recording high-definition (HD) games for streaming or other use. This game capture card can record gameplay at 1080p resolution at 60 FPS. It comes with one HDMI in and one out (passthrough) port. This video capture card can record gameplay videos and stream them simultaneously. It can record or capture unencrypted HDMI from Playstation 4, Xbox One & Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch & Wii U. This is an excellent game capture card for building a game streaming PC for Twitch and other game streaming platforms.
Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro has an advanced H.264 encoder that lets you record unlimited footage in 1080p60 quality at a 60Mbps bit rate while keeping the file size and CPU load minimal. The card has built-in live streaming to Twitch and YouTube and a live commentary feature. It requires a PCIe x1/x4/x8/x16 slot and a Windows 10 operating system. So if you are looking for a high-quality game recording internal video capture card for your PC, then you cannot get better than this one.
| Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro Specifications | |
| Video Recording support | Gameplay from PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One & Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch & Wii U |
| Input Ports | HDMI in |
| Output Ports | HDMI out |
| Interface | PCIe x1/x4/x8/x16 |
| Features | HD 1080p Recording and playback at 60 fps |
| Operating System support | Microsoft Windows 10 |
Hauppauge WinTV-quadHD TV Tuner Card
This is an excellent TV Tuner Card from Hauppauge for watching and recording TV shows on your PC. Hauppauge WinTV-quad HD TV Tuner Card is a feature-rich, high-quality TV Tuner card with four ATSC and QAM tuners. This means you can watch and record up to 4 TV programs simultaneously. This is a low-profile TV Tuner card with Half-height and full-height brackets, an IR Receiver cable, and remote control. This internal TV Tuner card plugs into your motherboard’s PCIe x1 / x16, and it does not need any external power from the PSU.
This TV Tuner card comes with an F connector and WinTV v8 application or software, giving you a full-screen TV-in-a-window or TV, plus picture-in-picture. This is a powerful TV Tuner card, and it lets you record TV in HD quality from an HD TV source. It supports Windows 7/8/10 OS, and you need a good CPU and Graphics Card if you want a smooth live TV experience on your PC. So if you are looking for a top-quality and feature-rich internal TV Tuner Card with excellent recording capabilities, you must get this one.
| Hauppauge WinTV-quad-HD TV Tuner Card Specifications |
|
| Video Recording support | TV Recording ATSC / QAM |
| Input Ports | F connector / Coaxial RF connector |
| Output Ports | NA |
| Interface | PCI Express x1 / x16 |
| Features | IR Blaster Cable, Remote Control, HD TV Recording |
| Operating System support | Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 7, or Windows Vista with the latest Service Pack |
AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture Pro
This is an affordable HDMI capture card that can capture from the HDMI input source at HD / 1080p resolution. AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture Pro video capture card can capture videos from HDMI (un-encrypted) and analog connections. This HDMI video capture device has no HDMI passthrough, which is one of its disadvantages. But you may use an HDMI Splitter box to view HDMI content on your PC while recording simultaneously. The Input-Signal supported by this video capture card includes S-Video, Component (YPbPr, 1080i/720p), HDMI (1080i/720p), Analog Audio L/R site (RCA) and various resolutions supported are 480i / 480p / 576i/ 576p/ 720p / 1080i (50/60 Hz). This video capture device does not support capturing HD content with HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection).
The various features of this video capture card include real-time HD H.264 recording, support for both SD and HD video sources, color adjustment, 4:3/16:9 aspect ratio conversion, youtube video uploading, compatibility with adobe flash media live, watching blu-ray movies without a Blu-ray drive. This video capture card requires a PCIe slot and supports the windows operating system. So if you are looking for a cheap video capture card with decent features and recording capabilities, then you can buy this one for your PC.
| AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture Pro Specifications |
|
| Video Recording support | Gameplay Recording, TV Recording, Analog Recording |
| Input Ports | HDMI in, Composite/Component Dongle |
| Output Ports | NA (No passthrough) |
| Interface | PCI Express x1 |
| Features | HD Capture / Recording 1080p, Uncompressed Capture with 4:2:2 Color Resolution |
| Operating System support | Windows 10 / 8.1 / 7 / XP |
Final Words
So if you are looking for good internal video capture cards or TV tuner cards, the capture mentioned above / TV cards will not disappoint. They are all high-quality HD video capture cards and are compatible with the latest version of Windows. The main thing that you should remember here is that you require a good processor and dedicated graphics card if you want the best performance from them; otherwise, you will encounter lags and freezing when using video capture or TV tuner cards on your PC. If you have any queries or doubts regarding them, then feel free to ask me by leaving a comment below.
Author’s Opinion regarding the TV Tuners For PC
The TV Tuners For PC have powerful features while considering the security purpose; priority is very high. No VPN or RDP is required for the said purpose. In some cases, the emulator also works fine, and middleware software has a vital role in smooth functioning. Therefore, the author recommended the TV Tuners For PC for your personal use and has no issue regarding the installation on PC (Windows and Mac). I hope you also use it without any trouble; if you have any issues, please mention them in the email, and we will provide you with proper solutions. Please like and share with others; we made a lot of effort while collecting the software for your download.
