List Price: $179.99
Sale Price: $165.04
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This is a very nice capture card. I have been using Avermedia capture cards for over a year now and this card is the newest and best capture device they have to offer when it comes to capturing gameplay. I Post gaming footage every day on my youtube channel and this card, along with the Live Gamer HD, have proven themselves to be real workhorses. With the new Rec Central software you have the option to scale the bitrate so you can choose between small file sizes or extreme quality.
On a rare occasion maybe once out of 50 recordings the audio will desync or just not be there and the TS video format does not load audio in Sony Vegas. Often vegas will not recognize the correct frame rate of the video file which is easily corrected by checking "disable resample" but it would be nice if I didn't have to do this. Minus 1 star for those reasons.
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I had been using the Elgato Game Capture HD to record my gameplay and commentary videos for YouTube. Some games worked OK, others would continually give me a black screen that would flash on the gameplay monitor which made it impossible to make a video that didn't have me stopping and waiting for the black screen to go away or flat out getting killed. I was well aware of the advanced tab and tried every last combination to rid myself of this problem, to no avail. The problem appeared to be game specific with some games working fine and others giving me the black screen. Honestly it wasn't worth it to keep fiddling with the Elgato. I was about to look at the Hauppauge when I ran across the LGP and decided to give it a try.I got the Live Gamer Portable, unboxed it and decided to try out the PC-Free recording first since that was the simplest thing to set up and didn't require me to move the laptop and everything else into the room that I record in. Setup was a breeze. 3 wires, turn on the system, start playing and hit the button on the top. (Make sure to format the SD card to FAT32 so it actually works). I decided to try the game that was giving me the endless Black screen issues on the Elgato as my test recording. Everything worked without a hitch. No black screens, no lag, no problems at all. I did several recordings of 15-20 minutes and then took the SD card out, plugged it into my laptop slot and viola the video was there and looked great.
Next I decided to bring the laptop in and setup for recording with commentary to see how that worked. Setup was simple, just like the Elgato. Just flip the switch on the LGP from PC-Free to PC capture, start the software and you are ready to go. I did have to play with the level of the microphone versus the game volume to get it just right, but that only took about 10 minutes of fiddling. Once everything was set I saved the profile and use that for my commentary videos.
One thing I will point out comparing the Elgato to the LGP the LGP does all of the work for you and uses a lot less system resources than the Elgato when recording on the PC. I don't use a top of the line laptop to record and with the Elgato I had to record at a max of 720p at the lowest quality settings in order to not get frame drops. Using the exact same laptop and the LGP I am able to record at 60fps and at the highest quality settings without frame drops or lag. The Elgato has a very noticeable lag from the game monitor to what you are seeing in the preview window of the software on your PC. If you are not careful and don't wait for the system to catch up, you can lose a couple of seconds of your recording and cut off the end of your commentary.
The LGP does not have the lag issues, probably because the capture device does all the conversion right there before it hits your PC. With the Elgato, you have to wait for the system to convert the video and if your system isn't very powerful, you will have to wait for the conversion to finish before you record again or risk frame drops and messed up audio sync. With the LGP, what goes to your computer is the finished video, no waiting for conversion and no drain on system resources.
A couple of other things which make the LGP a better device:
You have the choice of recording your commentary as a separate audio file. While this doesn't seem like a big deal, if you decide your commentary wasn't that great and that you would rather just put up the gameplay video, you will have to re-record or spend a lot of time editing out your commentary in another piece of software. With the LGP, you just throw away the commentary file and use the video without having to do any more work. That's a real win! If you don't want to do the commentary as a separate file with the LGP you also have the option to go ahead and record it as one file, just like the Elgato does. The big difference is that you have a choice as to how you want to record your commentary. You don't risk having to re-record or spend time editing out bad commentary.
PC-free recording is a huge advantage, especially if you either don't have a pc near your gaming station or if you just want to take the device to a friend's house to do some recording. Add to all of that the fact that you can put the device on your PC and record to you SD card without using system resources while PC gaming and you just have another plus that the Elgato can't match.
For me, the LGP is the superior device. It gives me more options as to how I am going to record. It allows me to record PC-Free, even if I am gaming on the PC itself, which allows me to save system resources. The LGP fixed the black screen issue and the software that does the recording on your PC gives you more options as to how to record your commentary. IMHO the LGP is the device to get.
The only thing I would like to see updated would be a change to the RECentral software that allows you to setup the system to mute or reduce the game volume while you are talking. This would save some time in setup for users who don't want to mess with adjusting the commentary volume and gameplay volume so that both can be heard. Other than that, the product works flawlessly right out of the box.
Best Deals for AVerMedia - C875 Live Gamer Portable (LGP) HD Game Capture
Pros+ Portable capture device with 720P 60FPS in PC-Free Mode
(1080P 30FPS with the beta patch)
+ Small file sizes
+ Easy to understand
(Blue ring for PC mode, Red Ring for PC-Free, flashing ring for when it's recording or streaming)
+ Easy Interface
(Novice and beginner options are easy to follow if you don't know much about video encoding. Pro option is simple with some knowledge of video encoding)
+ Can stream out of the box with RECentral
+ The time shift feature to go back and save footage that you didn't click record on is a nice touch
+ Many encoding options in PC Mode. Up to 1080P 30FPS and 60Mbps bitrate. 720P goes up to 60FPS with 60Mbps bitrate. TS or MP4 video format.
Cons
PC-Free only uses 4Mbps, 8Mbps, 12Mbps, 16Mbps at 720P with 60FPS. The beta patch as of May 23rd allows 1080P at 30FPS
(It would be nice for a a higher bitrates for a clearer picture, but I wish you could choose 30FPS with the 720P option as it'll use less space when you're just gonna upload unedited footage straight to YouTube which only runs at 30FPS at the moment, so the extra space for the extra frames aren't needed)
The lower bitrate's when streaming with RECentral aren't very good compared to using other streaming software
(XSplit, Open Broadcaster Software)
Timeshift only works with the TS video format.
Other Notes:
The official driver's can be found here:
http://gamerzone.avermedia.com/products/live_gamer_series/live_gamer_portable/download/en
The beta update as of May 22nd can be found here:
http://forum.avermedia.com/index.php?threads/beta-program-lgp-upgrade-package-1.471/
One strange thing is that I'm told it needs a class 10 SDHC memory card but I was able to use a class 4 card and it works great under ever quality option.
SanDisk 32 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDB-032G-AFFP
These are rough estimates of the amount of space you'll take up with an hour of PC-Free Mode footage:
4Mbps (1.8GB)
8Mbps (3.6GB)
12Mbps (5.4GB) ~ Default Setting
16Mbps (7.2GB)
Honest reviews on AVerMedia - C875 Live Gamer Portable (LGP) HD Game Capture
Video capture cards have come a long way in the last several years. When I started YouTube 4 years ago there were only 2 products available. The Hauppauge HDPVR and the BlackMagic Intensity Pro. Since then many devices have come to market and I have personally tested the majority of them. In order of date of purchase this list includes:Hauppauge HDPVR
BlackMagic Intensity Pro
BlackMagic Intensity Extreme
Avermedia Live Gamer HD
Roxio Game Capture HD Pro
When I was asked to test out the Avermedia Live Gamer Portable (ALP) I was skeptical about another device entering an already saturated market. However Avermedia has taken the Livegamer Portable into another class of capture cards by adding several key features that separates it from the rest of the pack. The first being the ability the record in PC Free mode directly onto a SD Card (sold separately). As it's name suggests this makes it the first truly "Portable" Device on the market today. Its important to note that PC Free capture is limited to 720p. The second key feature is the seamless capture of PC footage that has replaced the use of third party programs such as Dxtory and Fraps. The main benefit that the ALP offers over these programs is the minimum CPU resources it requires since the H.264 encoding is performed directly onto the device. It is also now possible to record PC footage with two or more GPU's in SLI or Crossfire without screen latency. I personally run two GTX 690's in Quad SLI and and cannot record a series via Dxtory or Fraps without frame latency caused by the second card. PC Free Recording and PC Capture optimization are the two key features that the ALP has over its competitors. My complete list of pros and cons are listed below.
Pros:
Can do everything the other products do.
REC Central remains the most user friendly software on the market.
One touch record button directly built onto the device.
PC Free Mode that can capture footage at 720p.
Full 1080p XBOX 360 & Nintendo Wii U recording. PS3 limited to 720p via an included dedicated cable due to HDCP protection.
True 1080p PC quality. Due to high CPU resource consumption most YouTuber's that use Dxtory or Fraps capture at 50-75% quality and upscale video to 1080p.
High end PC's running multiple GPU's no longer suffer frame latency.
Cons:
Recording Limited to 1080p @ 30fps. No 2560x1440+ support. 30fps adequate as YouTube down scales all video to 30fps.
Video playback is limited to 60hz (60fps). Those with 120+hz PC monitors will be automatically down scaled
If your GPU does not have an HDMI output you will need to purchase an DVI-HDMI adapter. I used the one included from a previous purchase of the PCI-E Live Gamer HD.
Separate audio amp or device needed if you plan to use headphones. I use the Astro A40 Mixamp.
No MacOSX Support
PC Setup is a bit difficult (I have a tutorial on my channel)
Overall the Avermedia Live Gamer Portable is one the most versatile capture devices I have used so far. Due to its user friendly interface and PC capture optimization it has a permanent place on my desk and is always connected. If you are interested in capturing game footage at home or on the go you can't go wrong with the Avermedia Live Gamer Portable.
Nic (Tetra Ninja)
http://www.youtube.com/tetraninja
https://twitter.com/tetraninja
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EDIT: After roughly 4 weeks of normal usage (generally 6 hours a day) my device crapped out and would no longer be recognized by my pc. I grueled through the replacement process (which was a week of back and forth with customer support) and after two weeks later, I got my replacement. My replacement had a new issue where it was cutting off the video signal everytime a black screen popped up (ie loading transitions). Not acceptable to me. I had to bite the bullet and return this item despite how much I loved using this device. I actually did a video review as well as streamed constantly with the device, and it when it worked, it worked great. Unfortunately, I cannot live with crapping out hardware, as this experience does not bode well with me. I'm going to find an alternative.I've been doing a lot of research in the past months for a viable capture card that is capable of meeting my needs. I am proud to say that the Avermedia Live Gamer Portable exceeds all of my expectations and really sets itself apart from it's counterparts.
I've streamed and recorded footage from Xbox 360 and PS3 seamlessly through the avermedia software. Not to mention having a neato hot button so you don't have to be by your computer. It's so convenient to be able to stream and tweak the settings within the same program (I am not familiar with how to use xsplit or obs). Commentary is easy to add (you have the option of exporting a seperate mp3 file for your voice recording). PC free mode is a nifty feature, especially if you don't have a computer handy.
However I originally had some problems with the software. First, I had a hard time getting my ps3 to display correctly. Since the PS3 can't capture through HDMI thanks to HDCP, you have to use a proprietary cable to connect directly to your capture card. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. In order to get the screen to display, you need to set up a profile in the avermedia software and set it to component and then click the ready button. I had to figure this out myself and it was quite frustrating for my first experience, so I hope you can learn from this. Also, I had a problem to where the software would not recognize any of my microphones (however reinstalling the software somehow remedied this).
The HDMI cable it comes with is too short. I thought this wouldn't be a problem but it's useless to me. The usb cable it comes with is also in my opinion too short if I'm connecting it to my pc.
One thing I can proudly say is the device does not introduce any input lag, when playing rhythm games there is no change in performance. There's also no loss in quality to my tv.
Overall, there are still definitely some hitches in the software (which will definitely be fixed with updates) but honestly, you can't get a better usb capture card than this. Hopefully it can record next gen consoles.
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