Elgato's 4K60 Pro Stream Link [Review]: This capture card does it all

Elgato 4K60 Pro

The limitation of the Elgato 4K60 Pro to this point has been that you tin can either capture or yous tin stream. But you can't do both. But now, cheers to the latest update, something called NDI and Elgato's boffins, you tin exercise both.

That is to say, y'all can record footage at upward to 4K resolution at 60 FPS besides as stream on Twitch, Mixer or wherever else y'all might like to. The streaming part is limited to 1080p, but even so, that's quite a lot of video being handled at the aforementioned time.

The feature is withal technically in beta, but I've been playing effectually with it to see non only how adept information technology is, only how much of a chirapsia it'southward likely to requite your PC.

Firstly, what is NDI?

The official blurb states:

Release your video productions from the technical and physical limitations of standard broadcast infrastructures. Easily transition to video over IP with NDI, NewTek's innovative Network Device Interface technology, and prepare-to-utilize software enabling interconnected product workflows.

In simpler terms, it's a engineering science that allows you to send video outputs over a virtual or network connectedness to another app or service. In the case of Elgato, it uses NDI technology to send a copy of your 4K60 Pro capture to another app, such as XSplit, which you can and so utilize to stream on your Twitch or Mixer aqueduct.

Notice out more on NDI at the Newtek homepage.

How to set up and use Stream Link

For the purposes of this guide, I'chiliad using XSplit. Essentially whichever software you lot use to stream with only needs to be able to accept NDI every bit a source, the residue is done in the Elgato 4K Capture Utility application. The other thing is that NDI is congenital into XSplit, where OBS users may need to download some additional software to get it working.

In the Elgato 4k Capture Utility app, click the settings cog.
Bank check the box to enable Stream Link beta.
Open the dropdown box to choose your desired output resolution and frame rate.
Click apply.

Stream Link is now set upwardly inside the Elgato awarding. The rest is done over in XSplit.

Click add source.
Select streams.
Choose Newtek NDI stream (beta).
Select the option that has (4K Capture Utility) afterward it.

Now, yous should meet your panel's screen imported into XSplit simply as if you were calculation it as a native source.

If you use OBS instead, the Elgato help page has a full walkthrough on how to set things up.

Performance

Stream Link

This is not a feature for folks who don't have a high-end PC. Just having Stream Link enabled seems to increase the load on the CPU by upward to x percentage in my case, even if it isn't actively being used. There's besides the fact that you have to use dissimilar things to return the individual video outputs.

For instance, if yous're using your GPU to encode in the Elgato app, you can't and then apply it to render your stream in XSplit or OBS. In my example, my CPU isn't strong plenty to render the video and Stream Link, then I used the GPU, then telling XSplit to render using the CPU with x264 on high quality settings.

I too haven't been able to test the characteristic recording from the Xbox One X at 4K; I run my Xbox at 1440p60 and the Stream Link handled it with ease. With this resolution for capture and a 1080p60 NDI output to XSplit, my CPU usage overall betwixt the two applications was betwixt fifty and threescore percent constantly (the CPU is an Intel Core i7-6700). At 4K I would look more load however, though the GPU (a GTX 1080 Ti in this instance) is doing the hardest work in rendering the college resolution video in the Elgato awarding.

The key thing is that while my PC is being taxed by using the feature, Stream Link itself seems to work very well. I've seen no issues in video quality, with XSplit non reporting whatever dropped frames on its output either. In both cases, there is expert looking video with the panel'due south audio too beingness transmitted over NDI (just make sure information technology'due south being sent to stream and not organization audio or you won't hear anything.)

Lesser line

Elgato 4K60 Pro

For content creators who both stream and create dedicated gaming videos, this feature could well exist just what they're looking for. It allows you lot to still stream, merely use the same video free of overlays and stuff similar that for making a carve up piece of content. Non to mention the ability to capture at up to 4K resolution at 60 FPS. That'due south the golden ticket right there.

Fifty-fifty though it's technically a beta feature, it works very well. Yes, there'due south a performance hit, and if yous don't have some horsepower in your PC at that place's no style it'll fifty-fifty work. Using a ane-2 punch of CPU and GPU encoding in the different apps at least offsets the workload.

Is it a niche feature? Nigh definitely. Only information technology'due south something that the 4K60 Pro now offers that other capture cards exercise non. Even if you're not capturing at 4K or you're streaming beneath 1080p, this is a fine feature to have in your locker if y'all do more with your footage than just stream. All you need is the $400-ish Elgato 4K60 Pro and the latest version of its companion app.

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