We only want the best when it comes to streaming. So if you need a gameplay & DSLR capture card, read our AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review to learn more.
AVerMedia continues to be the main innovator when it comes to making video capturing devices for content creation. They offer a plethora of both internal and external capture cards that are all exceptional.
Today, we’re going to find out about Live Gamer Duo and if it’s on par with AVerMedia’s other products. The company raised the bar on both features and quality. Then, they decreased the bar on the point of entry with their Live Gamer Duo.
To appreciate the performance of this dual-input card, we’re cracking this nut open in our AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review. So sit back, relax, and read through to get all the essentials you need about the Live Gamer Duo.
AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo Packaging
We’re not only focusing on its functions and performance. In our AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review, we’ll focus on all vital details about the GC570D, including packaging and contents.
When we got our hands on the Live Gamer Duo, the entire package felt solid enough to protect what’s inside. Of course, we appreciate its top-notch and premium quality vibe, which is something to expect from the brand.
The box sports an image of the card placed in front. The top-right corner displays the brand and its logo, while below the image is the card’s name.
It also gave off a top-notch and premium feel, which is something we expected from AVerMedia.
Inside, you will find the Live Gamer Duo set securely in place. Everything is neatly packed so you won’t have to worry about things getting messy while in transit.
Other than the Live Gamer Duo, you’ll also find an HDMI 2.0 cable, plus the quick start guide.
AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo Review – Design and Functionality
This AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review will now focus on the Live Gamer Duo’s functions and design.
This dual-input card is a sleek-looking piece of hardware. It sports the company’s standard mix of function and style. Also, it comes in a confined matte black metallic case with horizontal vents.
The vents work to keep things cool while it also has aesthetic functions which is a treat to look at.
The card’s top portion features the AVerMedia logo and its model time. On its outer edge, you’ll find an indicator strip that is RGB-lit. The strip comes with a variety of light-up patterns that notifies you of the recording status and disk capacity warnings.
Its front face houses the dual HDMI input, as well as a single output for the pass-through. Overall, it has a premium and sleek look to it that makes it eye-catching and great in your rig.
Its most impressive feature is its dual HDMI input; Input One is dedicated to the game. Because of this feature, it immediately sets the Live Gamer Duo apart from other similar products.
Key Features of the AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo
This time, we’ll talk about the main features of this capture card from AVerMedia.
A Single Card with Two Inputs
The Live Gamer Duo comes with two inputs, so you can use one for creation and the other for gaming. It supports both PC or console gaming and your digital camera.
This capture card is perfect for live streaming platforms.
Completely Enjoy Your Gameplay
The zero-lag pass-through allows you to enjoy your gameplay. Experience life-like HDR view and the responsiveness of Full HD 240 FPS while capturing 1080p60 for all streaming platforms.
Onboard Video Processing
Let’s talk about its onboard video processing in our AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review. The Live Gamer Duo can process and work on the video input signal even before it reaches your computer. It can also do HDR – SDR tone-mapping, frame rate conversions to 60 fps, and downscale 4k – 1,080p.
All of these is done with the Live Gamer Duo not affecting the pass-through signal.
Boosting your Production Value
With multiple camera angles, you can create more compelling content to upgrade your production value. The Live Gamer Duo makes viewers feel more immersed with your content.
Keep Shining with RGB
AVerMedia lets you choose from over 16 million colours and a range of presets for your rig’s RGB lighting. With that, you can enjoy gaming and creating with style.
Compatible with Most Streaming Software
There’s no need to worry about incompatibility.
When using the Live Gamer Duo, you can use most of the professional streaming software available. This compatibility makes it a perfect addition to your setup.
Specifications
Our AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review will now focus on the Live Gamer Duo’s specifications.
It utilises the PCI-e x4 Gen 2 interface. HDMI 2.0 input 1 and HDMI 1.4 for input 2 are present as well.
The output 1 pass-through is HDMI 2.0 while its maximum pass-through resolution is 2160p60 HDR | 1440p144 |1080p240. Its total recording resolution for input 1 and 2 are 1080p60 HDR and 1080p60 respectively.
It supports the following resolutions for input 1, and these are 2160p, 1080p, 1440p, 720p, 1080i, 480p, and 576p. For input 2, it supports 1080i, 1080p, 576p, 720p, and 480p. When it comes to recording, the produced format is MPEG 4.
For measurements, the Live Gamer Duo is 140 x 125 x 22mm (W x D x H) and weighs 209g.
Hands on with the AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo
This AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review won’t be complete without getting hands on with the capture card. It’ll help you decide if it’s something you need, and if it performs adequately based on your preferences.
First, let’s see if it’s easy or challenging to set up.
Setting up the Live Gamer Duo
Setting up the Live Gamer Duo is extremely easy. After slipping the card in an available PCI-e x4 slot, we immediately accessed AVerMedia Assist Central software without any issues.
After a quick scan, the program displayed all the related hardware installed in our computer. Then, it suggested downloading then installing the necessary drivers.
After a few clicks, we had the RECentral 4 recognise the Live Gamer Duo. After that, it was up and ready to use.
Software Installation
Installing the software was pretty much effortless as well. After we downloaded the drivers and the RECentral 4 software, the only thing left to do was restart the PC.
Once everything was done, the Live Gamer Duo performed like how we expected it to. We didn’t have to deal with capture cards not picking up sources, and we were happy about that.
It isn’t only easy to set up, but customising its scenes was entirely a painless process. All the features that you’d expect in a recording/streaming software are present. It lets you easily create branded overlays, and that’s a big plus.
Additionally, its Live Editing feature lets you edit current recordings on the spot – something extremely vital for immediate segment uploads. It all happens in real-time while recording, decreasing the number of editing that needs to happen in the post.
What you get with the Live Gamer Duo is a one-time set up unit that’s generally a plug-and-play product. It made streaming much easier by having a configuration that simply works and can be left in place.
If you’re searching for multiple sources with minimal hassle, the Live Gamer Duo is a smart option.
Performance and Video Quality
When it comes to video processing like frame rate conversion or downscaling, it’s all done on the Duo itself.
Meanwhile, the 4K pass-through remained completely unbothered by the process. However, it’d be good to have pass-through options for the inputs instead of just the HDMI1.
We tried plugging our old DSLR camera to the Live Gamer Duo using an HDMI mini-to-standard cable. To our surprise, it worked brilliantly as well.
So if you enjoy recording, the card doesn’t have any issues of consistently sending 1080p60 HDR outputs.
We ran captures on multiple games as part of our tests. The Live Gamer Duo’s performance greatly impressed us. It was able to run titles even on the live preview pane of the RECentral.
Do note that on full HDR recording, it’s only present on Single Mode via RECentral. It means that you can’t use the second input for capture while you’re recording the HDR content.
Dual HDMI Input
Its most impressive feature is its HDMI dual-input. This specific feature supports full 4K pass-through at 60 with HDR support. So during our tests, it was pretty much consistent for the card.
We didn’t notice any issues while testing it on our gaming console. Plus, the image produced was crisp, sharp, vibrant, and smooth.
Focusing on input 2, it’s a great port made especially for the live streamers. Though it doesn’t support pass-through, we didn’t have problems with it handling mirrorless cameras or DSLRs.
Choosing the Multi-Mode on RECentral let us easily choose input 2 as the second source. It removes the necessity to include a secondary peripheral for your webcam. Plus, it provides you with a clean and crisp image that only mirrorless cameras and DSLRs can offer.
To put it simply, the Live Gamer Duo can handle both inputs simultaneously and with ease.
We had quite some fun with the card and used a splitter on our PS4. One of the splits was routed to our television, while the other to the second input.
There weren’t any issues with the Duo when it came to handling the console, which was great.
Audio Quality
When it comes to the audio quality, the Live Gamer Duo didn’t have issues with consistent outputs of 1080p60 HDR. It doesn’t only handle video pass-through amazingly, but it supports full 5.1 and 1.7 surround sound pass-throughs too.
We tested the Live Gamer Duo with our surround system, and that sounded perfect. It was similar to when we ran the Live Gamer Duo natively to a sound system and television.
AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo Review Summary
The Live Gamer Duo from AVerMedia is one of the best capture cards we’ve used. If you’re a console streamer who wants to have professional-level live streams, it’s the perfect product for you.
In fact, there are many reasons for you to upgrade your streaming setup with this capture card.
The HDMI input of the card makes it better than its competition. With this, content creators won’t have to purchase another capture card.
Also, you won’t have to juggle HDMI inputs to have the perfect game streaming setup and DSLR face cam.
Additionally, setting up the capture card and the software was a breeze. The plug-and-play design made everything faster and more convenient for us, which is great.
We didn’t experience any issues in the process, which is something we appreciate.
What makes it one of the best capture cards on the market is that it’s compatible with most streaming software. You won’t have to worry about its incompatibility with your content creation suite.
In our tests, the Live Gamer Duo performed excellently, and it delivered impressive videos. Not only the video quality was great, but also its audio quality.
Aside from the excellent performance, we were pleased with its RGB feature since it was impressively vibrant. Having over 16 million colours to choose from and its presets significantly improved our rig’s aesthetics.
If you’re looking to enhance your content, this is something you should add to your rig.
To wrap up our AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review, the Live Gamer Duo is something we’d definitely recommend. It’s efficient and works how it should. Plus, it’s the first dual-input external capture card made for DSLR and gameplay capturing in the world.
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