If you want to stream games for an audience, or maybe you just want to record some high-quality footage from your PS5, the more powerful PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X, or Nintendo Switch, you might need a capture card. It’s a USB-to-HDMI accessory that can process your console’s uncompressed video signal (unlike those consoles’ built-in recording functions), then send it to your PC for safekeeping.
There are several competing options out there, and our guide narrows it down to the most feature-packed USB-based capture cards, whether you want to record games at 1080p or get one that can go all the way up to 4K with a fast frame rate. And, since we know that many streamers want to use a high-end DSLR as a webcam, we’ve included some camera capture card recommendations as well.
