Lecture capture has moved from a nice-to-have to an institutional requirement. Students expect to revisit lectures. Accessibility legislation increasingly requires it. And IT departments need solutions that are reliable, maintainable and scalable across hundreds of rooms.
Magewell capture cards are trusted by universities across the UK because they are genuinely reliable, driver-light, and compatible with all major lecture capture platforms including Panopto, Kaltura, Opencast and Medial.
Fixed camera + presenter PC capture. Most common single-room setup.
NDI over existing campus network. No dedicated video cabling required.
Multiple capture inputs per workstation. Maximises capture per server.
We supply on purchase order to approved education institutions. BACS payment terms available — no card required for procurement.
Multi-room deployments attract volume pricing. Send us your room count and we'll provide a detailed quote with per-unit pricing.
Magewell USB Capture cards are UVC/UAC compliant — no drivers to deploy, no Group Policy issues. Plug in and it works on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Tell us your room count, capture platform and camera types. We'll design the most cost-effective Magewell solution and provide a full quotation — free of charge.
The most common configurations are: USB Capture HDMI connected to the PC in the lecture room, capturing the HDMI output from the presenter's laptop or the room's AV system; or Pro Convert NDI encoders on each room's AV system, streaming over the campus network to a central recording server. For rooms with existing AV infrastructure, Pro Convert is the more scalable solution.
Yes. Pro Convert NDI encoders convert each room's HDMI or SDI output to NDI over the campus network. A central recording server (running vMix, vMix Multicorder, or a custom recording solution) can receive and record all room streams simultaneously. Magewell Control Hub can manage all Pro Convert devices across the campus from a single interface.
Yes. Magewell USB Capture and Pro Capture devices are compatible with Panopto, Kaltura Capture, and most other lecture capture platforms via standard DirectShow (Windows) or AVFoundation (macOS) interfaces. Some platforms also have direct Magewell SDK integrations. Contact ForeFront Imaging if you need to verify compatibility with a specific platform version.
1080p30 or 1080p25 is the standard for lecture capture — it provides excellent readability of slides and whiteboard content while keeping file sizes and bandwidth manageable. 4K capture is overkill for most lecture recording use cases and significantly increases storage and processing requirements. If capturing a high-detail demonstration or surgical procedure, 4K may be warranted.
The most common university setup uses Magewell Pro Capture cards installed in a dedicated lecture capture PC, capturing HDMI from the lectern display or camera. USB Capture cards are used for portable or laptop-based capture. Pro Convert devices are used to stream lectures over the campus network as NDI or IP video.
Yes. Magewell capture cards appear as standard DirectShow (Windows) or AVCaptureSession (macOS) sources, which are supported by Panopto, Kaltura Lecture Capture, Echo360 and most other lecture capture platforms. Contact us to confirm compatibility with your specific platform version.
Use a dual-channel Magewell Pro Capture card (such as the Pro Capture Dual HDMI or Dual SDI), which captures two independent sources simultaneously into separate channels in your capture software. This is the standard approach for dual-stream lecture capture.