Capture · Record · Stream · Encode · DecodeWhy universities choose Magewell for lecture capture
Lecture capture has moved from a nice-to-have to something students expect, because they want to revisit lectures. For the IT or AV team, the hardware has to be dependable, simple to maintain and the same in every room, whether you have five rooms or several hundred.
Magewell capture devices fit that brief for three reasons. The USB Capture family installs without drivers. Every device presents itself to the computer as a standard video and audio source, so capture software can use it directly. And Panopto has certified the USB Capture, USB Capture Plus, Pro Capture and Eco Capture families as Panopto Compatible, while Kaltura names the USB Capture HDMI and Pro Capture HDMI among its recommended capture cards for Kaltura Lecture Capture.
Typical university deployment architectures
Fixed camera plus the presenter's PC, each on its own capture device. A straightforward single-room setup.
Each room's camera is converted to NDI and carried on the campus network, so no long video cables are needed. It sends full NDI, so plan Gigabit links with your network team.
Four HDMI inputs on one card, captured at the same time, so one server can record several sources.
Platform compatibility
Recommended for universities
University procurement advantages
BACS & PO accounts
We supply on purchase order to approved education institutions. BACS payment terms available — no card required for procurement.
Volume pricing
Multi-room deployments attract volume pricing. Send us your room count and we'll provide a detailed quote with per-unit pricing.
IT-friendly deployment
Magewell USB Capture devices install without drivers, so there is no driver package to deploy or keep up to date. They work on Windows, macOS, Linux and Chrome OS, and take their power from the USB port.
Planning a lecture capture rollout?
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.
There are two common configurations. The first is a USB Capture device, such as the USB Capture HDMI Gen 2 or USB Capture HDMI Plus, connected to the PC in the lecture room. It captures the HDMI output of the presenter's laptop or the room's AV system. The second is a Pro Convert NDI encoder on each room's AV system, sending NDI over the campus network to a central recording server. Where many rooms share a Gigabit network, Pro Convert scales more easily because recording is done in one place.
Yes. Pro Convert NDI encoders convert each room's HDMI or SDI output to full NDI on the campus network. A central server running NDI-capable recording or production software, such as vMix, can then receive the rooms as sources. Magewell Control Hub software manages Pro Convert devices from one browser dashboard, with status monitoring, remote configuration and batch firmware upgrades. Each Control Hub edition has a device limit, so tell us your room count.
Yes. Panopto has certified Magewell's USB Capture, USB Capture Plus, Pro Capture and Eco Capture families as Panopto Compatible. Kaltura lists the USB Capture HDMI and the Pro Capture HDMI among its recommended capture cards for Kaltura Lecture Capture. With other platforms, the devices appear as standard DirectShow (Windows), V4L2 (Linux) or AVCaptureSession (macOS) sources. Contact ForeFront Imaging if you need to check a specific platform version.
1080p at 25 or 30 frames per second suits most lecture capture. Slides and whiteboard writing stay readable, and file sizes and bandwidth stay manageable. 4K is more than most lecture recording needs, and it increases storage and processing requirements considerably. It can be worth it for a high-detail demonstration or a surgical procedure. Check what your capture platform accepts before choosing.