Magewell Pro Capture HDMI

About this product

Many recording and streaming setups start with one good HDMI source: a camera or a laptop. The Pro Capture HDMI is the PCIe capture card that brings it into a desktop computer or server. It hands the uncompressed picture and sound to software on that computer, and that software then records, streams or switches it. It is a one-channel HD capture card: small, low on power and at home in almost any PC, which makes it a straightforward choice for a lecture capture machine or a single-camera streaming PC.

What goes in

• HDMI. One full-size HDMI socket (HDMI 1.4a, also DVI 1.0), with embedded audio, so one cable carries picture and sound. The receiver handles 8, 10 and 12-bit colour and has an equaliser for cables up to 30 metres, which gives you freedom over where the source sits.
• Analogue. A DB9 socket on the card takes the supplied breakout cable, which gives component, S-Video and composite video inputs plus analogue stereo audio. Composite and S-Video accept NTSC, PAL and SECAM, so tape decks and older cameras can still be captured.
• One at a time. This is a one-channel card. You choose HDMI or an analogue input, and the card can select the live one automatically.
• More connections. If you need VGA, DVI and SDI as well, see the Pro Capture AIO.

Resolution and frame rate

The card takes input resolutions up to 2048×2160 pixels and capture frame rates up to 144 frames per second, depending on resolution. As an example, it reaches about 80 frames per second at 1920×1080, so 1080p at 50 or 60 frames per second is comfortably within range. This is the HD model: for a 3840×2160 source, choose a 4K card from the Pro Capture range page.

Picture work done on the card

Video processing happens on the card, which leaves the computer’s processor free for your software. The card handles cropping, scaling (up or down conversion), de-interlacing, aspect ratio conversion, colour space conversion and frame rate conversion, all with 10-bit processing, so the picture arrives in the size and format you asked for. A PNG image can be overlaid as an on-screen display. One input can feed an unlimited number of capture streams at once, each with its own resolution, frame rate and colour format, so two programs can use the same source in different sizes.

Fits the slot you have free

• Slot. PCIe Gen2 x1. Any PCI Express slot is at least that size, so it also works in a longer x4, x8 or x16 slot.
• Size. A low-profile card, 92.76 × 68.88 mm without the bracket. A low-profile bracket is supplied, so it is ready for a slim chassis.
• Power. About 4.59 W at most, taken from the slot, so there is no extra power lead.
• Several cards. A rotary switch on the card gives each one a number (0 to F), so several can sit in one computer and be told apart in software.
• Feeding a monitor. The HDMI socket is an input. To feed a monitor as well, split the signal before the card.

Works with the software you already use

• Operating systems. Windows 10, 11 and Server 2016 to 2025, Linux (kernel 2.6.35 and above, including ARM) and macOS.
• Standard interfaces. DirectShow on Windows, V4L2 on Linux and AVCaptureSession on macOS, so it works with OBS, vMix, Wirecast, XSplit and VLC among others.
• Magewell software. Magewell’s Capture Express program is included, which lets you check and record a source straight away, and there is a Capture SDK for developers on Windows, Linux and Mac.

Where it sits in the range

Choose this card for one HD source. For two or four HDMI sources on one card, see the Pro Capture Dual HDMI (PCIe x4, still low profile) and the Pro Capture Quad HDMI (PCIe x4, normal-height card). For SDI with a loop-through output, see the Pro Capture SDI. All cards are on the Pro Capture range page.