Magewell Pro Capture HDMI 4K

About this product

Many 4K sources, such as presentation computers, signage players and cameras set to 30 frames per second, do not need a 60 fps card to capture them. For those, the Pro Capture HDMI 4K gives you 4K capture on a short, low-power board that suits small computers. It is a one-channel 4K capture card with a single HDMI input that fits inside a computer, and a sound choice for 4K sources running at up to 30 frames per second.

What goes in

• One HDMI input. HDMI 1.4, and DVI-D 1.0, at up to 4096×2160 pixels.
• Colour. 8-bit RGB or YUV 4:4:4, and 12-bit YUV 4:2:2, are supported up to a 297 MHz pixel rate. 10 and 12-bit 4:4:4 signals are supported up to 170 MHz.
• Audio. Audio embedded in the HDMI signal is captured with the picture, so one cable does the job.
• Customised EDID. The card can present its own EDID (the data that tells a source which resolutions to send), which helps when a source must be held to one format.

4K frame rate: choosing the right card

The input has a 297 MHz receiver. A 3840×2160 picture at 30 frames per second runs at 297 MHz, and 60 frames per second in full colour needs twice that. So this is the card for 4K at up to 30 frames per second. If your source sends 4K at 60, or you work with HDR10, choose the Pro Capture HDMI 4K Plus, which captures 4096×2160 at 60 fps.

What your software receives

• To your software. Capture goes up to 4096×2160 pixels. Capture frame rates reach up to 144 frames per second, depending on PCIe bandwidth and image resolution, with the highest rates available at smaller picture sizes.
• Processing on the card. Full 10-bit processing with cropping, scaling, de-interlacing, aspect ratio conversion, colour format conversion, frame rate conversion and OSD composition. Two processing pipelines of about 360 megapixels per second each keep that work off the computer, so you can scale a 4K source down for streaming on the card itself.
• More than one stream. The input supports unlimited capture streams, each with its own cropping, resolution, frame rate and colour settings, so you can record one size and stream another.
• Low delay. Latency is 64 video lines.

Why choose it

• Low-profile card. It measures 92.76 × 68.88 mm without the bracket, and a low-profile bracket is in the box, so it suits slim and small cases.
• Needs an x4 slot. The host interface is PCIe Gen2 x4, so the card needs a slot that is physically x4 or larger.
• Several cards in one PC. A rotary switch on the card sets a card number from 0 to F, so you can tell cards apart.
• Built to stay on. The card is designed for continuous operation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Maximum power draw is about 5.44 W, taken from the slot, so there is no extra power lead.

Setting it up

Fit the card in a PCIe x4 slot or larger, connect the HDMI source and install Magewell’s driver. Software sees the card through the standard capture interfaces of the operating system: DirectShow on Windows, V4L2 on Linux and AVCaptureSession on macOS. That lets you keep the software you know: it works with VLC, OBS, XSplit, vMix, VidBlaster and Wirecast among others. Supported systems are Windows 10, 11 and Server 2016 to 2025, Linux with kernel 2.6.35 or later on x86, x64 and ARM, and Mac OS X 10.9 or later. Developers can use the Magewell Capture SDK.

Where it sits in the range

The Pro Capture HDMI 4K is the short, low-power 4K card. The 4K Plus mentioned above has an HDMI 2.0 input with a 594 MHz receiver and HDR10 support, on a longer card that draws more power. If a monitor needs to share the source through a loop-through output, ask us and we will point you to the right model. All the cards are on the Pro Capture range page.