Roxio Game Capture

Feature from Jae - Sunday, 24 April 2011 @ 12:41am

Yes we're a gaming site so it's only fitting that we dabble in some hardware that supports and complements the gaming scene. Generally video capture software and hardware is not easy to come by. It's expensive, convoluted to set up and fairly hard to use when it comes to video editing. Roxio aims to nullify these hurdles with its latest Game Capture pack.

The installation of the software on PCs is as easy as 1, 2, 3. You won't have to go through copious menus and disclaimers, instead set up takes a mere 3-4 minutes. Setting up the cabling is even easier. Packaged with the Game Capture are a set of video component cables, RGB style. What this means is that you can plug in any system that uses these cables into the Game Capture and record straight to your PC. The package advertises PS3 and Xbox 360 only but you can easily setup a Wii, Gamecube, PS2 or even a PSP as long as you have the correct component input cables. The only thing missing from this is HDMI support. Most of us with modern televisions have scrapped the component cables and adopted the mainstream HDMI cables, unfortunately you'll need to raise those cables from the dead if you want to use this.

Video tutorials are available, though you'd have to be real dumb if you can't connect the blue cable to the blue port, or the red cable to the white one.

Recording video is done in real time, if you have your PC sitting next to your television you may notice a slight 0.25 second delay in the recording. You'll need to start recording about 2 seconds before the footage you actually need as the software can take this time to initiate. The best thing to remember here is to hit "Capture" during the load screen on your game before your intended recording time. It doesn't matter if you record too much time beforehand, except if you have memory restrictions, as you can always cut and edit your piece at a later time.

Easy navigation and use of editing

The editing software could not be much easier than this. I doubt you'll need to play around too much with the settings when you first create your own video. All you need to do to start off with is select the videos you want to edit, place them in the order you want then add or subtract parts of the videos. You can then play around with inserting images or text, creating fancy swipes from scene to scene and even place voice overs or soundtracks overlaying your original video.
In the below sample I spent 15 minutes combining 4 videos, placing text & images and editing minor items. It ain't exactly my best work but if you're in the business of uploading gaming video before anyone else you will appreciate the simplification of this software.

The icing to this is the shortcut ability to upload to YouTube, Facebook or WeGame. Within the Roxio Game Capture video editing software you can either export your finished video to a format of your choice (the regulars are here avi, mp4, wmv e.t.c.) or you can upload straight to the internet. If you choose to upload to YouTube the icon sits hidden away from sight minimising the impact to your PC time. Technical support is available through the Distributor's website though I doubt you will need it if you already know how to use the basics of a computer.

I'm pretty pleased with this product considering it's price range and capabilities. It's not a product aimed at professionals or those that run credible websites (a.k.a. not ours) but more so at amateurs who like to upload their epic gaming moments with ease.

The Roxio Game Capture is available now for $99.95 at selected outlets or online.

Minimum System Requirements:
Windows 7/Vista/XP, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon x2 64 2.0 GHz, 2GB RAM
DirectX® 9.0c compatible graphics card or higher, sound card
2GB free hard drive space for installation. 10+ GB free recommended for video recording.
Windows Media Player 11 or higher
Internet explorer 7 or 8
Internet connection required for registration, product updates and tutorials. Any Internet changes are the user's responsibility
One available USB 2.0 port


Specifications:
High speed connection via USB 2.0 port
Video inputs: Component Video
Audio inputs: stereo audio (RCA x2)
1x Component cable, 1x RCA Audio cable and 1x USB cable included
Input Formats:
Video: AVI, DV-AVI, MOV, WMV, DivX, MP4
Audio: MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC
Image: JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF
Output Formats:
Video: AVI, DV-AVI, WMV, DivX, MP4
Audio: MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC
Image: JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF