Hi, I want to record the raw output from the monitor connected to a retro pc I have, including bios boot screens, gameplay, etc.
So I want to ask people who know about this kind of stuff - can I use an hdmi usb capture device for that? Like this one
https://amzn.eu/d/aNHrVfj
The model you've found has an HDMI input, you need something with VGA input.
https://www.amazon.com/Capture-Streaming-Teac … omputers&sr=1-3
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Capturing bios / dos text mode isn't easy because of the refresh rate and resolution most of the cheap vga to hdmi adapters won't handle. Some of them need at least 640x480 resolution with 60hz. Look here to dive into the topic:
dominusprog wrote on 2024-02-02, 22:22:The model you've found has an HDMI input, you need something with VGA input.
https://www.amazon.com/Capture-Streaming-Teac … omputers&sr=1-3
That thing is crap....I know, got one .... won't do DOS modes, won't do various 4:3 screenmodes (will do 640x480 but nothing else), and picture quality sucks.... as per review on that page;
What's your retro PCs specs? Graphics card with dvi-d output isn't possible I guess? Than propper hardware for scaling/converting and capturing analog video is needed. I use a Kramer scaler for this purpose (but there are other possibilities as well). It has a vga in and converts any resolution and refresh rate to 720p 60hz which then feed the capture device.
I used that cheap dongle successfully with DOS but only after having the VGA signal go through OSSC. The HDMI signal is then fed to the dongle, which is connected to a USB 3 port.
With that, it is possible to capture boot messages.
Turbo XT 12MHz, 8-bit VGA, Dual 360K drives
Intel 386 DX-33, TSeng ET3000, SB 2.0, 1x CD
Intel 486 DX2-66, CL5428 VLB, SBPro 2, 2x CD
Intel Pentium 90, Matrox Millenium 2, SB16, 4x CD
HP Z400, Xeon 3.46GHz, YMF-744, Voodoo3, RTX2080Ti
OSSC to convert VGA to HDMI, then feed the HDMI into a nicer capture card such as an Avermedia or Elgato unit. That's about the best solution that's been found so far. You'll have to tweak the OSSC settings to get it to handle DOS resolutions a little better.
It is not a great solution, but there currently is no great solution.
OSSC Pro might be better, but it's been sold out for quite a while, and it's $400.
World's foremost 486 enjoyer.
Thanks a lot for the responses! So this isn't as straightforward as I thought - that I could just plug an HDMI cable into the monitor connected to the retro PC (not the PC itself), and the other end of the HDMI cable into the USB capture card, which in turn is plugged USB into my modern PC (on which OBS is running).
Looks like I directly need to connect the capture card to the graphics card of the retro PC, and then plug it USB into the modern PC, correct? And even then there seem to be some complications around capturing the bios screens or DOS..
