Elgato Game Capture HD60X review

A short review of Elgato Game Capture HD60X grabber for use with HyperHDR. It is the most expensive high-end capturing device tested to date. Let's check whether the price will translate into quality and features.

Overview

In the box, apart from the graber itself, you will find a very long USB-C 3.0 to USB-A cable and a 1.5m HDMI2.0 cable.



Specification:
  • passthrough: 2160p60, 1440p120, 1080p240, VRR, HDR
  • capture: 2160p30, 1440p60, 1080p60, 1080p30, 1080i, 720p60, 576p, 480p (official specification)
  • similar to Ezcap 320, it does not support CEC nor HDCP (must be disabled on the source)

The first thing I did was update the firmware. In tests it turned out that the grabber also supports 1080p120 capturing. The most important feature that differs from the previously tested grabbers is VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support, which will please players. The internal HDMI splitter supports HDR stream, which only Ezcap 320 and AV Access 4KVC00 (but in a limited bandwidth range) could do also.

Elgato 4K Capture Utility program allows you to change the YUV coefficients and customize EDID settings which is great.



HyperHDR support

The grabber was connected to the USB3.0 port and tested under Windows 10 and Linux (Raspberry Pi 4). Although Linux is not officially supported, the grabber is recognized as a UVC device and does not cause any problems when capturing video. Similar Linux compatibility probably has the older HD60S+ model, which also supports UVC.

v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext
ioctl: VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
        Type: Video Capture

        [0]: 'YUYV' (YUYV 4:2:2)
                Size: Discrete 1920x1080
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 1600x1200
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 1280x720
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 720x576
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 720x480
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 640x480
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
        [1]: 'NV12' (Y/CbCr 4:2:0)
                Size: Discrete 3840x2160
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 2560x1440
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 1920x1080
                        Interval: Discrete 0.008s (120.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 1600x1200
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 1280x720
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 720x576
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 720x480
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
                Size: Discrete 640x480
                        Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.020s (50.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
                        Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)

However, the captured HDR video material has faded / washed out colors, which does not differ in this respect from other previously tested grabbers. Tonal mapping is software-based and requires the use of special Elgato software available only for Windows OS. But that's not a problem since we can use the HDR tone mapping available in HyperHDR. We only need to calibrate LUT table first or use pre-build one.




Performance results



Latency test for 1080p60 display.
Video device: Game Capture HD60 X
Video mode: 1280x720x60 NV12
Perfect minimal latency (related to FPS):: 16.67ms
Average measured latency:: 62.67ms
Average measured latency:: 61.54ms
Average measured latency:: 59.76ms


Very good result similar to others USB3.0 grabbers. For 1080p120 display is even better.
Video device: Game Capture HD60 X
Video mode: 1920x1080x120 NV12
Perfect minimal latency (related to FPS):: 8.33ms
Average measured latency:: 44.3ms
Average measured latency:: 44.56ms
Average measured latency:: 43.34ms


HDR tone mapping LUT calibration results:

Test board before and after HDR tone mapping.


Note: The advanced configuration functions of the HD60X in the Elgato 4K Capture Utility program allow you to change the YUV coefficients. Calibrations were performed with standard settings which means REC.709 selection. If you have changed this setting, you must calibrate LUT yourself. HyperHDR LUT calibration utility has auto-detection of the best matching coefficients.




Prime color (Red, Green, Blue) Captured color New dedicated LUT
Red: (255,0,0) (138, 84, 55) (255,0,0)
Green: (0,255,0) (119, 148, 89) (0,255,0)
Blue: (0,0,255) (74, 51, 147) (0,0,255)
Yellow: (255,255,0) (148, 149, 92) (255,255,0)
Magenta: (255,0,255) (138, 87, 147) (255,0,255)
Cyan: (0,255,255) (122, 147, 148)(4,255,255)
Orange: (255,128,0) (140, 114, 68) (255,122,0)
Pink: (255,0,128) (137, 85, 108) (255,0,130)
Azure: (0,128,255) (92, 109, 146) (0,128,255)
Brown: (128,64,0) (102, 83, 44) (134,65,0)
Purple: (128,0,64) (100, 55, 77) (135,0,66)
Low red: (128,0,0) (99, 55, 33) (133,0,0)
Low green: (0,128,0) (83, 108, 57) (0,129,0)
Low blue: (0,0,128) (47, 31, 107) (0,0,133)
LowestGray: (16,16,16) (38, 38, 38) (15,15,15)
Gray1: (32,32,32) (55, 55, 55) (33,33,33)
Gray2: (48,48,48) (68, 68, 68) (50,50,50)
Gray3: (64,64,64) (78, 78, 78) (66,66,66)
Gray4: (96,96,96) (95, 96, 93) (97,97,97)
Gray5: (120,120,120) (106, 106, 104)(121,121,121)
Gray6: (144,144,144) (115, 117, 114)(146,146,146)
Gray7: (172,172,172) (124, 126, 124)(174,174,174)
Gray8: (196,196,196) (132, 135, 132)(202,202,202)
HighestGray: (220,220,220) (139, 142, 139)(228,228,228)
White: (255,255,255) (147, 150, 147)(255,255,255)

The HDR calibration result is excellent, almost excactly like Rullz MS2109. But the latter requires manual brightness, contrast and saturation adjustments. Elgato HD60X achieves this with the default settings. And thanks to the USB3.0 support, it is much faster than the Rullz MS2109.

Summary

Of all the grabbers tested, the main competitor of the Elgato is the Ezcap 320. I bought the Elgato for 140 euros in the promotion, the cost of the Ezcap 320 is now 110 euros.

But the Ezcap 320, apart from the lower price, also has some disadvantages: the captured HDR signal is disturbed, which results in LUT calibration achieving an infinitely worse result, does not support VRR, sometimes the firmware has a problem to work properly under Linux and requires help from the support, often connected to the USB3.0 port is detected as USB2.0 device.

If we ignore the price, Elgato Game Capture HD60X is by far the best grabber that has been tested so far, well designed stable device and the only one with VRR support.

Comments

dapostol73 said…
Did you do any test to see how it handle a Dolby Vision and HDR+ signal? Do you lose this functionality or does it just passthrough the signal and capture it in washed out SDR image?

Looking online, I only found this information on the HD60 Pro, but it wasn't clear what it would do and if this is the same for HD60 X

https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032194032-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K60-Pro-MK-2-Which-HDR-Formats-Are-Supported-
awawa said…
I don't have DV nor HDR+ video source so can't test it. DV is closed format and only LLDV mode usually works for USB grabbers, otherwise typical DV content is distorted (everything is pink, lost of other colors).
Bloobik said…
Hi, I've got elgato HD60 X and TV 4k 120 Hz VRR. I use a ezcoo splitter 8K for 4k120 VRR on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Can you tell me what Device and EDID options I need to set to hyperHDR works on 4k120 VRR ? For now I get black screen
(on HyperHDR) with ELGATO sign when I try to run for example The Last of Us Part I od PS5, on 60Hz I get picture (but I get this even on MS2130.)
Javierpal said…
Bloobik did you find if the El Gato grabber can run HDR content?