The Best Game Recorder

Editor's Choice

Elgato Game Capture Card HD60 S

All Around Best Quality

It's easy to appreciate the Elgato capture card because it has it all––high-quality resolution, zero lag pass through, live-streaming capacity, and a handful of other bonus features.

Elgato Game Capture Card will gather all of your best gaming moments in high-quality 1080p resolution at 60 fps. Apart from 4K, this is the highest resolution possible.

The capture card is stacked with built-in features, like live streaming to Twitch, YouTube, and other streaming channels. Plus, there's a live commentary feature that's at your disposal right when you plug the card in. With the live commentary feature, you can add voice commentary and adjust audio levels as needed.

If you miss a moment and want to go back and relive it all over again––or want to upload it to your favorite gaming channels––you can retroactively go back and savor those moments with the Flashback Recording feature.

Other bonus features include Stream Command, which helps you pair your webcam and add overlays.

Key Features

  • 1080p resolution with 60fps
  • USB 3.0 type C connection
  • Built-in live streaming to Twitch, YouTube and other channels
  • Zero lag pass through
Best Design

ClonerAlliance HDML-Cloner Box Pro

Everything You Need In A Card

ClonerAlliance's capture device offers everything you need with a simple design that cuts out the dizzying complicated stuff.

With this capture device, you can record 1080p videos from a plethora of game consoles or other video sources. You control the recorder via a remote equipped with several features that make the device easy to use, such as instant playback, scheduled recording, and the ability to take screenshots and convert special moments to JPG files. From there, you can save videos as MP4 files to a USB or hard drive of your choosing.

In addition to capture technology, this device offers editing services so you can edit and convert recorded content as needed. ClonerAlliance's card offers live gameplay to YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook as well.

Plus, for more interactive game play, there's a 3.5mm mic jack so you can add your own unique commentary to your collected footage! Microphone not included.

Key Features

  • Operated by remote control
  • Records and captures in 1080p video resolution
  • Save files as MP4 to external hard drive (not included)
Keep It Simple

MYPIN 1080P Game Video Capture Card

No-Frills Card

MYPIN's game capture card is a bit simpler than other models because it doesn't have live streaming capacity, but that didn't stop us from totally loving this product.

MYPIN's capture card might not have all the frills other models do, but maybe you don't need all the extra stuff! The recorder captures video in 1080p resolution at 30fps. It must be used with an external storage device like a USB card or hard drive, so you'll need to buy a storage device separately.

It's compatible with a handful of gaming devives like Xbox 360 and One, PS3 and 4, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, and even more. If you want to add audio to your recordings, simply plug in a microphone using a 3.5mm headphone jack! It's really that simple.

Keep in mind, this option doesn't have a live streaming feature, so you'll have to upload content manually instead of in real time.

Key Features

  • 1080p resolution with 30fps
  • Compatible with external storage devices—USB drives up to 128GB or HDD up to 2TB
  • 3.5mm headphone jack for voice over
Easiest To Use

If-Link HDMI Capture

Plug-And-Play Design

If-Link doesn't require complicated setup or a ton of research before use. The design is simple enough––plug in and start capturing your awesome gaming experiences. It's that easy!

If-Link's video capture is an excellent choice that's easy to use and easy to love. This model is super small, compact, and lightweight, making it fit in anywhere, and ensuring it's small enough to transport from the living room to your room, from your room to your movie room, anywhere!

The setup is essentially nonexistent, just plug your recorder into a Windows, MAC OS X, or Linux computer and you're ready to start capturing cool moments.

The video quality is high with 1080p with 60fps, and if you want to overlay audio, you can do that as well.

Key Features

  • USB 3.0 connection
  • 1080p resolution with 60 fps
  • Small enough to transport anywhere

There's some lingo to keep in mind while shopping around for a game recorder. To make the process easier for you, we broke down some important terms below.

Resolution

TV resolution refers to the amount of pixels on your screen. As a rule of thumb, the higher the number, the better the resolution. Higher numbers offer more vibrant and richly detailed imagery. 4K is the highest resolution on the market now, but 1080p is an excellent alternative.

Frames Per Second (fps)

Frames per second (marked by fps) goes hand in hand with the resolution of your TV. Fps represents how many individuals frames can be shown in one second. 60 fps is ideal, because especially for gaming, that frame rate offers crisper movements and sharper action.

Alaina Strollo

Alaina is a writer and editor for the TravelAwaits team. Between her love for delicious food, hidden gems and niche destinations, and binge-watching travel series on Netflix, Alaina loves writing most of all. She is a storyteller at heart with a passion for sharing stories with the world.