It's a hard time to be an external capture card. PC streamers with a single computer setup don't really need them, and modern consoles are so good at capturing their own footage that it can be hard to know who should even spend the money on an external device. On the other hand, if you stream gameplay from a console but want the benefits of proper broadcasting software, or you just want perfect footage for making pristine YouTube clips, an external capture card is a must-have.
I've been using external capture cards to make YouTube content for just shy of a decade, and there is no better one than the AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1, which is seeing a maddening Black Friday discount at Amazon right now. Launching to the tune of $299, this was clearly a futureproofed and overpowered device for professionals who had the budget. Now, it's going for $189.99, which is a deal so good it made me wonder if my number dyslexia was getting the better of me.
I've spotted the best capture card crown holder slowly trickling down in price over the last year, despite firmware updates continuing to improve its performance. I never expected it to drop this low though, particularly when it's got the features to justify its original price tag.
Should you buy the AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1?
Throwing together the odd gameplay compilation and uploading it to YouTube doesn't exactly demand the best production quality, and probably isn't worth spending this sort of money on. But if you want to get really creative and produce highly stylized YouTube videos, having a few extra tools on your utility belt can make a world of difference. You don't even need to have dreams of becoming the next Twitch star - content creation can be a very fun, very rewarding hobby to invest in.
If that sounds like you, I can say from experience that the best capture card I've ever used is the AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1. It's futureproofed beyond belief, to the point where I'm not sure even professional Twitch streamers and YouTubers could make the most of all its features. There's variable refresh rate passthrough for up to 4K 144Hz, which means even if you've got a dual PC setup, or you're recording console gameplay competitively, you don't need to worry about your in-game performance suffering while you capture gameplay footage.
It also has some excellent audio capabilities, which can be massive for streamers on PS5, since routing that console's audio through a headset while also capturing part chat can be difficult, even with one of the best streaming mixers. For YouTubers, editing videos can be a formatting nightmare, and I've never seen a capture card's software suite with a conclusive list of options like AverMedia's. No matter the video format you're targetting, or the resolution, bitrate, or framerate, this is one that does it all.
The biggest point of frustration with this bit of streaming gear is that AverMedia's PC software doesn't let you adjust the picture quality - things like brightness, contrast, and colors. That's something you can do with the Elgato Game Capture 4K Pro, so it's disappointing you don't have access to it here. Fortunately, the Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 does turn out really well-balanced footage, so it's not a deal breaker.
Looking for more Black Friday deals to make the most of? Check out Black Friday Meta Quest deals, Black Friday Xbox deals, and Black Friday gaming chair deals.
