# I Have a Problem with Elgato I've been experiencing a *very* specific capture problem during 2025. I don't know anyone else with [[Rewiring - Preparing the Way for Tink 4K|my kind of setup]], which makes finding answers to my problems all the more tricky. Back at the end of December 2024, I upgraded a capture card in my chain to the Elgato 4K X. After said change, I started running into [[Behind the Scenes of The Spirit of Super Mario Galaxy#Gameplay|this problem]]. > "Sometimes the capture would stop in the middle of a session and split videos up, losing a few seconds between stopping one clip and starting another. I have some guesses, but haven't figured out the best way to troubleshoot this yet. I don't lose any signal on the television, so I missed when the warning light flashed and don't know it happened until I am at my computer... > > ... (Footnote 7): It could be a switch of resolution or dropped frames flagging the 4K60S+ that there is a problem. It's a finicky card, but it's the only thing that I own that can handle capture at 4K60 HDR. Possibly my TINK-4K has a bug in the firmware I am running. I haven't updated in a bit. It seems to be difficult to replicate consistently, which makes troubleshooting trickier." Let me explain. This is what my current capture setup looks like these days. ![[250325_Capture Setup Canvas.png]] This accomplishes two things for me: 1. My consoles send their signal directly to the TV without a capture card sitting between the two. In particular, this allows my PS5 Pro and XSX to use VRR and 120Hz without needing to unplug anything. 2. The two capture cards offload technical pressure. The [Elgato 4K60S+](https://youtube.com/watch?v=V5mLAxQ8q78)) is a [standalone device](https://www.corsair.com/newsroom/press-release/elgato-and-corsair-launch-new-products-to-empower-content-creators-at-ces-2020?srsltid=AfmBOoqNT8-QE2CKvVjcCBA70TLrTB7z870df4Ks2Gkc1S9R_XmU4iif). I don't need my computer on to capture [certain resolutions](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038597431-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K60-S-Supported-Resolutions). I could stream and capture simultaneously without overloading my computer. The friction to record is much more minimal. Why would I set it up this way? Two capture cards daisy-chained together sounds like a terrible idea and certainly not one intended. Well, it's like I just said, it offloads the technical pressure on my iMac. I'm rocking a M1 iMac with 16GB of unified memory. It was the best Mac [at the time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_transition_to_Apple_silicon#2021). I was eager to make the switch to Apple Silicon from my 2017 MacBook Pro and made the jump. Definite "early adopter, but not Day One early" sort of decision making. I love this computer. I only hear the fans when running intense audio algorithms or trying to capture gameplay footage. I have been bumping against its performance ceiling a lot more this past year with video editing, software performance, etc., but that is more me running into the glass ceiling over and over because my obsession with quality far exceeds my real-life budget. To open up this production bottleneck, I figured I could use the iMac for *streaming* and the Elgato 4K60S+ for *recording*. In the streaming realm, I am only outputting at 1080p, which is doable on my iMac. When recording though, I want the highest resolution and framerate that I can get. This has been possible thanks to my daisy-chain pictured above and the power of "lag-free passthrough." I think of the 4K60S+ as a second (albeit headless) monitor/computer. It's just a proverbial screen that records what it sees. I have used this thing regularly since I bought it during peak COVID supply restraint for a gig on a job site where I used it to record laptops giving Power Point presentations. Seriously. I have pushed this thing to its limits and love it for all its wonky faults. Like, the device [doesn't support 1440p](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038597431-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K60-S-Supported-Resolutions). You have to decipher a [Morse Code of error lights](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038801672-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K60-S-Blink-Codes-for-Lights) if something isn't working. You have to tweak [a .txt file](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038454731-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K60-S-Configuring-Standalone-Recording) to manage its settings. It [doesn't support macOS over USB](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038512571-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K60-S-Windows-10-Is-Supported-macOS-is-not-Supported) at all for whatever reason. And I love it despite all those flaws. So when I swapped out the Elgato HD60 X for the new 4K X and started getting these dropped/start-stop clips, I figured my fickle workhorse was the problem, not the new steed. Alas, that seems to not be the case. My first step in trouble shooting was to put the HD60 X card back in the chain and see if the problem kept happening. I am pleased(?) to report that it has not happened since going back. That's an entire replay of *God of War: Ragnarök*, its *Valhalla* DLC, some 25ish hours of *Tears of the Kingdom*, *Mirror's Edge*, and the new hotness *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* to back it up. Therefore I must conclude that the problem lies solely with the Elgato 4K X. --- Let's circle back to my original theory... > "It could be a switch of resolution or dropped frames flagging the 4K60S+ that there is a problem...Possibly my TINK-4K has a bug in the firmware I am running." Both of these are wrong, basically right as soon as I typed them. The issue was happening on the PS5 Pro and the TINK-4K. This was console agnostic. I also flipped off all the possible switches on the PlayStations where variable resolutions and frames could be applied. These were all spitting out 4K60 and that's it. Now to commence talking out of my butt. My working theory is perhaps the HDMI signal from the 4K X is sending flags that would indicate a resolution change or a framerate change, despite it not occurring. Maybe the HDMI protocol for lag-free passthrough of HDMI 2.1 is different than HDMI 2.0 so much so that when sending a compliant HDMI 2.0 compatible signal, it still comes across in a different manner. --- So what was my plan? Well, it was to just wait until I got a new Mac so I could retire both the HD60 X and the 4K60S+ at the same time. Let the Mac handle all the recording, even though using OBS ups the friction to record to astronomical heights. It was frustrating, but I knew I would need the capability to record beyond 4K60 someday and the 4K X card would accomplish that feat. I just needed a beefier Mac. But the issue still bothered me. Why? Why doesn't this new card have parity with the old one? What is tripping the signal? Is it a flaw on Elgato's part or my own wonky setup? I was not satisfied living in the unknown. --- So on March 17, 2025, I called Elgato Support. Shocker—They never heard of this kind of setup. Right away, he defaulted to corporateSpeak and said that they cannot guarantee performance with HDMI splitters and switches involved, let alone a capture card into another capture card. My first support guy wanted to try a "pure" (my quotes, not theirs) setup: The PS5 Pro into the 4K X into the TV. At this initial support bulwark, I waffled. I could tell that they weren't interested in addressing the misaligned parity between cards. Three days later, I got an automated reminder and decided to try what Elgato suggested. Why? It was in part to ease the potential concern that my card was busted in some way. It could've happened. The other was to be able to say at the end of the process I did my best to help solve the problem. After some stretchy cable management, I got the ideal capture setup in place and gave it a shot. Here's what I sent back to Elgato, emphasis added for this article. > "Unfortunately, my computer is not powerful enough to capture at the same resolution, framerate, and quality (HDR) as the Elgato 4K60S+. The results were extremely choppy from OBS, but that was ***surely my machine and not the card***. > > I won't be able ***to properly test and compare until I get a more powerful computer*** someday. I'll have to keep using the HD60X for now I believe." Elgato disagreed with my assessment. Citing the [System Requirements](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/23635913547021-Elgato-Game-Capture-4K-X-System-Requirements) for the 4K X, the only requirements for a Mac are a M1 and 4GB of RAM, which you and I know I meet.[^1] They were quick to correct me that a Mac does not support the video codec for capturing HDR. Fair. I knew that. The team suggested I tweak the Input EDID Mode and switch OBS' video encoder from hardware to software. Not to sound like a know-it-all, but this was not going to work. We had left the neighborhood of the original issue. We were in another zip code now. I wanted to hold up my end of this support-social contract though. [This](https://youtube.com/watch?v=E4x8pQ3pK5Q) was the result of switching to the software encoder. <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/E4x8pQ3pK5Q?si=y7jPP6SKjfguMvBx" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> I sent Elgato a slew of screenshots documenting my OBS setup *before* the recommended changes. I am not a fan of OBS. It trades cumbersome design for openness under the shroud of powerful software. I never look forward to using it. Before spelunking into the depths of OBS per Elgato's instructions, I documented my settings. A common warning I see in OBS when bringing in high-res gameplay is **"Encoding overloaded! Consider turning down video settings or using a faster encoding preset."** I sent them screenshots of all my settings and was starting to feel a bit lost. Was it my Mac and not the card? Or were my YouTube-sourced OBS settings creating the bottleneck? Now, I was unsure. ![[OBS-4KX-Properties.png]] ![[OBS-Video-General.png]] ![[OBS-Output-Recording_1.png]] ![[OBS-Output-Recording_2.png]] ![[OBS-Hardware-Encoder-Overload.png]] A couple of days later, a new tech stepped in while the first was out of the office. This individual recommended flipping OBS to the "simple" setting. If that failed (which it did), then they wanted to use the [Elgato Mac Reporter utility](https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027962692-How-do-I-use-the-Elgato-Mac-Reporter-utility) to log my system information to help troubleshoot further. I captured footage of [all](https://youtu.be/dvDC4k5btsY) these [permutations](https://youtu.be/q8tidbEOq5I) as well to show them what I was experiencing. <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dvDC4k5btsY?si=RitDbl_fIYZPKSHe" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/q8tidbEOq5I?si=rH1x7R4vIyrC62Lx" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> I think the hardware encoder ran smoother, if "smoother" could even be applied to that footage. After reviewing my logs and footage, this issue officially became worthy of the **Advanced Support Team**. All of this occurred within eight days of that initial phone call. I was surprised at the commitment to solve this problem that I didn't even think I had when I started this journey. One week later was when I got the follow up that I thought was going to solve all my problems. > "Thank you for your patience while we continue to go over this issue. > > My Advanced Support Team reached back out to me and we would like to test with 10GB mode to see if that may help. > > 1. Press and hold Option in the Elgato Capture Device Utility > 2. Turn on USB 10 Gbps in the next window > 3. Re-test and any improvements?" A hidden USB 10GB mode? A forcing toggle to make sure the Mac is using the full bandwidth of USB-C 3.2 Gen 2? No way. This was the solution. It had to be! I was psyched to test this out. You [already](https://youtube.com/watch?v=-ZtvsR3b2RE) [know](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kc-2FUSpT-E) it failed. <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-ZtvsR3b2RE?si=qtmY-6Kx_SyHn0Rj" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Kc-2FUSpT-E?si=4uj8GsgKijI0yUUT" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> Now, I did switch consoles. I let a friend borrow my base PS5 to play *Astro Bot* during that week stint. It was easier for my to connect my Xbox to the capture apparatus. Plus, I think *Forza Horizon 4* is a much better game to showcase the horrendous performance. Elgato said the **Advanced Support Team** would need to look further at the issue and would get back with me. The response the next day may be my favorite support reply ever. > "The recordings clearly show the problems." They went on to ask if the OBS preview was lagging that hard, but you just can't beat that sentence. The OBS preview had its hitches, slowdown, and latency, but nowhere near as bad as the recorded footage. What they wanted next was for me to take a screenshot of the Activity Monitor while recording to see what was zapping resources. The image on the left is while using the hardware encoder, the right image is with the software encoder. ![[250404_Activity Monitor Hardware Encoder.png]] ![[250404_Activity Monitor Software Encoder.png]] After providing these screenshots, on April 7, we were escalated from the **Advanced Support Team** to the ***Developers***. I kid you not. Nine days later, this is what the devs had to say. > "We need to make sure. Does the preview on OBS work smoothly or not? > > In the settings of OBS please change to use the "Video encoder = H.264" instead of using HEVC, and also try it with lower resolution (1080p,720p)" At this point, I'm thinking how much easier this would be over a phone call or a video call where I can show them and we could troubleshoot in some semblance of real-time. And what is the point of dropping the resolution down to 1080p or 720p?! I already have gear capable of that. I've never had a problem at those resolutions. Still, I wanted to [hold up my end](https://youtube.com/watch?v=2UxOCtOVyk0). My response; > "Thanks for getting back to me. I tried those recommended settings (H.264 and 1080p). The OBS Preview window worked, but I wouldn't say smoothly. I'm not running framerate testing here, but it wasn't a smooth 60. It was useable for monitoring, not playing, if that makes sense. I recorded the gameplay, which didn't really have trouble as far as I could tell. That isn't too surprising to me since I downsized the resolution to 1080p though. Definitely feels tied to 4K. I can't really record my iMac screen since that'd likely overwhelm my system. > > Is there anything else I can supply to help out?" I sent that on April 16, 2025—one month after the start of the whole journey. I continued to wait for word from the mythical ***Developers***. I sent one of those brief "bubble up to the top" emails on April 29. I got a response on May 6. The guidance was, as my friend put it, to "completely throttle the quality of your capture. Have you tried that yet? 🤔" For the curious, here are their recommended settings. > [!info]- Elgato Developers Final Recommended Settings > ![[250507_Elgato Dev Recommended Setting.png]] Those settings produced [this result](https://youtube.com/watch?v=NnHPPqbyCUk): <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NnHPPqbyCUk?si=tQnbwAbJBEpAdS0J" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> If all that failed (which it did), the team threw up their hands and came to the same conclusion I did back in December before I ever reached out to them. The same conclusion I *told* them at the start of this process. > "If nothing helps, then a stronger system will be needed for 4K capture." Reading between their lines, I knew this ticket was done. I concluded my end of the contract with one final test and a couple of suggestions for the team. 1) A request to update the product page or technical specs to make clear that full support is not possible on a base M1. This should be made clear so consumers do not buy the card in hopes that it will perform as advertised. 2) I encouraged trying to look back at the original issue, since I still think it is some error in the HDMI signal chain. Perhaps it is solvable with a software update or is impossible due to hardware differences. I thanked them for their hard work and longterm support. The certainly went above and beyond my expectations. I acknowledged that my setup is unique and I have been pushing Mac computers with Elgato devices for over a decade. --- Why did I go through support? Why subject myself to nearly two months of back-and-forth emails? What did I have to gain? Knowledge. I did it for knowledge. I wanted to know why device feature parity was broken. I wanted to be sure my 4K X wasn't broken on some small level. I wanted the team at Elgato to know so they might fix the issue some day. I did it so someone else might learn from my trials so they don't buy the wrong product for their setup. For now, I'll use the HD60 X to power my capture needs. Retirement for it and the 4K60S+ is still a ways off it seems. It's all contingent on when I get a new Mac. I know that's the answer. Because I borrowed my Dad's M2 Ultra Mac Studio with 64GB of unified memory and captured [this killer 4K120 footage](https://youtu.be/fd1R4Cat-UQ) of me losing swiftly in the Star Wars season of *Fortnite*. It took up just 1.4% of the processing power—and that was while it rendered its own 4K120 picture out to the monitor. <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fd1R4Cat-UQ?si=Nv-i1fMBmA5y5YV-" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> Now YouTube has to catch up to me. They don't support 4K120 yet. [^1]: Who is going to tell them it is "unified memory" now? I mean, yes it *is* RAM, but it also isn't. Marketing and technical terms don't always jive.