elgato game capture hardware encoder not an option

Okay, so I wanted to share this little adventure I had the other day with my Elgato Game Capture device. I was all set to record some gameplay, but I ran into a bit of a snag. The hardware encoder option was nowhere to be found in the settings, which is a big no-no for me because using the hardware encoder makes everything run so much smoother, you know?

So, first thing I did was double-check all the obvious stuff. I went over the connections to make sure my PlayStation was hooked up right to my TV via HDMI and everything looked good there. Then, I popped into the PlayStation settings, went to “System,” and made sure the “Enable HDCP” option was turned off. That’s a common fix for these kinds of issues, and a necessary step.

After that, I turned my attention to the Elgato software itself. I’m using the 4K Capture Utility, and the first place I looked was in the recording settings. I was hoping to find some mention of my GPU there, but no luck. I even tried lowering the bitrate, thinking maybe it was just too much for my PC to handle, but that didn’t do the trick either.

Next, I started digging around in OBS, the software I usually use for recording and streaming. Now, I’m pretty sure I had all the latest drivers installed, and I made sure my device was plugged into a USB 3.0 port, which is super important for getting enough bandwidth. I even double-checked that I didn’t have too many other power-hungry devices plugged into nearby USB ports, just in case that was causing some kind of interference.

At this point, I was starting to feel a little stumped. I did some more research online and found out that some Elgato models, like the HD60 S, don’t actually have a built-in H.264 encoder chip. I don’t have that one, but it got me thinking about how the data was being processed. Since I was using USB 2, so the 1080p60 feed is being encoded nonstop as it’s being sent into the PC.

elgato game capture hardware encoder not an option

Troubleshooting My Way Through

Checked connections: I made sure everything was hooked up correctly between my console, TV, and capture card.
Disabled HDCP: I turned off HDCP in my PlayStation settings.
Adjusted recording settings: I looked for GPU settings and lowered the bitrate in the 4K Capture Utility.
Checked OBS settings: I made sure I had the latest drivers, used a USB 3.0 port, and minimized interference from other devices.
Researched online: I learned about how different Elgato models handle encoding.

Normally, when I run into a weird tech problem like this, I’d just track down the drivers and reinstall them, and that usually fixes things right up. But this time, that didn’t work. I was really scratching my head. My Elgato Game Capture HD just wasn’t playing nice. I guess it doesn’t have a compatible encoder after all.

Someone mentioned that the cheapest fix might just be to get a different capture card that works better with OBS on Mac. It sounds like a hassle, but I’m going to look into some options. For now, I guess I’ll have to put my recording plans on hold. But I’ll keep everyone posted if I find a solution!