Hauppauge HD PVR 60

The HD PVR Rocket was kindly provided by the manufacturer Hauppauge.

The second Hauppauge product in ours Capture card Test series next to the HD PVR Rocket is the HD PVR 60. Unlike her little sister this is about a stationary solution. The larger and heavier device should therefore offer better performance. At least one could assume so.

The Hauppauge HD PVR 60 is not a bad product, but falls behind due to exorbitantly high latency values, a small scope of delivery and software that needs improvement.

Big and heavy, but without options

The square capture card measures 4 cm in height and a maximum of 15,1 cm in length and width. At 296 grams, the HD PVR 60 is the heaviest product in our comparison. The card gets narrower towards the inside and is painted matt black on the outside. The status LEDs are located in the middle of the device. The device's surface has a slightly reflective metal material that clearly shows fingerprints. The recording button is also located there.

There are four rubberized feet on the bottom, which provide some stability. Nevertheless, the whole thing seems a bit unsafe on smooth surfaces. The back houses the USB port, one HDMI Input and a latency-free HDMI output. This will be relevant later.

Anyone who buys the HD PVR 60 only gets a USB and a HDMI cable, both with a length of 1,5 meters. This is a relatively small scope of delivery, especially compared to the Rocket from Hauppauge. The cables could also be a bit longer.

Like Mother like daughter

Installing the HD PVR 60 is child's play. Connect the card to your computer via the supplied USB cable and any console via HDMI to the HDMI In port on the back of the device. Installs Hauppauge Capture. You can find the program here. The HD PVR 60 shares the software with the Rocket. So the pros and cons remain the same. Capture is clear, installation is easy. The recording can be started via Hauppauge Capture and the recording button mentioned. Hauppauges' SkipBack function lets you record past gameplay and works flawlessly. More detailed information can be found in the Rocket test. Incorporating a Webcam In our test, it didn't really work with the HD PVR 60 either, and it crashed. The tool seems to have problems activating the facecam. Here, too, we have prepared a small clip for you.

You can't get any higher

The parallels to the HD PVR Rocket run like a red thread through this test. Hauppauge's second product also fails across the board when it comes to latency. While the Rocket offers a stand-alone mode for recording without a computer, the HD PVR 60 only works in conjunction with your PC. So the argument falls away. As described in the teaser, we actually assumed that the larger and more expensive model was an improvement. Obviously that's not the case.

With 176 frames at 96 FPS, the latency is 1,83 seconds. That's almost 0,5 seconds longer than the Rocket and almost 10 times the latency of the products from AVerMedia, Elgato or Razer. A note for the sake of fairness: The HDMI output mentioned enables latency-free playback and works perfectly. However, a second monitor or a television is required for this. The competition is simply stronger in this area.

Quality can convince

On the plus side, the HD PVR 60 is no exception when it comes to recording quality. The video and audio quality is consistently very good. 1080p60 is of course not a problem. With a file size of approx. 1,05 GB per 10 minutes of recording, Hauppauge Capture is very efficient and allows you to enjoy long gaming sessions and recordings.

It depends on the user

So is the Hauppauge HD PVR 60 bad? Certainly not. After all, it fulfills the task of "recording consoles with 60FPS" with flying colors. The design is pleasing, the program works to some extent and the efficiency is right. Anyone who owns more than one monitor or television and has no problems accommodating several cables could access it without hesitation. However, the HD PVR 60 currently costs just under €150. So the question is rather why not die Razer Ripsaw, Elgato HD60 S or at least the Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket  should buy. Both offer a much larger scope of delivery, cost less and the Razer Ripsaw also delivers decent latency values. In our opinion, the PVR 60 isn't bad, but it doesn't perform well enough compared to the competition.