Elgato Cam Link Pro | Review

Capture cards are often used by streamers who want to broadcast or record their games, without relying on recording software that would increase the load on the PC and worsen game performance. Those who want the highest quality usually take advantage of internal solutions such as the Elgato 4K 60 Pro, capable of managing a source at 4K 60 fps and offering a passthrough without latency, while those who are "satisfied" with recording in Full HD rely on d 'external capture, such as the Elgato HD 60 or the AverMedia EzRecorder 330, the latter also capable of offering 4K 60 fps passthrough.

These devices, however, are not only used by streamers and Youtubers, especially in a period like the one we are experiencing. The acquisition cards can prove to be an extremely useful tool also for videoconferences, videolessons and so on: to give some examples, they allow you to use your own camera to frame a blackboard on which you are doing a lesson or presentation and transmit the image on Zoom, Google Meet and the like, or to use it as a webcam, in case you don't have one available. In short, in a difficult time like this, where teleworking has become an integral part of the lives of many, these devices have helped many people to carry on their activities at their best.

Elgato has designed the new Cam Link Pro thinking exactly about these situations, but bigger: the company has tried to create a solution suitable for those who manage videoconferences and need to work with multiple video inputs, even making a direction of a certain type.

Technical specifications

The Elgato Cam Link Pro is an internal capture card, which connects to the PC via a PCIe x4 interface. Many modern motherboards no longer have these types of ports, but don't worry - the device can also be safely inserted inside a PCIe x8 or PCIe x16 slot.

The company has equipped the card with four inputs HDMI, capable of handling sources up to 4K 30 fps. There are no exits, so no passthrough; if you need this feature, you will have to rely on other solutions.

The Elgato Cam Link Pro occupies only one slot and is smaller than the Elgato 4K 60 Pro, there will be no problem inserting it inside any PC; just be careful not to place it attached to the video card, so as to avoid overheating problems.

To perform at its best and be able to handle four HDMI inputs without difficulty, the Elgato Cam Link Pro has quite a minimum requirements Important: You will need a computer with Intel Core i7 6000 series / AMD Ryzen 7 or later and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1000 series video card. In our tests we used a configuration consisting of Ryzen 7 1800X, GTX 1070 and 16GB of RAM and we do not have noticed any kind of problem.

Software

the Elgato Cam Link Pro is compatible with the most popular streaming software, including OBS, vMix, XSplit, Wirecast and Streamlabs, but it also works with any encoding program, so you won't have any problems using it with your favorite.

To make the most of it, however, you must also use Elgato's 4K Capture Utility program, essential for setting the multiview. This is the most interesting feature of the Cam Link Pro and allows you to have all the inputs in a single screen. In fact, thanks to the multiview it is possible to view two sources in Picture in Picture mode or to have two, three or four sources side by side.

Setting the multiview is very simple: using the 4K Capture Utility software it is sufficient to select as input HDMI # 1 - Multiview, then from the second drop-down menu the type of view you want among the four mentioned above. Once this is done, by selecting the input in your favorite software (in our case, Streamlabs OBS) you will have the configured multiview available.

The Cam Link Pro also integrates perfectly with the Elgato Stream Deck: through the dedicated software it is possible to set the multiview layouts on the stream deck, so as to be able to change them in a flash and make the direction even more fluid.

Verdict

The Elgato Cam Link Pro is an excellent solution for those looking for a device with which to manage multiple video inputs, which also allows you to combine them in a simple way. Combined with the 4K Capture Utility software and a Stream Deck, the new acquisition board of the American company allows you to easily manage the direction of videoconferences, meetings, videolessons and any other streaming.

At the moment there is no they are real competitors of the Elgato Cam Link Pro, which debuts with a price of 349.99 euros (the card is already available on Amazon). The figure is higher than that at which you can buy the Elgato 4K 60 Pro MK.2 (on Amazon for 250 euros), however these are different products, intended for different users; in our opinion, for what the device does the price seems adequate, especially if we consider the fact that a single Cam Link 4K costs 129.99 euros.

The only aspect that has not convinced us 100% % are the minimum requirements: it is easy to understand that a certain power is required to manage four sources at 4K resolution, however not all those who have found themselves working from home have at their disposal what on balance is a high-end PC, even if four or five years ago.

Net of this, it is undeniable that the Elgato Cam Link Pro offers high-level features and functionality, which at the moment we cannot find in any other acquisition card available on the market. For this reason, we give you our Award.