Elgato External Game Capture Cards: HD60 vs. HD60 S vs. HD60 S+ vs. 4K60 S+

Elgato currently has four external game capture cards available with the HD60, HD60 S, HD60 S+ and 4K60 S+. So, what are the main differences between these four products?

You can find out in this comparison guide between the four external Elgato game capture cards.

Quick Summary

When compared to the other external capture cards, the Elgato Game Capture 4K60 S+ is the only product that can capture gameplay videos at 4K and 60 frames per second. So, it is the best at recording videos for PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. You can also get a very good gameplay experience when capturing as the gameplay passthrough is 4K and 60 frames per second with HDR. Last but not least, the 4K60 S+ can record video directly on a SD card.

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ is the second best at capturing footage from 4K capable consoles. Although you can record in 4K, you are limited to 30 frames per second. With that said, you can still play at 4K and 60 frames per second with HDR. The HD60 S+ also come with Instant Gameview, a feature not found in the 4K60 S+ that lets you get a live view for your gameplay capture, your webcam reactions as well as your live audio commentary.

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 and Elgato Game Capture HD60 S are both designed for 1080p console capture. Thus, both are best suited for the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox One S.

We recommend getting the HD60 S over the HD60 as the S version comes with the faster USB 3.0 connection in addition to supporting the aforementioned Instant Gameview feature.

If you are interested, you can purchase any of the aforementioned external game capture cards on Amazon with the following links:

• Elgato Game Capture HD60
• Elgato Game Capture HD60 S
• Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+
• Elgato Game Capture 4K60 S+

HD60 vs. 60 S vs. HD60 S+ vs. 4K60 S+ Comparison Chart

Supported Capture Resolutions and Frame Rates

The Game Capture HD60 and Game Capture HD60 S support 576i and 1080i while the Game Capture HD60 S+ only supports 1080i. The Game Capture 4K60 S+ does not support interlaced resolution.

With that said, the Game Capture 4K60 S+ is the only product that can capture in 4K at up to 60 frames per second. You can also capture 4K with the Game Capture HD60 S+, although you will be limited to 30 frames per second.

You can find the complete lists of supported resolutions and frame rates for all four external capture cards in this versus guide below:

Game Capture HD60:

• 480p (720 x 480) at 60 FPS
• 576i (720 x 576) at 50 FPS
• 576p (720 x 576) at 50 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 60 FPS
• 1080i (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080i (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS

Game Capture HD60 S:

• 480p (720 x 480) at 60 FPS
• 576i (720 x 576) at 50 FPS
• 576p (720 x 576) at 50 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 60 FPS
• 1080i (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080i (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS

Game Capture HD60 S+:

• 480p (720 x 480) at 60 FPS
• 576p (720 x 576) at 50 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 60 FPS
• 1080i (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080i (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS
• 4K (3840 by 2160) at 30 FPS

Game Capture 4K60 S+:

• 480p (720 x 480) at 60 FPS
• 576p (720 x 576) at 50 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 FPS
• 720p (1280 x 720) at 60 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 30 FPS
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 60 FPS
• 4K (3840 by 2160) at 30 FPS
• 4K (3840 by 2160) at 60 FPS

HDR10 Capture

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ and Elgato Game Capture 4K60 S+ are the only two cards to support HDR10.

Supported Consoles

All four capture cards can record videos from videogame consoles that use the HDMI output. These include the new PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X systems.

You can take a look at supported gaming consoles below:

• PS3
• Xbox 360
• Nintendo Wii U
• PS4
• Xbox One
• Nintendo Switch
• PS4 Pro
• Xbox One S
• Xbox One X
• PS5
• Xbox Series S
• Xbox Series X

Hardware Encoder

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 comes with a built-in H.264 (AVC) encoder while the Elgato Game Capture 4K60 S+ comes with a H.265 (HEVC) hardware encoder.

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 S and Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ do not use any hardware encoding.

Maximum Capture Bitrate

The Game Capture HD60, Game Capture 4K60 S+ and Game Capture HD60 S have a maximum capture bitrate of 40 Mbps.

The Game Capture 4K60 S+ has a much better max capture bitrate at 140 Mbps.

Interface

The HD60 uses the USB 2.0 interface while the HD60 S, HD60 S+ and 4K60 S+ use the USB 3.0 interface, which provides more bandwidth for capturing gameplay videos.

Flashback Recording

All of the capture cards in this comparison support Flashback Recording, a feature that lets you rewind the captured video to where you want to start the recording process.

Live Commentary

The cards also support Live Commentary, a feature where you can add your voice input along with the captured video.

Unlimited Capture

Furthermore, the Elgato products support Unlimited Capture, which lets you record for as long as possible provided you have enough space on your computer’s storage drive.

Instant Gameview

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 S and Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ are the only products in this comparison to feature Instant Gameview, which provides an instant preview of the captured footage, which also includes your reactions (captured from a separate camera) and live commentary.

Gameplay Passthrough

The Elgato Game Capture HD60 and Elgato Game Capture HD60 S have gameplay passthrough support at up to 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second.

Both the Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ and Elgato Game Capture 4K60 S+ have a gameplay passthrough support at up 4K resolution, 60 frames per second and HDR.

SD Card Support

The Game Capture 4K60 S+ is the only card in this group to support SD cards as you can store captured videos directly to the memory card without using a computer.

Compatible Operating System

The Game Capture HD60, Game Capture HD60 S and Game Capture HD60 S+ are compatible with Windows 10 (64-bit) and macOS Sierra.

The Game Capture 4K60 S+ is only compatible with the Windows 10 (64-bit).

Resources:

• https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60-s
• https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60-s-plus
• https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-4k60-s-plus