If you're a video game streamer, sharing videos on the likes of YouTube or Twitch, or even if you just like to play around with game-related tech, you'll no doubt be aware that capturing direct Switch footage is a pretty easy task. A whole host of game capture cards are now on the market which hook up to the Switch's dock to record gameplay onto your computer of choice. Recording directly from handheld mode has always been sadly impossible, however - until now.
Gaming console mod expert Katsukity has created a new hardware mod for the Switch, allowing you to capture footage directly from the console when playing in handheld mode. Working in a similar way to mods previously seen for Nintendo 3DS, this new product features a capture board which can be attached to your console, allowing you to directly stream the footage to a PC monitor.
When installed, the capture board can be seen sitting inside a plastic shell on the back of the Switch, with a USB 3.0 connection on top to connect to your PC. A special viewer software is also provided to display the image on your monitor. It's a pretty big commitment, and having your Switch transformed in this way shouldn't be a decision that is taken lightly, although there are a couple of options available should you be interested.
If you want to send your Switch away to be modded, that'll set you back $199.99. Another option is available, however, whereby you can ask for a brand new Switch console to be sent to you with all of the necessary changes already made for $545.99. You can check the offers out here if you're interested.
You can see the mod in action below thanks to this new video from the folks at Digital Foundry; the unit has allowed some interesting new discoveries to be made about the console's performance in handheld mode.
Do you record footage from your Switch? Would you like the option to record gameplay without the need for your dock? Let us know below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 24
If I'm not mistaken people on youtube have been doing this before?
What are the best dock capture cards btw? I've been thinking of getting one.
Meh. I wish Nintendo could start making their handheld consoles capture friendly. It's such a hassle (and expensive) to do this.
@RazumikhinPG Elgato HD60s
At first this seems unnecessary, if you want to do video capture you'd just do it docked anyway.
But being able to capture the portable mode would be beneficial for any games that are dependent on touch screen usage, and great for comparing docked mode to portable mode performance and graphics. Digital Foundry will no doubt invest in this.
@Bruh i wouldn’t call that the best, it works sure but the live view lags on occasion, their software is meh (though you can use OBS directly), their encoder in their software is meh, producing artifacts (again, use OBS) and when the device is off it won’t pass through the signal. As far as HDMI capture devices i’ve used go, i don’t see what the hype about elgato kit is. It works but it’s by no means the best
@tekknik So what would be your recommendation?
@RupeeClock
But there is not one game, which relies on touch control (at least none, which I'm aware of). And even for comparison videos, it is kinda dumb, because if you essentially blow up the Switch's small screen, obviously it would look worse than the docked version.
@MrBlacky
There's a few games that are straight up mobile ports, and I recall there being some game that was portable mode only in the launch period.
For comparison and performance metrics, being able to get a clean image of what portable mode looks like would help enthusiasts review games.
I still need to get a 3ds from them. So many games to beat but I loathe playing on the system.
Wow, better to capture in docked mode because in this video there are some footage that are better to hide. o_O
@MrBlacky Rayman Legends Definitive Edition has some Switch-exclusive content that is Handheld-only due to requiring the touchscreen.
@tekknik it’s probably not the best, but it’s what a lot of streamers use and it’s great for the quality vs price. Only really major problem I have with it is that it doesn’t play nice with Mac.
And Nintendo isn't doing this themselves because... why, exactly?
@RupeeClock That game was VOEZ, but they added in controller mode. No game is entirely reliant on touchscreen due to added button controls, but many of them are better in touch mode
I don't see this being useful for anyone who's not a professional game/hardware tester/analyser.
For the average user, it offers zero value (because the Switch dock already has HDMI-out) for an extremely expensive price (almost as much as the Switch costs).
Even worse, it doesn't comply with standards but instead offers only USB-out instead of HDMI-out and has to be used with proprietary software.
What baffles me the most though:
The DF guys went through all that trouble of buying the mod and and the cut-off dock but they didn't even think of getting one of those DIY mini-docks instead? 🤨
@tekknik I've never experienced any live view lag apart from the moment you connect it or turn on the source (in this case the Switch).
But if that is an issue for certain users - sounds more like an edge case to me - there's always the PCIe version.
I don't think anyone would realy say the Elgato cards are the best, they're just the most popular product on the market and are a solid option at an affordable price.
That said, please do elaborate on other or better models, I'd be interested in knowing the alternatives!
@shani I don't see this being used at all. No reason to stream the Switch in handheld mode. You shouldn't be looking down at a screen anyways when streaming as you are not paying attention to your audience.
You can easily use any capture card out on the market to stream it or record it docked.
Yes yes, maybe to record the difference between it docked and undocked but really other than that, no reason to.
@Steven_the_2nd I totally agree. ^^
The only exception apparently being Digital Foundry and anyone who wants to show/document the performance of a game in docked mode. Which can only be gaming journalists, but even then I think it's unnecessary and not worth the investion.
I am speaking on behalf of everyone here who is too scared to ask the only question worth asking.
Can it run Crysis?
The mad, mad prices though. 😱
@RupeeClock
But it doesn't look the same on the TV, computer monitor, etc., as on the Switch's screen.🤨
And i f you want to show touchscreen elements, woildn't it be better to film the Switch itself with a camera, so people can actually see what you're doing?
@MrBlacky
Probably not. For the sake of livestreaming, having the footage captured from handheld mode for games best played in handheld mode would look best.
Some touchscreen elements sometimes have on-screen visuals representing the interaction regardless.
..........................................................Why? lol
With Mario Maker 2 this suddenly becomes a very viable option. If it just wasn't so expensive!
Trying to find a way to do this myself.
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