Buying your first capture card for Xbox 360 is no easy task even if you are somewhat skilled with computers. Considering that there are very few bits of information about capturing devices on the Internet, one usually has to get an advice from an expert or do a lengthy research on various shopping servers. In order to make a process of buying Xbox 360 capture card easier for you, I have put together a list of the most important things you need to consider.

Do I Need Internal Or External Capture Card?

Firstly, you need to make a decision whether you need internal or external capture device. While internal capture cards need to be put inside desktop computers, external ones can be connected to any PC including laptops via USB port.

Whether the card is external or internal usually doesn’t affect the quality of the final video file. It’s up to you to choose the right piece of hardware that will work just fine with your computer. If you have a desktop computer and you are confident in installing new hardware, then for sure go for an internal capture card. On the other hand, if you have a laptop or you are not sure how to insert a new card into an expansion slot, you should consider buying an external capture device.

Video Connection And Picture Quality

The way you connect your Xbox 360 with capture card is directly linked with the resulting video quality. Any capture hardware can produce either standard-definition (SD) or high-definition (HD) video.

If you are aiming for SD quality only, then you will probably want to use AV composite cable. Composite cable features only three connectors – yellow, red and white. Two of those are for audio and one for video signal. The main advantage of using SD capture card along with composite cable is a low price of the whole setup. You can get a decent SD capture device, such as Pinnacle Dazzle, for about $50. However, don’t expect an exceptional quality from the captured video.

If you want to capture professionally looking gameplay footage, you will certainly need to look for a card capable of capturing in HD resolution. With this kind of hardware, you will be able to capture videos in high-resolution up to 1080i. HD capture card usually utilizes component cable to capture the video from your Xbox 360, but you can also use HDMI with certain devices. High-definition cards are a bit more expansive though. You can expect to pay around $200.

Are All Capture Cards Compatible With Mac OS X?

Nowadays there are only two operating systems in wide use – MS Windows and Apple Mac OS X. While all capture cards support MS Windows, you might run into compatibility problems if you have Apple Mac. So if this is the case, then make sure that the capture device you plan to buy will function flawlessly on Mac. From my experience, I would recommend Hauppauge HD-PVR. It’s not compatible with Mac right out of the box, but you can buy a program called eyeTV for $30, which makes Hauppauge fully compatible with any Apple OS.