Help me make PS3 Let's Plays!

January 11, 2012 3:09 PM

What equipment setup do I need to make PS3 Let's Plays for Youtube?

I'm looking into the requirements for making Let's Play-style videos: recording live HD videogame video and audio from a PS3 as well as audio from a headset. My research so far has indicated a few options are available (recording a copy of the TV-out, using a desktop HDMI input card, etc), so I'm looking for personal recommendations regarding equipment and pipelines that have worked for you. My goal includes recording high action games such as Battlefield 3 so a low-lag solution is likely best, is this even an issue to consider? Thanks for your advice!

posted by Meagan to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

Caveat lector: I haven't actually tried to do what you're describing, as I don't have an HDMI capture box and I can't find my PS3 composite cables. That said...

For the video - if you're planning to upload it to YouTube, quality is going to suffer somewhat, so you might be able to get satisfactory results without using an HDMI capture card. It looks like HDMI capture cards/boxes run about $200 or so on Amazon, and devices that capture composite are typically cheaper. I can't speak to HDMI capture products, but I do like my Canopus ADVC110 for composite sources. You can capture the audio that way as well.

If you have a bluetooth headset, you'll need to set the PS3 up so that your commentary is sent to the capture card as well. You can do that by pairing the headset, then going to the PS3 main menu, going to Settings -> Accessory Settings -> Audio Device Settings, then choosing your headset as the input, but leaving the output device as System Default Device. I just tested that and it routed everything I'd hear or say to the PS3's HDMI/composite + audio outputs, so a capture card would get everything that way.

Good luck!
posted by gyges at 9:08 PM on January 11, 2012