What just happened? Elgato and parent company Corsair at CES this week announced the 4K60 S+, a standalone video capture device that can record content directly to an SD card without the need for a connected computer.
The 4K60 S+ is described as Elgato's most powerful external capture device to date. The device's onboard HEVC encoding keeps file sizes manageable, we're told, and its pass-through affords zero lag from the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro for an authentic experience.
Of course, connecting the capture device to a PC does afford some advantages. For one, you're no longer limited by the capacity of an SD card but rather, the amount of free storage space on your hard drive or solid state drive which is likely to be much greater than a memory card.
With a PC, you can also utilize Elgato's Flashback Recording software to save gameplay retroactively and the Live Commentary feature to record microphone audio as a separate track. The capture device is even compatible with popular broadcasting software like OBS Studio.
The Elgato 4K60 S+ HDR10 capture device is priced at $399.99 and is listed for sale from today over on Amazon. Notably, Amazon says it'll ship "within 1 to 2 months" so expect a somewhat significant delay in delivery. This could give rival AVerMedia Gaming the window it needs to slip in and beat Elgato to the punch if they play their cards just right.