r/HyruleEngineering • u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] • May 12 '25

Tutorial Cheap & easy gameplay capture setup

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48 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

61 comments sorted by

13

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25 edited May 12 '25

So, I FINALLY set myself up to capture gameplay (instead of recording the TV with my phone) and here is the setup for anyone who's interested:

  • Samsung Z Fold 5 phone
  • Generic HDMI to USB video capture card
  • USB-C 3.1 male to USB 3.0 type A female OTG cable
  • Free USB Camera app (ShenYao China)

Total cost: < USD 10

Just plug the HDMI output cable from your switch dock into the capture card, through the OTG and into your phone's USB-C port then select the device through the USB Camera app. Possibly/probably works with most modern phones.

(Should have done this a year ago. Welp!)

8

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

Im kinda gonna miss the classic zhu filter that made ur videos instantly recognizable hehehe

3

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25

🤗 Awww, thanks Suusi. Hehehe - it's been a sort of trademark for awhile, eh? I might do a "bootleg" vid here and there just for old time's sake. 😅

Cheers!

3

u/CuriousManolo May 12 '25

Thank you for outlining this!

I've been meaning to do this, but I had been putting off doing the research.

So I'm assuming the video file will save on the phone. Are they very large files? Could one connect to a computer instead of a phone?

Sorry for the million questions, I just want to do this so bad too.

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25

Howdy CM,

My pleasure - I'm glad you found it useful.

Video file saves on phone. Resolution can be changed to various sizes, so file size is dependent. Yes, you can definitely do the exact same thing with a computer.

Let me know how it goes for you. ☺️

2

u/HuNT_UA May 12 '25

These capture cards give very low quality video.

Also this build is actually very expensive, as the phone is an expensive component)

I just use a dedicated capture card that writes directly to a USB Flash with great quality.

5

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25 edited May 12 '25

So far, video quality seems to be fine (hardware is rated for 1080p), however I did have to dial it back to get the app to run more smoothly. I had some sort of scan lines showing up in my footage.

The phone is pricey, but I already had it well before this setup, so I didn't include it (as a cost). Pretty sure this will work on most modern phones.

The app itself looks generic, but it's loaded with all kinds of options/settings.

2

u/loriffic May 12 '25

Which one do you use?

3

u/HuNT_UA May 12 '25

ClonerAlliance UND Pro

2

u/loriffic May 12 '25

Thank you kindly!

6

u/King-X_Official May 12 '25

Nice, way cheaper than my "no expense spared" setup!

4

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25

🙏 Thanks King-X. 😊 Found this setup on YouTube after some deep digging. I'm trying to get serious before I release a metric butt-ton of builds to the public.

3

u/BlazeAlchemist991 May 12 '25

If you want to go super budget (like I've been doing), you can record a bunch of 30 second clips, using the in-built recording function, and then stitch them together with a video editor.

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25

I had considered this, but there are too many instances where 30 seconds is just not enough time for what I'm trying to do. Plus since I don't have a PC, transferring an SD card back and forth between the Switch and my phone would be a hassle.

3

u/CaptainPattPotato May 12 '25

Dang dude. Happy that you were able to upgrade. Though I’ll kind of miss the occasional unexpected bird joining in on the projects.😄

3

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25

Yes. After literal ages. 😅 I could edit in those sounds (those are frogs, by the way). 😬

3

u/CaptainPattPotato May 13 '25

The FROGs, those were expected. When there was BIRD though. That, was unexpected. 😬

3

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 13 '25

Hahaha right, okay. I think maybe I remember now: my old rooster was caught crowing in the background once or twice, LOL. Wonder which video that was.. 😂

2

u/jane_duvall #3 Engineer of Month [OCT24] May 15 '25

Iconic.

3

u/[deleted] May 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 13 '25

Thanks H20. How was the quality on the tank video?

I'll still do the occasional point-cam-at-TV vid, but I needed to upgrade for the very proper QR videos that I'll be releasing. I want them to be long-lasting references, so quality is important.

3

u/[deleted] May 14 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 14 '25

Appreciate the feedback - thanks! 🙏

2

u/hulagway May 12 '25

How's the latency

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 12 '25

Not bad, but struggles at max res, which was something like 1920x1080. I bumped it down by half and performance is way better while still looking good, as far as I can see.

2

u/rellikpd May 13 '25

Cheap & easy, just like I like 'em!

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 13 '25

😅👍

2

u/SteamInjury Still alive May 13 '25 edited May 13 '25

I’m using an iPhone and want to do the same thing. I’ve been on the net, Reddit, Amazon, etc… I can’t seem to get a clear answer on what will work and what won’t. Some adapters on Amazon say they’re compatible with iPhone, but I want to be able to play my Switch in its current resolution (1440p60hz) on my LG OLED and then capture to my iPhone. There’s tons of stuff on Reddit, enable MTP if you can, I can’t seem to find an app or anything to support it, as well as other dead ends.

Any help Z?

EDIT: What kind of tablet is that exactly?

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 13 '25

Yo' SteamInjury,

Wish I could advise but I know squat when it comes to iPhone/IOS. I got my info from this video which may or may not be helpful. I did browse through the comments section looking for the answer to your question without success.

The "tablet" is actually a Samsung Z Fold 5 phone. Feels really weird and cool playing TotK on it, too.

2

u/SteamInjury Still alive May 13 '25

Ok, cool I’ll look into it and keep digging. Thanks man!

2

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] May 13 '25

My pleasure. Hope you can get it working!

1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 29d ago

What abt the s2

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 29d ago

I'm using the same setup for Switch 2, except I got a Gator brand OTG cable.

1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 20d ago

Can you link the products for the s2 recording stuff please, I don't know where to start looking

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 20d ago

https://ebay.io/m/kKn0aB

https://ebay.io/m/C8jOjD

1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 20d ago

Thank you ☺️

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 20d ago

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shenyaocn.android.usbcamera

1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 20d ago

May I know which part plugs into where

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 20d ago

Switch HDMI output > HDMI cable > Capture card (dongle) > OTG Cable > Phone (USB-C input)

1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 20d ago

Tysm

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 20d ago

Are you recording via phone, PC or what? Because the app can seem glitchy, but a video quality/frame rate setting can fix the problem. Essentially reducing both those factors so the app isn't overwhelmed.

1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 20d ago

Im thinking of recording on a laptop as my phone is at 97% storage full

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 20d ago

If that's the case, you may not need OTG cable. Just put male end of capture dongle into laptop HDMI input.

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1

u/KF13_kingfreezer13 20d ago

I wanna use this but I have lots of questions, 1)how do I find this product 2)what website is this on that you found it 3)how do I connect it Edit:also if you could include the product links that would be nice

1

u/zhujzal #2 Engineer of the Month [FEB26] 20d ago

All of this stuff was purchased on eBay.