I have a few consoles setup on my desk and I think it would be neat to be able forgo switching inputs on my monitor.

It could be useful for setting up a picture-in-picture system and using the inputs in EmuVR to play non-Retroarch consoles like my Xbox 360 and original Xbox.

Is this feasible? I would be fine playing at lower resolutions. I have attempted it with a cheap Ali Express HDMI to USB device but the latency threw a wrench into that idea. I am wondering if a more capable capture device could be the answer.

Also would my graphics card play a big factor? I have 1070ti so I feel like it should be fine.

  • doczombie@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    If all you’re looking to do is nicer input switching, a KVM switch would be a better solve.

    Capture cards would be more useful if you wanted to record the gaming sessions. AFAIK they will always introduce latency as they are usually designed for a situation where that is fine.

    • Corroded@leminal.spaceOP
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      1 year ago

      What I am more so after is combining inputs rather than switching them.

      EmuVR for example lets you add custom video files to the CRTs in your virtual bedroom and I think with some effort it would be possible to use the feed from a capture card in it. I would essentially be using the consoles’ controller and playing on real hardware but in a virtual world.

      It would also be nice to be able to simply add some kind of picture-in-picture mode to my monitor so I can watch Seinfeld in the corner of the screen while I play Elden Ring. So I would be fine with a device specifically for that purpose instead of a software solution.

  • TechAdmin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I have never seen a capture device with USB interface have any kind of usable latency, you’ll want one with PCI Express interface.

    Elgato makes a capture card with PCI Express interface, I had a friend who used one to play all of his consoles on big virtual screen in VR. I tried out Mario Kart 8 for the Switch and it played great.

    • Corroded@leminal.spaceOP
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      1 year ago

      Really? No major hiccups?

      Someone else suggested the same thing and it sounds like it might be what I am looking for. I was only using my USB device because it’s what I had on-hand. A PCI-E device would be fine

  • Karlos_Cantana
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    1 year ago

    I hate to be the negative person, but I think you would be adding so much complications that it would necessarily cause delay at the very least. I’d be fascinated to see if you could prove me wrong, though.

    • Corroded@leminal.spaceOP
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      1 year ago

      No worries. I was wondering if anyone else has done it already so I wouldn’t need to do some potentially expensive experimenting. I feel like I’ve seen devices specifically for splitting and sharing inputs somewhere before.

    • Corroded@leminal.spaceOP
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      1 year ago

      The latency isn’t too bad? At $200 that doesn’t seem too bad compared to some alternatives I’ve seen suggested

      • Rexios@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I used the PCIE card. The latency is imperceptible. It’s meant to be in between your GPU and monitor for streaming from a second PC.