Recommended Hardware

Hardware is the first, and possibly toughest choice you have in terms of LP equipment. A bad headset, or worse, a bad capture card, can ruin your LP. This is why this page exists, to give you an informed choice about what kit works for various things.

SD Capture Cards
SD Capture Cards are the best choice for when you're recording from an older console (PS2 or earlier, for reference). They don't have that high a base resolution, so you don't need as good a capture card for such exploits. A few SD cards we recommend are below! Remember, when you buy an SD Capture Card, that you want to use S-Video (that's the round socketed lead for video, not the one that looks like the audio plugs) instead of Composite. Because composite is awful, and there's no extra effort involved in getting S-Video footage.

To be clear: Never use Composite if you have a choice (and you will), it's bad.
 * Hauppauge USB-Live2
 * AVerMedia DVD EZMaker 7
 * AVerMedia AVerCapture M
 * Blackmagic Design Video Recorder
 * Pinnacle Dazzle DVD Recorder HD

HD Capture Cards
For anything more recent than a PS2, Standard Definition just isn't going to cut it. You'll be wanting the Hi-Def cards. Sadly, they're more expensive, but the return on your investment is a higher quality LP, and that's not so expensive in the long run, right?
 * Hauppauge HD PVR
 * Hauppauge HD PVR Gaming Edition
 * Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition
 * Elgato Game Capture HD
 * Blackmagic Design Intensity
 * AVerMedia AVerTV HD DVR
 * AVerMedia AVerTV USB HD DVR
 * AVerMedia Game Capture HD
 * AVerMedia Live Gamer HD
 * AVerMedia Game Broadcaster HD

Headsets
Headsets are important, and it's equally important that you get one with some form of noise cancellation or directional capability, because background noise is a pain in the rear end for both you and any poor sucker you're co-commentating with. Don't be That Goon, use something like the headsets listed here, you'll be making a lot less work for yourself.
 * Logitech USB Headset H330
 * Logitech USB Headset H360
 * Logitech USB Headset H390
 * Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000