AVerMedia may not yet be a household name when it comes to capture cards and streaming devices, but that doesn't mean the company hasn't turned heads. In particular, the company's capture cards always seem to feature interesting innovations, and the AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo does not buck the trend.

We've seen the Thunderbolt-only Live Gamer Bolt and the 4K HDR streaming lineups Live Gamer Ultra and Live Gamer 4K; the Live Gamer Duo is a built-in card that fits in a PCIe slot on the motherboard and can handle two HDMI inputs simultaneously.

The Live Gamer Duo retails for US$250, but it's important to remember that it's more like buying two capture cards than one. While it can't do it, it can do everything that is advertised.

Setup is very easy if you are even remotely familiar with opening a PC. Most people will have an unused PCIe slot on their motherboard, but it is still important to check before buying; the Live Gamer Duo slots in easily and fits discreetly under the graphics card, and all ports line up on the back of the PC. With a footprint of 140 x 125 x 22 mm, it is small compared to others in the case. By default it glows with color-shifting RGB lights, but thankfully this can be turned off.

Software setup was also fairly easy. After downloading the drivers and AVerMedia RECentral 4 software, I simply rebooted my PC and everything worked as expected. I had previously been bothered by the capture card not always picking up the source, and was very happy to be able to let my guard down.

Since the initial installation, I have only experienced problems when two different programs try to use the card at once; when the RECentral 4 software is running and something like Xsplit or OBS is also getting a signal from the card, the audio feeds back into the recording or stream, it doesn't seem to matter if PC audio is turned on or not. So you are limited to using only one piece of software at any given time, which is actually very fair.

Had we not been using the RECentral 4 software as a screen to play games on instead of using pass-through, we probably would not have run into this problem. This actually proves that the latency was sufficient that I did not really notice it.

The RECentral 4 software can cause problems if it is left open and not used for long periods of time. Audio and visual information will be distorted, but will return to normal as soon as the program is restarted. It has never happened while the software is in active use or while streaming, so we have never felt that the problem is a performance inhibitor.

Also, the software, while not bad, is fairly limited and nothing special. Most users would prefer to stick with what they are familiar with, such as OBS or Xsplit, which worked seamlessly with this card.

This is what impressed me most about the Live Gamer Duo. It achieves everything it advertises with relatively little effort. Full HD recording and sufficient frame rate streaming are immediately recognizable in third-party software.

All video processing, including downscaling and frame rate conversion, is done on the card itself. While the card is running, my PC does not mind, although it takes the usual beating from my streaming software. On the other hand, 4K pass-through is not completely hampered by this process, although it would be nice to have a pass-through option on both inputs, not just HDMI1.

I connected my old DSLR to the Live Gamer Duo via an HDMI mini-to-standard cable, which also worked beautifully. The video is exactly as seen by my camera without the need to use or tweak any other software. This means that streamers and content creators who want to use a higher quality camera while streaming games with a capture card need only one device that can plug directly into a single PCIe slot. It is truly like a device that streamlines the entire process.

Not without sacrifice, of course: if you want to record at 4K or 60fps or higher, you don't need this device; what you get with AVerMedia's Live Gamer Duo is a one-time setup unit that is plug-and-play. Streaming just got easier, especially with a setup that works simply. For those who want to include multiple sources with minimal hassle, AVerMedia's Live Gamer Duo is a really smart choice that delivers on all its promises.