Elgato drops the first 4K60 HDR capable external capture card at CES 2020

What you need to know

• The 4K60 S+ is the first external, USB capture card to handle 4K60 video and HDR.
• Launching this month for $400.
• Works standalone recording to an SD card as well as connected to a PC.

The day we expected to come, eventually, has finally arrived. 4K capture cards aren't anything new, but until now there have been limitations. As CES 2020 rolls into town, Elgato is starting the year off with a bang by announcing the 4K60 S+. The name is a bit of a mumble, but the product is anything but, promising 4K60 captures with HDR over USB.

Mind. Blown.

I'll be the first to admit I've been critical of Elgato in recent times, with AVerMedia not only competing but at the 4K level outperforming Elgato and forcing the biggest name in the game to catch up.

Catching up is firmly in the past though with the 4K60 S+. This magical box isn't cheap at $400, but for the gamer looking for the ultimate content creation tool, this might just be it.

The issue has always been USB. The best capture cards handling the highest resolution, frame rate and bitrate have always been PCIe internal units, making good use of the extra bandwidth. There have been external 4K capture cards, but the 4K60 S+ takes that up a notch.

4K at 60 FPS? Check. HDR 10? Check. USB 3.0? Check. There are actually two USB-C connections on the capture card, one for power and one for capture, and avoiding a first-party power supply means it's totally portable for capturing on the go.

Pop in a good enough SD card and you can record that same 4K60 HDR 10 video without the need for a PC connection, so it's perfect to use with a gaming laptop, too. This is quite the thing.

Elgato says the 4K60 S+ should be available in Q1, though in the UK a shipping date of January 15 has already been applied at Amazon, so it might be here quicker than we think.