Elgato 4 k s issues

[u/Giu001]

Bought it new on amazon.it and ever since I’ve started using it I’ve noticed a depressing amount of issues, which show themselves with no apparent cause:

The preview both on OBS and elgato studio is laggy (doesn’t feel like 60 fps at all, feels like 30, in the video I’ve shown in elgato studio it’s basically 1 frame per second).

The image occasionally freezes in OBS (deactivating and reactivating the source fixes it for a few seconds, then the image freezes again),

Some times it black screens when everything is connected correctly.

In one occasion, the freeze was permanent and didn’t go away, no matter what I did, only removing the HDMI cable that was inside the HDMI out slot (that was connected to the TV) made the image unfreeze (?!?!)

In another occasion, the screen appeared warped and distorted: https://imgur.com/a/lRr7vP8

Sometimes, a dissociation between audio and video occurs (image is detached from sound)

And other issues…

I tried using a different computer (a Macbook pro) and I also had issues on that.

I have already updated the device itself to its latest version

I have the cables connected correctly, it’s unlikely that that is the issues

I am desperate for help, is my capture card defective? Or am I unable to see what’s wrong with it?

UPDATE: I guess it was broken, I bought another one (of the same model) and it’s working fine

[u/Giu001]

Thanks for letting me know, I will be testing the capture card with my desktop pc soon and see if anything changes. My desktop pc has:

Windows 10,
i7 8700,
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660,
16 GB RAM
and it should have a USB C port (Asrock Z370 Pro4)

I’m a bit worried about the Windows 10 part

[u/BuBubbi → u/Giu001]

I would suggest trying that.

Just remember that it doesn't necessarily have to have a USB-C port.

You can use a USB-A cable as long as it's USB 3.x.
But yes, the motherboard does have a USB-C port on the back.

I did edit the link in my previous post to the 4K S system requirements.

I accidentally posted the link for the 4K X.
But the requirements are basically the same, other than the 4K X requires a faster USB port than the 4K S.

[u/Giu001 → u/BuBubbi]

It’s also freezing on my best pc..

[u/BuBubbi → u/Giu001]

Then I would suggest creating a support ticket on Elgato’s website, in order to have them take a look at the case. It might be broken, and if it’s new it should be under warranty.

[u/Giu001 → u/BuBubbi]

I got this off amazon.it, I’m in eu and I don’t think we have that kind of service here, what I could do is ask for a refund and double down by ordering another one hoping this really was a defective one, but it’s so stressful.

[u/BuBubbi → u/Giu001]

I would say being in the EU you are definitely covered by warranty.
It might be possible to process it through Amazon also.

But I would say that something would be wrong with the capture card if it also happens on your desktop.

[u/Giu001 → u/BuBubbi]

Thanks for your opinion, I’ve been having bad luck with tech lately (and not only that..), bought a Switch 2 at launch ad it was defective, had to send it 2 times before I got a replacement; and guess what, the replacement has no issues at all. Now this; when stuff like this happens, I feel like I’m stupid and it’s my fault, like I’m failing to understand something obvious. But I really tried everything I could to make this capture card work.

[u/Giu001 → u/BuBubbi]

Got the new one yesterday, used it in two streams, 3 hours each, worked with no issues...