Literally copy-pasting from your pastebin because it'll look better here and I don't have to worry about looking like I'm hijacking because I didn't write it, aha! Having more resources in one thread can only be a good thing. Aim your upvotes at /u/senichi

~~

What game should I speedrun?

You should speedrun a game that you love to play. If you're serious about speedrunning a game, that could mean practicing for possibly upwards of hundreds of hours to beat your time. You might be playing the same segment of a game over and over again before you're finally happy with your performance in that section, and you could be playing for many hours before that happens. For this reason, you want to pick a game that you won't get bored of quickly. A game that you're happy playing for possibly hundreds of hours so you can get a time that you're happy with before you get bored of it.

How do I start speedrunning?

Once you pick a game, there are different ways you can start speedrunning. Here's the method I like to use after picking a game.

1. Figure out if other people have run the game. If they have, figure out what categories exist. Some games have multiple categories that you might like or not like. For example, if you would prefer a short run, you probably don't want to do a 100% category.
   
   
2. Pick a category. In the rare case that nobody has run the game you want to run before, you get to pick your own ategory. This can be something like "any% - beat the game as fast as possible" or maybe you want your run to focus on collectibles or completion. If other people have run the game you want to run, then you might want to pick a pre-defined category so you're not completely in the dark.
   
   
3. Look into runs that people have submitted in various places. You can check Speedrun.com or YouTube, or just Google your game and the category to see runs of it. Watch the world record run, then look for a runs with worse times that might use a different route. The world record run often uses strategies that are risky and hard to do, so you might not want to jump into a game using that route.
   
   
4. Find guides. When you think you've seen enough routes, you want to either start looking for tutorials (this is usually only an option for the popular games to run), or if you picked a game that isn't a popular speedrun game, you might need to just use any submission videos as your "tutorial".
   
   
5. Play the game. Run the the game slowly using the strategies outlined in any tutorial you found, or by copying what you saw in a video. If possible, try doing any tricks or strategies that are new to you multiple times before moving on. Stay on this step until you feel fairly comfortable with your game. If needed replay the game slowly a few times and use the speedrun tricks.
   
   
6. Do a run. Make it official. Find a timer, for this run any timer should do fine, and time your run from start to finish. Don't worry about your final time. A lot of people have terrible times in their first run, but that's totally okay, it just means it'll be easier for you to beat it later on.
   
   
7. Practice. When you finish your timed run, you should have a pretty good idea on what you need practice with. Some things you thought you were confident on might be more difficult in an actual run. Practice anything you had trouble with in your first run.
   
   
8. Repeat. From here on, you pretty much just repeat steps 6 and 7.
   
   

   I'm getting bored of my game! What do I do?
   

   
   Don't worry, that's not abnormal. Since speedrunning requires so much dedication towards a single game to get a good time, it's common for people to get burnt out or bored before they're happy with their personal best. If you're getting burnt out, I recommend simply taking a break. There's no harm in leaving your game alone for a month or longer and playing other games. Maybe even learn a new game for fun if you still have the speedrunning itch you want to scratch. If you continue to play a game that you're starting to get bored of, you risk getting bored of it on a much longer term, and possibly resenting the game or even outright start to hate it. Who knows, maybe when you come back to the game feeling refreshed, it might be even easier to get a new personal best.
   
   

   What capture device should I use, and how do I set it up?
   

   
   First ask yourself this question: Do you want a cheaper capture device, or would you rather have a good quality device?
   
   If you want a cheaper device, many people recommend the GV-USB2. It's considered the best SD capture device on the market, so if you're recording the older consoles that don't need HD video, then this should work perfectly.
   
   If you want a higher definition device, I recommend the Elgato GameCapture HD. It's very easy to use and the output is excellent. Keep in mind that, at the moment, if you use the GameCapture HD, you might have to use XSplit instead of OBS to stream. OBS currently has an issue with the GameCapture HD that causes it to desync, and in my experience XSplit doesn't have this issue
   
   In addition to the capture device, you will need TWO Composite Video Cables, and you will need THREE splitters.
   
   Here's a picture of how to set up your capture device using the GameCapture HD and a Nintendo 64 as an example. The setup would be the exact same using the GV-USB2 and any other console that uses composite cables. If using the GameCapture HD and HDMI cables, the GameCapture HD has an HDMI in and HDMI out port, so you would just use two HDMI cables, one going from your console to HDMI in, and another going from HDMI out to the TV.
   
   

   Who currently holds the world record for <game>? How can I find more information about <game>?
   

   
   There are multiple ways to figure this out.
   
   

9. Google it. Just Google "<game> speedrun world record" and see if anything pops up. Look for the fastest time and there's a decent change that's the world record.
   
   
10. Check Speedrun.com. A lot of smaller communities and even some larger ones use Speedrun.com because it's easier than making a whole new page. Check this site for the game you're curious about and see if you find anything.
    
    
11. Look for Wikis. This subreddit has a wiki that lists a lot of different sites that might host leaderboards. Check to see if the game you're looking for has a wiki on that list, and if not, try Google again to see if there are any wikis not listed in there.
    
    
12. Ask around. Go to Twitch and look to see if anyone is streaming the game you're curious about. You might find someone speedrunning the game right now, and then you could ask them or see if their Twitch bio has any information about it. If that doesn't work, you could check out the weekly noob question thread and ask about the game. Someone else might know where you can find the information you're looking for. You could also send a message to someone that runs the game on Twitch if you know anyone that does, even if they're offline. Speedrunners are generally happy to spread information about their game and would be happy to answer any of your questions.
    
    

    Can I use an emulator?
    

    
    This varies a lot from game to game. Different communities deal with emulators in their own ways. The usual answer to this question is yes, but it's considered a different category. The reason for this is because emulators are often not perfect in their emulation, so there might be differences in framerate, which affects your time, or sometimes even entire tricks are possible only on emulator.
    
    Some games don't accept emulation at all, but that only means that any runs that you do on emulator won't be able to go on the leaderboard. You still might want to use an emulator for exclusively practice because emulators let you use save states that make it easier to repeat the same part over and over again. Just keep in mind that while using an emulator you might be practicing at a different framerate than on console, or you might be dealing with slight input lag.
    
    The FAQ on SpeedRunsLive has a list of emulators that are commonly used and banned.
    
    In the end, the answer to whether or not you can use an emulator is specific to whatever game you're playing. These are only general guidelines and may vary on your game.
    
    

    What's that timer program I see on peoples' streams, and how can I get it?
    

    
    There are multiple timer programs that are listed on the Tools sections of SpeedRunsLive. The most popular timer program at the moment is LiveSplit, but in the end it's personal preference.

Easycap clones ($5-10~)

If you're extremely short on funds you can play the easycap clone roulette and hope you get one that kinda works maybe.

You might end up getting one that just happens to suite your needs fine.... or you might not.

Not Reccomended, but cheap

Used Dazzle DVC100 ($20~)

Dazzles can be somewhat cheap used, they're still not the best capture cards money can buy and have some driver issues, but it's a popular choice and works for a lot of people well enough. Can be found on ebay for pretty cheap.

Probably the cheapest option aside from the "Easycrap" clones

KWorld ($30~)

/u/TLoZSR mentioned a while back that he was a fan of This KWorld Capture card.

I've seen a few of his videos with it and they look perfectly fine.

EZCaps ($30-$35~)

I've heard ok things about the legit EZCaps (not the cheap clones)
If you go this route make sure you're not ending up with a fake!

I don't have any personal experience with them.

GV-USB2 ($50~)

This defiantly deserves an honorable mention, although isn't anywhere as cheap as a used dazzle. Default settings out of the box are great, picture quality is very good, good drivers, and pretty much no complaints. Oh and here's an amazon link I guess (can be hard to find elsewhere). Box / driver installation is in Japanese, but not too difficult to figure out.

I use it personally and I really like it

These are all SD capture cards with composite/S-video, composite will look not so great regardless of a powered splitting setup, however it's defiantly recommended if you use S-Video (powered splitters can cost $30-50~), alternatively you may be able to get by without splitters if you have a video cable with both S-Video and composite (s-video would go into your capture card), but you may also lose a bit of quality that way if the cables aren't too good.

https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Splitters explains a fair bit

Good Luck!

To add to the other two suggestions, I'll add what I believe are two far better solutions: The GV-USB2 and USB3HDCAP

The GV-USB2 is a USB dongle-style capture card that only captures composite/RCA video and S-video, which is the best you'll get from the Gamecube without expensive cables. It's about $35 USD.

The Startech USB3HDCAP is more expensive, but it will capture HDMI for newer consoles and PCs, as well as composite, S-Video, Component (the best video signal out of a Wii and easy to get cables for), and even RGB. It's probably the best quality card there is at its price and it's offered me a far better user experience than Elgato's devices have for me. I also know PJ DiCesare uses it for his runs and he has excellent capture quality. It's currently on sale for $182.

Importantly, both will capture video at 60fps which I'm not convinced the standard def EZcap will do, and without the added noise and delay I find Elgato devices tend to add.

Hopefully this helps.

I don't run that game, but looking at the leaderboards, you need the actual console to run (no emuator) and it seems practically everyone prefers gamecube (instead of Wii) so this should be your list:

• Gamecube + game + whatever else you need to play (you probably have all this covered)
  
  
• Some kind of timer program. You can find a list on this page under "Timers". I would personally recommend LiveSplit.
  
  Those are the bare minimum you'll want to run the game. Just the game and the timer. However you will most likely eventually want something to record the run if you get serious about it, or want to share your runs with other people, or if you want a record of your runs, or if you want some way for your runs to be verified (there are lots of reasons to want to record your runs) so you'll also need:
  
  
• Some sort of capture device. The go-to for SD consoles like the Gamecube is the GV-USB2. There are others, but this one will give you the best performance for its price and you don't need any HD equipment to record a GameCube. If you do want an HD capture device, I have an Elgato GameCapture HD and I'd recommend it.
  
  
• 2 double sided composite cables. They look like this.
  
  
• 3 splitters. Specifically ones that look like this.
  
  And that's it. When you have all those things, you set up the capture device like this. That's a picture with the GameCapture HD because that's all I have, but it would be the exact same setup with the GV-USB2.

GameCube and Game Boy Player is the standard setup. The startup disc for the Game Boy Player can be a bit pricey these days, but you can softmod the GameCube and use the free Game Boy Interface software as an alternative.

From there, you can get an HDMI adapter and HDMI capture card (lots of those to choose from). Or if you need to save some money, a good S-Video capture device like the IO Data GV-USB2, an S-Video splitter, and a GameCube S-Video cable will still get you a pretty decent-looking capture. Either way, set it up in OBS and you're good to go.

I'd suggest also getting an SNES controller adapter. I find it way nicer than using the GBA as a controller. There's also one for Wii Classic Controllers if you prefer.

For anything with the traditional red, yellow and white plugs, this thing here is king. I-o DATA USB connection video capture GV-USB2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428BF1Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1bNMzb9C8YEM9

You will need this, a splitter, and two extra sets of cables (look in the "frequently purchased together" section below). Plug the console into the splitter, then run the extra cables from the splitter to your tv/monitor and to the capture card. The capture card is USB, just plug it in to your computer.

All the software instructions will be in Japanese, but just Google the name of the product and you will find some very easy to use installation guides.

From there, just use your choice of recording or streaming software! I'm an xsplit guy, but OBS is popular because it's totally free.

EDIT: Also, if you're going to run Mario 64 specifically, make sure you have the proper version of the game! I'm fairly sure it's primarily played in Japanese, and I'm not sure if there are glitches missing from the US release.

Since you say you're not tech savvy, I'm gonna assume you'd rather not hard-mod your N64 to output a component (480p) signal. Also, N64's output resolution is remarkably low so it doesn't take much to capture good looking N64 gameplay.

What you probably want is an S-video cable (this is the kind I use). I know it says for gamecube, but video cables for gamecube, n64 and snes are universally interchangeable, so you're good.

For capture, the best bang for your buck is gv-usb2. For streaming a composite or s-video signal it's pretty much the universal standard.

Hope this helped.

First play through a few and find one that you like. Then play that one a few times and get to where you can play beginning to end without too much trouble.

Watch some speedruns of it. Start emulating those strats into your playthrough and time yourself. ???? Profit.

As far as streaming, cheapest way would be to just emulate, use your keyboard or get an adapter (check Amazon) for your SNES/NES controller, use a wiimote with a bluetooth adapter, ps3 controller, logitech usb, whatever the hell floats your boat.

Use OBS (broadcasting software, google is your friend) to stream on twitch. Look up guides for the set up. It isnt hard, if you have any trouble then report back here.

NOW: if you want to stream from your actual console, here's what you need:

1. Check the tv that you are going to use, see if it has an av OUT port (red, white, yellow jacks and it will say OUT specifically on it) if it does then you DO NOT need a video splitter. Most modern tvs, however, only have av INs, so you WILL need a splitter.
   
   
2. A capture device. These will cost you anywhere from 70 to 100 dollars. HOWEVER, I am a poor bastard and I recently got one of these and while the reviews are a little all over the place I will tell you it works like a charm for me. Well worth the 12 bucks I spent.
   
   
3. If you do need a splitter, I use one of these and you'll want either one of these or a set of these (I personally use the latter but the cord is probably more convenient since its fewer pieces, although they are functionally identical).
   
   If you can't figure it out, all you do is plug the rca (red white yellow cables) from your console into that first adapter i posted. Then plug the the male end of the second cord I posted (or the three separate pieces of the last listing I posted) into the other side of said adapter.
   
   Then you will need two double male rca cords and plug the end of each into the female ends of the cord (or the separate adapters).
   
   From there you just plug one set of the cord into your tv and the other set into the easy cap and the easy cap into your streaming pc. Real easy.
   

First you want to pick a game that you love ("any game at all") and the reason why I say a game you love because you want a game you can speedrun and not become tired of it after a while. Now practice the game until you can get equipment (start out short on equipment you dont need the best thing there is for just starting unless you can afford it) after a while of practice get this: ( http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Portable-Capture-Xbox360-60Mbps/dp/B00B2IZ3B0/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1404429425&sr=1-2&keywords=avermedia+live+gamer+hd )Then when you have practiced and got all of your basic things you can start running and timing it with any of these things it shows everything else you need here: ( http://www.speedrunslive.com/tools/ ) That's all there is to it and later on you might want to get something like a microphone if you want to talk and for that I recommend any "Blue Yeti" microphone.
And that's that there you go!

>haven't even started the run
>Gamecube controller

oh my goodness

Ok, get yourself an iBuffalo USB controller, it's like 15 bucks on amazon and is a worthy investment. https://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-BSGP815GY-Classic-USB-Gamepad/dp/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_lp_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PKDMP3HRPQRFBCW6BSA3

Also, you should play through the game by yourself with a timer and your own knowledge before learning the run, you'll have a much easier time when you actually do learn it if you do this.

Most SD capture cards are intended for ripping VHS tapes to your PC. They're not intended for gaming. You'll never find one that will let you play on a PC monitor without display lag.

The solution is to get a television, and a splitter like this.

For a SNES your best bet is a CRT television, which you can get on craigslist for like $10 if you live in North America.

First you'll need a capture card, if you just want something that works, get a Dazzle DVC100. Once you got that, you'll need to get AmaRecTV to capture your game. Then to stream you'll need either OBS or Xsplit. Then just set up your stream using the tutorials on each site. I recommended OBS for streaming because it's 100% free and easy to use. Also, with your capture card you might want to buy a few splitters, 2 or 3 should be fine. Anything else feel free to ask

Those would work fine. I only use these and it works fine. Although I use a different setup to split my sound. Those only split my video. But the splitters you linked should work just fine :)

Come to think of it I should probably get the splitters you linked for myself aswell, my setup atm is absurd lol, I just grabbed everything I had at home at the time haha

You can use the Elgato HD60 to capture N64. Source: I use the Elgato HD60 to capture n64. My Setup is:

N64 -> 3 AV Splitters (One for each cable) link
Each AV Splitter is plugged into the Elgato component input as well as an AV to HDMI converter link

note: The AV to HDMI converter is not necessary if your TV has component inputs. The TV I play on does not, so I need this converter to upscale to HDMI.

The Elgato is then plugged into my computer, which captures the video. The quality overall is fine, you can check out my vods to see samples (twitch username is same as here). Let me know if you have any more questions about my setup. Not saying the GVUSB isn't a way to go, it's probably better overall, but since you already have the Elgato, just wanted to share how I got it working :)

The GV-USB2 is a relatively cheap but is considered to be better than the Dazzle DVC100. Downside is that the manual and software is in Japanese, but using the device is relatively straightforward and is supported by free capture tools such as Virtualdub and OBS.

If you do get this, to install the driver software, put the CD in your computer (you can also download the drivers from the manufacturer's website). Select the box to the right, then select the box with a 1 next to it.

Your other option which I personally use is buying an s-video distribution amplifier. It helps maintain signal strength and gives the best clarity and results for both the stream and your CRT (unless you wanted to really go out and buy an upscaler). Essentially think of the powered splitter like a water pump where unpowered splitters are water lines to multiple homes. The pressure is maintained with a pump where as the multiple home connections will drop pressure. Another plus with the box is having the option of running multiple audio outputs without needing more splitters, which I use for my audio interface setup but you could also run the audio into speakers for casual play offstream.

For a budget mic that works pretty well I can definitely recommend this Zalman Clip-On Mic.

You can go the SD route and get a GV USB2, which is the best quality you'll get out of a SD capture card. This is the best choice.

You need the dazzle and a couple splitters (if you want to play on the tv). With that you can use obs (open broadcast software) to stream.

edit: I doesn't have to be a dazzle. Cosmo uses this one for n64:

http://www.amazon.com/DATA-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415515983&sr=1-1&keywords=i-o+data+gv-usb2

the splitters can be found at:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H4L6UO8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

with the splitters you will need a male to male av cables:

http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Audio-Video-Composite-Cable/dp/B001VJ465O/ref=pd_sim_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KV4BF0YP4E0PYEC1A0T

To get the capture card to work on obs, you create your scene and source a video capture device. You need to make sure all the drivers are installed for the capture card.

Other than the capture card linked, elgato makes good ones, dazzle, and there are probably others. DO NOT BUY CHEAP CAPTURE CARDS. They are shit, trust me.

I would actually recommend this model Dazzle. It's the one I use, and I had none of the audio nightmares you hear about in terms of getting it to work in OBS. Just go and make sure the audio is outputting through it (It says something like "Line- Dazzle" in OBS) and you should be good to go.

For the first one it's usually decided by the community, so try and find someone who runs the game and see when they start/end their timer. If you cant then its generally accepted that it's when you gain/lose control of the character.


As for the second one, Lots of people use the Dazzle DVC 100 with S-video and it records/streams SD games very well.

Hope I've been at least somewhat helpful.

Get a GV-USB2 capture card! It's basically the go-to for standard definition console gaming.

He'll also need a video/audio splitter. I use this one and it works wonderfully. You'll need an extra set of composite cables as well. (That's just an example. Get whatever will ship on time for you)

If he wants to stream on twitch, consider getting him a webcam and mic. Let me know what your budget is and I can recommend some options for you.

there are cheap replacements on Amazon and they're better than the originals... and super easy to swap out... just a fer screws, unplug the old, plug in the new and screw it all back together


I got this one... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MRZAUC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ah ok. I saw a couple places saying it could range up to 30ms, which is what I was mainly concerned about. I was looking at this Sewell Wii to HDMI converter which I think would work nicely, I've read good things about it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072JP56G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_7PQMwbXBW4PTZ

I've been doing so much research on this the past couple days and I still feel very uneasy about it all hahaha

>N64 Controller


>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Smash-Bros-GameCube-Controller/dp/B00O9GW8VK/ref=sr_1_5?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1452201492&sr=1-5&keywords=gamecube


That's not a N64 controller. However, this should still work when using the right input plugin. I recommend using the NRage Input Plugin: http://sourceforge.net/projects/nragev20/


Good luck.

Which console's everdrive were you thinking of getting? The SNES has a device called a Nakitek Game Saver, which is relatively cheap and allows you to create save states on games. It's a neat tool.

I'll second the DS4. But really though it's going to take some trial and error to find the one you like best. I also really really like the Buffalo SNES usb:
https://smile.amazon.com/Buffalo-iBuffalo-Classic-Gamepad-BSGP815GY/dp/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=buffalo+controller&qid=1574376822&sr=8-1

I'm pretty happy with my Avermedia C027. I've got a pair of them.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SQE1O0

I can't recommend the ioData GV-USB2 enough. It plays really nicely with OBS and a lot of other software. The driver installer is in Japanese, but there are guides and installation is really quick and easy. You'll need some sort of splitter cables or Y-splitters to connect your N64 to both a television and the capture card, but that should only run you around $15 extra at the most.

I use composite myself, but I do notice diminished video quality when using un-powered cable splitters. I would assume that S-video would probably be the same way. So if you're concerned about quality you'll probably want to look into a powered distribution amp (probably something like this, just make sure it has multiple outputs), and then run S-video cables from that to your TV and capture card.

Game Capture HD is designed for recording, NOT streaming. (It's also somewhat outdated, as the Game Capture HD II does both component and HDMI.)

If you want to stream, you'll want something like this. You do need a free PCI-e slot in your computer though. This handles HDMI, component, composite, and S-Video.

Another option is getting the Dazzle DVC-100. It only does composite and s-video and plugs in via USB.

Using unpowered splitters will significantly decrease video and audio quality, all the videos on Youtube showing people using unpowered splitters are mostly for the Let's Play/Call of Duty crowd.

Recently I bought this powered unit for composite rca http://www.amazon.com/HDE-Port-Audio-Video-Splitter/dp/B009NK550I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1403563545&sr=8-3&keywords=composite+splitter and it works extremely well, just take one of the outputs to the TV and another to the capture card. It doesn't introduce any lag and restores the split signals to their original quality.

> maybe someone else can recommend HD recording dewvices?

Popular HD video capture devices include the AVerMedia C875 or the Elgato Game Capture HD.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

link

link

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I own a PAL N64 as well and I am running NTSC-U/J versions on emulator using one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/May-Flash-Controller-Adapter-Nintendo-64/dp/B002B9FIUU

Maybe you were not aware of this option? Or did you decide against using an adapter on PC? It works really well for me. ;)

Something like this is probably what you are looking for: https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Digital-Control-Computer-USB2/dp/B002MY6I7G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542695761&sr=8-3&keywords=infinity+usb+foot+pedal


A bit pricey though. I just split by hand.

gv-usb2 is generally known the give the best quality s-video capture

My recommendation would be to throw down a bit of money and get a good usb capture card, some RCA Splitters, extra cables and a TV or Monitor that has inputs. Total cost should be around $50 on Amazon before the TV/Monitor. The analog signal only degrades slightly (can barely tell on a CRT or stream) and is super easy to set up. There are cheaper options out there but I wouldn't recommend using them - a few of the USB capture cards I have seen that are cheaper than the GV-USB2 don't have drives that work passed windows 7, and even on Win7 they are super janky to get working. The GV-USB2 has a bit of lag when going into OBS so I wouldn't recommend playing straight off of it, hence the splitters. An alternative capture card would be a Dazzle, but I have heard multiple people having issues with audio on those, your mileage may vary regardless of which option you go for.

There are also more expensive options such as getting an internal card but you will probably be stuck with having to get one for digital or one for analog at an increased price.

I run on SNES and use this little beauty, works like a charm. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00428BF1Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Zalman ZM-Mic1 is quite good for the price, though it does tend to pick up a lot of background noise. I enable the Noise Suppression setting in my Realtek options to reduce this.

This is probably one of the most popular capture cards out there, and is pretty affordable. They say it doesn't work with OBS, but I haven't tried it yet.

So I'm a super cheap college student and am trying to find a way to start streaming Resident Evil 4 on the GC. I went ahead and bought this and this in hopes that I would be able to capture the video without having to shell out the money for a high quality capture card. Is there any software i could use to capture the video, or is this just wishful thinking?

Avermedia lgp is my personal favorite.

I use the Infinity pedal. It's basically plug and play. And it's not "bound" on a keyboard press. So you cannot accidentally type and screw up your splits.


https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-USB-1-Computer-Transcription-Pedal/dp/B008EA1K66/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=infinity+foot+pedal&qid=1574977323&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTjlSRTdXWk9SQVo2JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTAxNjE4MVZLU0c1NllYMEJURCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDk2ODU4MVFLUEpEQ0g5U05EOCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

When you're just getting into it, you don't need to record. You could also just use the ol' webcam-at-the-screen. If you're serious about posting your times to leaderboards, get a capture card. This one is good and cheap https://www.amazon.com/DATA-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y

My recommendation is to avoid the cheap Chinese pedals you find from a simple "USB foot pedal" search on most sites (although I guess even the good ones are probably still made in China, so just avoid the cheap ones).

I use this one: www.amzn.com/B008EA1K66 (you can find it for much cheaper on eBay). On Windows 7 I was not able to get livesplit to recognize it directly and ended up spending more time than I'd like to admit learning how to use AutoHotkey and writing a script to bind the pedal inputs to something else. I did eventually get it working though.

On Windows 8, Livesplit picks up the pedal directly, so it's really simple.

I suspect that this pedal would be equally good, if not better: www.amzn.com/B002MY6I7G but I haven't personally used it.

You can get a gamecube-style stick for your N64 controller for cheap, almost every runner for the game I play uses one for several levels.

https://www.amazon.com/Redesigned-REPLACEMENT-Joystick-Controller-Thumbstick/dp/B009MRZAUC

Sounds like to me you are having a issue with " ghost USB devices "

Windows as you know should update drivers and install them on their own. If you go to " Device Manager " on your pc ( which either is found in the control panel or typing devmgmt.msc in run ) and under the view tab you should see something labeled " Show hidden devices ". Click that option to see all the hidden devices on your pc. One of the last options on the manager should be " Universal serial bus controllers " If you have any " Ghost Usb drivers " they should be grayed out there. Uninstall all the ones that are labeled " unknown device" What happens when you get " Ghost Usbs " for example when you connect a mouse and Windows doesn’t properly install the drivers for you it keeps the failed install of the driver on your pc. Sometimes this can cause conflicts when trying to install the proper drivers and prevent windows from installing the proper driver.

The only other thing i can think of is the firmware version is messed up of your capture card. Try to uninstall the version you have on your pc and install a older version of firmware if you can find it.

If either of those doesn't work at all then its the device. i recommend The GV-USB2 as a capture device. I have used it for over 2-3 years without any issues at all. Hopefully your issue gets fixed. Best of luck

For classic games, this is the controller I use: https://amazon.com/Buffalo-iBuffalo-Classic-Gamepad-BSGP815GY/dp/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518879999&sr=8-1&keywords=buffalo+controller

https://www.amazon.com/I-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y This one?

Dazzle is more expensive than GV-USB2.

http://www.amazon.com/Dazzle-DVD-Recorder-VHS-Converter/dp/B00EAS14KI

http://www.amazon.com/DATA-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y

https://www.amazon.ca/Female-to-3-RCA-Coupler/dp/B002B8WVVU/

Can also work to change those 3 male into females

Just look up an RCA splitter on amazon. I have this one because I split the signal 4 times which degrades the signal too much if I don't introduce AC power. But you could easily buy 3 of these since you only need the signal split once. Then run one to a crt tv, and the other to a cheap upscaler that prioritizes image quality over speed which feeds into your elgato.

AverTV HD DVR is what I use. AV/S-Video/HDMI. Around $90, found mine for $80. Plugs intot he pci port of your PC, so there are less cables and boxes around your setup.

Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Avertv-Definition-Analog-Capture-MTVHDDVRR/dp/B002SQE1O0

This is what you want

Guide

The IOData GV-USB2 is by far the best budget capture card for retro games. It handles both Composite and S-Video really well (Bit of irony there since Composite is crap) and they're very affordable. Mine was roughly around $60 CAD.

The instructions are japanese but once installed, it works absolutely fine with all your standard recording software.

Here is the GV-USB2

If you don't live in the US, I recommend just buying from a high rated seller on eBay. They are made in Japan so there are lots of Japanese sellers shipping them out through EMS (Japanese Express Mail Service)

The previous competitor was the Dazzle DVC-100 which a lot of runners have used. It has a fatal bug where it's audio link will disconnect from the video and you need to manually reconnect them, otherwise you will have no audio (And this can only be done through the crossbar).

The GV-USB2 has none of the problems of the DVC100 and the quality of capture is much higher. There is no reason for any other suggestion unless you are willing to spend more.

TOTAL noob question but would this work with the GV-USB2 for SD consoles to OBS?

Or would I still need to go the route of grabbing two male/male cables and three splitters?

My mistake - Gamecube controller

I tried a lot of emulators (Project 64, 1964, Emu). Using this controller - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Smash-Bros-GameCube-Controller/dp/B00O9GW8VK/ref=sr_1_5?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1452201492&sr=1-5&keywords=gamecube

And this adapter - http://www.amazon.co.uk/GameCube-Controller-Adapter-PC-USB/dp/B0089NVTDM/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1452201526&sr=1-2&keywords=gamecube+pc+adapter

The best is going to be the official cable, but it's pricy. This is the cable I use; the main thing to look for is a cable with no composite video plug. When I was searching I found there was usually less of a markup on cables marketed for Gamecube vs. cables marketed for SNES or N64 -- I blame the nostalgia tax.

This is the model

Don't get it on amazon as it's ridiculously over priced. If you can, get it on ebay. The lower priced ones go for ~$20 US.

I've used this pedal for at least a year now, no issues.