For years, AVerMedia has built a reputation in the capture card space, offering both internal and external models. The company, like many others, seems to have found its formula for delivering quality video capture. That leaves individual firms to pioneer the next step in capture technology. AVerMedia has attempted a new design for a perceived new purpose with its ultra-compact 4K/60 capture card, the AVerMedia CamStream 4K.
In the box, you get the AVerMedia CamStream 4K, a cold shoe mount with a one-quarter-inch screw, a one-metre USB-C cable, and documentation. The CamStream 4K weighs 26 grams and measures roughly three inches in length, so compact may not even be enough of a word to describe its size. The device features a standard HDMI input and a USB-C output, with a single LED indicator that glows or flashes red, blue, or green depending on various statuses, including connection, streaming, or recording.
Setting up the AVerMedia CamStream 4K is straightforward. Connect your camera to the CamStream 4K with the appropriate HDMI cable. For example, I use a Sony A7III, so I need a micro HDMI to HDMI cable. Then connect the capture device to the input device, whether it is a computer, tablet or phone. (Tablets and phones must be On-The-Go, or OTG, compatible, and require an OTG-capable cable.) From there, the CamStream 4K should be recognized automatically and will appear as a video source in any streaming or video conferencing software.
“Does the AVerMedia CamStream 4K do the job you are paying for—delivering quality video capture with low latency? Absolutely.”
If you are using a Windows PC or laptop and choose to forego the more widely used software solutions, AVerMedia offers its own program, the AVerMedia Streaming Center. Like most AVerMedia software I have tested, it is clunky at best and disruptive to the creative process at worst. The program resembles an OBS knockoff that never progressed beyond the beta stage. It froze multiple times during testing when the capture card was the only source in the scene, and it crashed whenever I disconnected the CamStream 4K.
The AVerMedia Streaming Center offers a handful of simple effects in the form of face overlays, ranging from a beard to a cat face or devil horns (complete with a tail that awkwardly appears to extend from the neck). These effects jittered constantly in a well-lit environment and failed to track a face with any consistency. Its only real upside is its immediate connection to AVerMedia’s other software, Assist Central Pro, which lets you tweak settings and update firmware. That utility can also be used independently with more stable programs such as OBS, which is my recommendation.
Does the AVerMedia CamStream 4K do the job you are paying for—delivering quality video capture with low latency? Absolutely. Is it the best capture quality I have seen? No. The picture requires some adjustments to achieve more colour accuracy, but it is by no means poor. The device provides ultra-low latency capture, outputting 4K/60 video from my mirrorless camera, and it performs well. I recommend using LUTs for the best possible picture, though it is strong out of the box.
“The AVerMedia CamStream 4K is a very capable budget capture card, whose design has been geared towards a use case that I struggle to see the point of.”
My biggest question, even before opening the box, was: What is the point of this device? Portability seems to be the selling feature AVerMedia is leaning on most, but is another capture card with similar—or better—quality really so cumbersome to travel with? I think not. Running an HDMI cable to a capture card on a desk or table, then a USB cable to a PC or mobile device, makes the CamStream 4K feel like an answer to a problem no one had.
If you are sending the output to a PC, the placement of your camera is limited by the very short USB-C cable included in the box. At three feet, it could not reach from my camera’s usual position in my setup to my PC. One option, which AVerMedia highlights on its website, is a configuration where a phone sits on top of the camera with the CamStream 4K mounted above it. In that case, the short cable is useful, though you would also need a short HDMI cable, which only works for this setup.
Also, who wants cables hanging above their camera? To run an HDMI cable from the camera to a capture card not mounted above your camera, with the USB running from there, can be set up cleanly and look nice. This setup looks to me like someone has jerry-rigged a setup together that is imperfect, but is allowing it to do the job that they conceived. The small size of the AVerMedia CamStream 4K with its good quality should have been a sufficient selling point, but I fear that that’s lost in these strange design quirks.
But let’s talk about what is good about the AVerMedia CamStream 4K, namely the price. At $89.99 USD, the CamStream 4K is wonderfully priced. It is in line with the pricing of Elgato’s Cam Link 4K, but has the advantage of connecting to mobile devices, which makes it, to me, a more enticing option if you plan on capturing video away from a PC.
The AVerMedia CamStream 4K is a very capable budget capture card, whose design has been geared towards a use case that I struggle to see the point of. It looks messier than you want it with cables dangling from above the camera, and it doesn’t save you a ton of space, given the fact that most capture cards aren’t exactly chunky. It’s worth a buy for someone who wants to turn their DSLR or mirrorless into a webcam for cheap, but for little else.
