A swipe to control volume slider on the top of the box, gradually fills a bar of flashing LEDs to let you know whether your audio is at a decent balance or in fact clipping. Voice-overs and commentary can be both recorded and mixed all from the Rocket itself, which is a nice touch. A minor plus you might imagine but as a lot of capture cards require extra add ons lately, it’s always nice to see something ready to work from the box. In the box you’ll find everything you need to get going, which is always handy, including a component cable and a twin headed USB cable – one for providing power when going PC-free and the other for PC connection. The front is a simpler set-up, consisting of a 3.5mm jack socket to plug in a microphone and a USB socket to add your thumb-stick or hard drive if you’re going PC-free. On the back you’ll find a USB socket for powering it up, along with HDMI in/out and an AV-in should you wish to connect some older consolers through component/composite cables. Just wait for the light to roll into green and you’re now recording. All you need to do to get it started is press the big red button on top of the box, and then a red LED light band glows around the body. However, there is a plus side to the simplistic design: a simple glance from across the room tells you that it’s up and running. Its matte black plastic shell is very easily scratched and its bright red buttons stick out like a sore thumb and make it look very cheap. It’s far from being the coolest looking device on the market. Although it might be light at just 340g, the actual design leaves a lot to be desired. Having never gone fully hands on with one myself it’s time I added it to the list of capture cards I’ve put through their paces and see if it really deserves the crown of greatest portable capture card out there.Īs the Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket is designed with portability in mind, the device is just a small box and a bundle of wires. It offers PC-free recording, with footage instead going straight to a USB key or external hard drive – something which is rarely found in game capture devices.

In my time as a video games journalist, one thing I’ve always noticed at preview events is that the Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket is a capture card that many in the industry use as standardįrom the outside you can see why.

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