By: Aaron Lai
March 8, 2024
For a while when I had Netflix, I watched a reality show called Blown Away. As you probably know, most glass pieces are shaped through the action of blowing into molten glass through a long tube and shaping it with other tools. The show centers around contestants who make different glass structures for a theme of the episode and compete with other people. However, unlike the numerous cooking and baking competitions this show mirrors, there is something different about glass blowing. This stems from the fact glass is a lot less forgiving. I think in cooking and baking, there are ways to fix or mend things. As well, since they do not take as much time, it is faster to start over. There were multiple times over the course of the show where competitors had to destroy their work and start over again. In many ways, this is similar to what it is like to build a friendship. Over time, the friends you make will slowly get to know you more. There might be small issues that require going through the fire to reshape and mend. However, if one side causes great pain or a break in trust, you might be left feeling shattered. Some things can be fixed, but there is a point of no return that will require breaking it off. Unfortunately, I have had to make these sorts of decisions for some of the people who I thought were my friends, only for them to fracture my trust. Thankfully, today we have the opposite case with our AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K 2.1 GC575. We have only seen one of their products before, which was the Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571. The GC571 was a budget-oriented product, but today we have their top-of-the-line streaming card in the GC575. How does it compare? Does it build on the things we have already enjoyed? Let us read on to find out!
Today's review unit of the AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K 2.1 GC575 arrived from AVerMedia's American offices in San Jose, California. Traveling with UPS and their Standard ground service, this box arrived in relatively good condition. As you can see, they sent it to us in an AVerMedia marked box. It arrived with no real dents or bruises to be worried about, so I think everything inside should be safe. As we mentioned in our review of the Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571, we received both of the capture cards together in a Christmas care package along with a branded cape to wear while you are gaming. Otherwise, there is not much else to speak on, so let us take a closer look at the products inside.
The two AVerMedia capture cards come in similar retail containers. The company logo can be found on the top left corner with the product ID on the right corner. Underneath, we have the full name. As for the Live Gamer 4K 2.1 GC575, the tagline of "Take the Reins on Your Vision" can be found underneath. Finally, in the middle, we have a scaled down image of the streaming card itself. Along with this, we have a few highlighted specs to point out, including the fact it supports up to 4K pass-through with HDR and variable refresh rate support of up to 144 frames per second, and 4K capture at 60 frames per second. It also shows one more logo to reinforce the support for variable refresh rate. On the back, we have a few other specifications. This front area is all printed on a sleeve, which can be slid off to get to the box inside.
Before we continue, I have grabbed the specifications from the manufacturer's website for your perusal:
Specifications
- Interface: PCIe Gen 3 x4
- Video Input: HDMI 2.1
- Video Output (Pass-Through): HDMI 2.1
- Max Pass-Through Resolutions: 2160p144 HDR/VRR, 3440x1440p 120 HDR/VRR, 1440p240 HDR/VRR, 1080p360 HDR/VRR
- Max Capture Resolution: 2160p60
- Video Format: YUY2, NV12, RGB24, P010(HDR)
- Dimensions: (W x D x H): 121 x 160.5 x 21.5 mm (4.76 x 6.32 x 0.85 in)
- Weight: 150.5 g (5.31 oz)
System Requirements
- Windows® 10 x64 / 11 x64 or later
- Desktop: Intel® Core™ i5-6XXX / AMD Ryzen™ 3 XXX or above + NVIDIA® GTX 1060 / AMD RX 5700 or above
- 8 GB RAM recommended (Dual-channel)
- Make sure that both your display and console (PS5, PS4 Pro, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One X) support HDMI 2.1 connections.
- If your monitor supports built-in DSC (Display Stream Compression), be aware that the maximum supported video pass-through might be 4K120.
AVerMedia Supported Software
- AVerMedia Assist Central
- AVerMedia Gaming Utility
- AVerMedia RECentral
- Firmware update tool
What’s in the Box
- Live Gamer 4K 2.1 (GC575)
- HDMI 2.1 Cable
- Quick Start Guide
As you can see from above, everything is packaged inside an inner white cardboard box. Upon opening the box, the first thing we will see is the AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K 2.1 GC575, which is sealed in an anti-static bag. Underneath, we have another compartment containing an HDMI 2.1 cable as well as some paper material to help you quickly get started with the streaming card. The HDMI cable also has some nice plastic plug protectors to ensure the ends do not get damaged by debris or other particles while in transit. There is not much else, so let us take a closer look at the card itself.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
