Magewell Electronics

Support for robust, open source protocol expands streaming options in free application

April 15, 2020 — Nanjing, China: Magewell today announced a new upgrade of its free Capture Express recording application that expands the software’s streaming capabilities. Version 3.2 adds new support for multiple streaming technologies including the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol developed and open-sourced by Haivision.

While Magewell capture devices feature extensive compatibility with popular third-party software for streaming, live production, web conferencing, lecture capture and more, the Capture Express software offers Magewell users a lightweight, dedicated tool for recording, previewing or streaming input sources. Originally designed to help users easily verify their input signals and capture devices, Capture Express has evolved into a simple yet full-fledged capture application supporting video up to 4K at 60 frames per second.

Version 3.0 of Capture Express initially offered easy recording and previewing functionality, and the subsequent version 3.1 added the ability to stream H.264-encoded video using the RTMP protocol. Now, version 3.2 further expands the software’s streaming flexibility with support for the SRT protocol as well as MPEG-TS over UDP or RTP. Enabling secure, reliable, low-latency video delivery over unpredictable networks, SRT ensures high-quality streaming experiences even over the public internet. Magewell is a member of the SRT Alliance.  

“The importance of streaming as a communication medium has been accentuated in recent weeks by the health crisis the world is facing,” said James Liu, VP of Engineering at Magewell. “While we had planned all along to expand the streaming capabilities of Capture Express, the beta release of version 3.2 has become particularly timely given the increased demand for streaming today. Customers who previously used our capture devices primarily for internal production workflows may want to begin streaming to stay in touch with their followers, and Capture Express offers an efficient option for users who don’t need the full functionality of a third-party encoding and streaming application.”

Capture Express 3.2 automatically detects compatible graphics hardware in the host system and leverages GPU-accelerated H.264 encoding when possible, using the CPU for encoding only as necessary. Capture Express runs on the Windows operating system and is compatible with all current Magewell capture product lines – including USB Capture Gen 2 and USB Capture Plus external devices; Pro Capture PCIe cards; and Eco Capture M.2 hardware – as well as Magewell’s first-generation capture cards and boxes.

The beta version of Capture Express 3.2 is available immediately on Magewell’s website.

About Magewell – Founded in 2011, Magewell (www.magewell.com) designs and develops hardware and software for video and audio capture, conversion and streaming. With guiding principles of continuous innovation and providing outstanding customer service, Magewell has earned a strong reputation for the exceptional quality, performance and reliability of its solutions. Distributed globally, Magewell products are used in professional video applications including live event streaming, broadcast, medical imaging, lecture capture, surveillance, video conferencing, gaming and more.