Reddit mentions of AVerMedia Live Gamer HD, Game Capture and Streaming in High Definition 1080p, Reduce CPU Usage, Ultra Low Latency, H.264 Hardware Encoding HD Game Recorder, PCIe, (C985)

Hey Max,


Here is a list of things I believe will benefit a new streamer:

1.) Be consistent. Make yourself a schedule. Think of your broadcast as a TV show. People KNOW when Dexter/ Game of Thrones/ Spartacus is on! It's because it's at the same time, same day!

If you can't make yourself a schedule, let people know in advance via Twitter/Facebook/Steam when you will be streaming. Even if you stream for 2 hours a day, a schedule benefits you.

2.) Be entertaining! Don't just stare at a screen and zone out. Include and interact with your audience! Everyone loves to be recognized! Be YOURSELF, but make it a more "lively" version of yourself!

3.) Make Rules for your channel! If you enjoy a steady, friendly community, a set bracket of rules will help. I'm not saying set 100 different rules. Make between 2-6 rules you believe will "keep the peace". Viewers want to know what to expect from chat when they enter and re-enter your channel.


When your chat is a free for all, you will get trolls and overall immature people in your chat. When that happens, they offend certain people and don't want to revisit your channel.

4.) Provide a quality stream. Do not be one of those streamers who tries to stream 1080p on a 1 MBPS Upload. Dont not be one of those streamers who has pixelated/ laggy streams. Learn the ins and outs of your internet. Learn what bitrate is needed for what kind of cast you want. Here is a good place to start.

Test your upload speed with TestMy.Net. DO NOT use SpeedTest.Net because it is extremely inaccurate.

5.) Optional: Find yourself a gimmick. People love gimmicks whether you want to admit it or not. A gimmick will bring viewers in, but your personality/Content will determine if they decide to follow/stay.

When I first started I did 10 push ups per 1 new/real follow. I gained over 800 new followers within 2 months.

6.) Don't try being like anyone else. BE YOURSELF. I've seen streamer after streamer FAIL because they've tried being like someone else's cast. No one needs 2 Athenes, no one needs 2 Towelliees. Be unique to yourself.

Realize it is going to take a long time for you to build a steady/loyal audience. But it's because they like you for you.



I believe skimping out on quality parts for your stream will only lead to a poor quality cast in the future. It IS expensive to begin streaming, but if this is your "Ultimate Dream" you should invest in making that happen!

I use an AVerMedia Live Gamer HD and it is amazing. Never one single problem and a great price for what it does.


If you have any questions, you can either message me on here or visit my Twitch page when I'm live and the Community and I will be able to help!


Take care and good luck!

I just ordered this guy yesterday

It is funny I just talked to them about it because I might be recording soon. They use various versions of this card. That card will display the gameplay footage on a PC screen, then they use Frapps or dxtory to record that.

Which processor should I be looking for if I want to do gaming, productivity, stream/record? And I don't really plan on overclocking btw.

EDIT: I do plan on getting the AVerMedia Live Gamer Capture Card C985, so would that mean I don't have to look for a CPU with good streaming/recording capabilities?

We use capture cards, they're video capture devices that you either install into a desktop computer(Like the Avermedia LiveGamer HD ) or get a USB one(Such as the Elgato Gamecapture HD ). These devices hook directly into the video output of your WiiU and can record it using software on your computer.

Sm4sh replay files aren't actually video, this is why the WiiU can save so many of them, otherwise the video files would be a decent size. They're basically large text files that tell the game engine what button to press at what time.

Honestly, http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-C985-Gamer-1080p-Capture/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377145687&sr=8-1&keywords=avermedia+capture+card worked for me at first, but caused some input lag, however, after updating drivers and such, it no longer works at all for the ps3 because of the HDCP protection.

you would need a video capture device. you can get a Dazzle for like $50, but it will be shit quality (SD). or you can get one of the HD capturing devices like the Hauppauge HD PVR($190) or Hauppauge Colossus($140) or Avermedia Live HD($220)

HD PVR and Colossus are pretty much the same product, but the HD PVR is a USB box where as the Colossus is just a PCI card. HD PVR might be more convenient, but costs a bit more. Avermedia Live HD is supposed to be the best but I haven't gotten to use it yet.

then you need a computer powerful enough to encode the video in realtime. not sure how good of a PC you need, but video encoding mainly only uses the CPU so you need a good one of those especially for HD.

then you need a fast enough internet to stream the video, 1mb per second preffered for HD.

the software for streaming is called Xsplit. it's free but you can subscribe for additional features.

you could grab yourself a twitch.tv account and Xsplit and try to stream some screen regions to get an idea of how it works.

In my opinion for a good entertaining stream you're going to want to be in HD with a good mic and a webcam. Then all you need is a good entertaining personality, easy!

Any quality recording program is going to use a lot of resources. Remember, you're encoding a whole video stream while you're playing; it's double the processing. Dxtory is supposed to be better for multi-threaded CPUs (which are common nowadays), fraps does not have that functionality. On the other hand it's very easy to find a full version of FRAPS that's really easy to install. Regardless, if you don't have the hardware it's going to be tough no matter what you do. If you have money to toss around you could get a capture card (either external or internal), I personally use a Avermedia Live Gamer HD. Here's an example of that which I just recorded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vplMUQ6np4

Buy a capture card, Not cheap but worth the money if you are serious about streaming http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-C985-Gamer-1080p-Capture/dp/B007UXJ6LE

So I had an issue like this when I started. Pretty much when you stream it uses your CPU to encode not your videocards. I fixed it by using a capture card which takes a lot of the load off the CPU and runs it through that. I am currently using https://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Streaming-Definition-Hardware-C985/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480122612&sr=8-1&keywords=avermedia+live+gamer+hd Since the game also uses CPU and OBS uses CPU you can see what is going on.

You can buy a capture card, then take a DVI or HDMI output from your computer into the capture card. You can do the same for sound, using the 3.5mm plug.

The other option is to buy a hardware accelerated recorder like the Avermedia Live Gamer Portable or the Gamer HD which work sort of a computer and capture card in one.

I use the AVerMedia Live Gamer HD one to play games on my monitor instead of on my TV. It is a relatively old card at this point. I have seen people starting to recommend Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro. That card is brand new, so it is getting some attention. I am looking to upgrade to that one and sell the old one probably in the next few months just because it looks nicer in my case. It has 1080p60 recording I think, and the Avermedia card does 1080p30. Both cards do passthrough at 60 fps anyway, so it isn't a huge issue unless you are trying to record or stream at 1080p60fps. Your internet probably couldn't handle that. Both of the options I have given are pretty expensive, but it seems more convenient for your intended purpose. It does result in a lot of HDMI/DVI/DP cords behind your case. If you are looking to spend money on the cards I have recommended, you should probably start streaming to at least justify some of the costs. Let me know if you need any more help, and good luck.

I seriously doubt it is capable of streaming anything close to 1080p video at 30fps.

I am currently looking into a few options for this myself using a Sony HD camcorder. I just sent back an Intensity Shuttle USB 3 capture device that I felt was a little too flaky over usb 3. I am now waiting for delivery of an AVerMedia C985 Live Gamer HD 1080p Capture Card. This still won't be doing 60fps but I am hoping it works well at 30fps.

So between the camcorder and a capture card I'll be in around $500 and "hoping" this "cheap" solution will provide good HD live streaming results.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor | $118.99 @ NCIX US
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard | $87.23 @ OutletPC
Memory | Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $63.99 @ Newegg
Storage | PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $89.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.99 @ SuperBiiz
Video Card | Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card | $164.99 @ NCIX US
Case | Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case | $79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $54.99 @ Amazon
Optical Drive | Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer | $13.99 @ Newegg
Other| AVerMedia Game Recorder -C985 Live Gamer HD| $176.00 @ Amazon.com
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $900.15
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-11 18:54 EST-0500 |
-----

Theme: Black/Gray.

CPU: AMD's 6 core 6350. Good frequency since you don't plan on overclocking.

Motherboard I would have opted for the Asus M5A97 R2.0 at the same price, but this is decent also and fits your color preferences.

RAM 8G of DDR3. Black color.

Storage Basic 240GB SSD and 1TB storage.

Graphics R9 280 is a good gaming card. Will suit you well.

Case What you've wanted.

PSU Good quality 620W modular PSU.

Optical It reads, it writes.

Other The capture card you wanted.

EDIT:
You might also consider an HDMI switch. which will allow you to just click a button and switch between PC input and PS3 input. Most of these (Unless expensive) don't include any alternative audio option, just HDMI <-> HDMI

.....

EDIT 2:
If you JUST want to record the video on your PC, and don't want to display it live, any capture card will do, whether internal or external, and is just about the only way to go - very, very few video cards have bidirectional HDMI ports, so you likely only have output on your PC

.....

The linked item (The Easycap) is along the right lines, but not quite there. The PS3 will not allow dual video output in this manner. it only supports one output, and you can only switch between the two, not have both.

The better way is to stick with HDMI, but install a video capture card with HDMI passthrough in your computer. Plug PS3 HDMI into the capture card, and plug the cards output to your monitor. I know they can be expensive, but it's the proper way in this case. The one I linked is relatively nice, there are probably cheaper options with passthrough capability - I just don't feel like searching through results for the best bang/buck ratio.

This should also allow you to use the capture card's audio output (3.5mm on this card) to connect to your speakers for sound that's pulled from the HDMI - meaning you can forgo the component cable entirely.

Without passthrough it'd still be possible, but you'd basically have to stream the video to yourself- meaning there's likely to be some video lag compared to passthrough or direct connection. The one you linked would require this kind of setup, which is not ideal.

You have to get yourself a capture card.

The setup will pretty much be this : Gaming PC > Capture card > Recording/streaming PC. There are 2 main types of capture card; PCIe and external.

Elgato and AVerMedia are 2 companies that make them although I am sure there are others as well.

http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder-C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE

Not even close to 500 lol. i use this one btw, it reduces lag whiel recording so you don't lose FPS like with lets say fraps. You however dont want to route your audio through it

another good bonus of the capture card is the playback video is instant and in real time so you can easily plan your consoles on your pc :)

my main complaint really is avermedia shut down their support forums so there isn't anymore tech support for their products anymore :(

If you want a cheap capture card with ok quality, check out a Dazzle DVC100
If you want HD, nice quality get something like a AverMedia HD.
As for capturing the game with the card, I suggest AmaRecTV, a Japanese recording program that was translated into English. Just be aware that AmaRec does crash sometimes if you remove your capture card while it's still running.

• SSD. Probably a Samsung Evo 240gb.
  
• 770 SLI if you can fit it within the budget.
  
  
• For streaming maybe the avermedia capture card
  http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder-C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE

In June, Arin tweeted that he'd upgraded to the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 pre-amp/usb interface. As far as I know that's been the only change the setup besides some sort of capture card for Steam Train, which I believe is probably the AverMedia Capture Card for PC. It's mentioned in the first episode of Civ 5, and it's great for taking the processing power of the capture off of the PC by routing it through the card.

I own one of these bad boys.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007UXJ6LE/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

amazing for recording then uploading, decent at live streaming. While just recording I get no fps drop and I'm recording at 1080 resolution, 20000kbps, @ 30 fps. Live streaming requires you to still use a program like xsplit, but the capture card will help with the fps drop even then though.

If you're plan is just to do occasional recordings though, use fraps.

Well I just got a capture card. It's a hardware solution so don't think about it if you're afraid to open your computer. I was using it last night and this specific one is pretty good. It captures 1080p @ 30fps and saves it as AVI. It will also let you record from a mic and have that as a separate file. If you want that one you're going to need a graphics card with an HDMI output. It's also nice because you just push a button and it will capture whatever is on your screen so you can show windows stuff and not have to worry about which program is being recorded.

Like I said I've just started using it last night, I will upload some video footage later and link it if you'd like. It is a tad expensive at $179 but, it works.

Since your streaming make sure to pick up a capture card. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007UXJ6LE?cache=16e64766be84f06192b545cf2bd269eb&pi=SX200_QL40&qid=1415037712&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

I use OBS most of the time, Shadowplay is good too but will not work with Open GL games. Also if you are ready to invest some money i think full versioin of Bandi cam is worth it. You could also invest in a Capture card like the Live Gamer HD or the Live Gamer HD 2 I think they are both awesome depending on what your buget is and they can compress the video without the need of your processor x.264.

From what I understand the only capture cards that have imperceptible latency are pcie capture cards. The HD 60 Pro is a popular recommendation but a pricey one. The aver media c985 is also recommended regularly and 40 bucks cheaper I'm not to familiar with it. It sounds like a capture card is the only solution here but not all are created equal. Some can't do 60fps, some say they can but actually capture in 1080i which is actually 30fps, and some can't give you a near zero latency view, so yeah do your research.

I have the Live Gamer HD. Its an internal capture card. The video goes directly from my video card to the Live Gamer. The Live Gamer has a processor on board specifically for encoding. Everything rests on the Live Gamer and not your CPU or GPU.

I am a HUGE fan of the PCIE Avermedia card. It doesn't suffer from sound sync issues like some other cards (Elgato for example). As far as the resolution goes I couldn't tell you, I only pump 1080 and below into it. http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder-C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE

I see you have the SC as well. The SC is a great card :) Of course mine is the 970, but still :).

I know a few people who have a dedicated streaming rig, although they have i5's and what not. The X51 was a bad purchase and im trying to find a use for it.

Would i generally be better with a Capture Card by AVermedia?

http://www.amazon.ca/AVerMedia-C985-Gamer-1080P-Capture/dp/B007UXJ6LE

Is this worth it? I stream currently 720p@60 (As 1080p60 is too much for my connection). The 60FPS a huge thing for me, as most of my followers know me on that note. :P

to answer a couple of questions here:

1. Its going to be difficult to stream from and elgato, because of the fact that there is a delay between your audio from the computer and gameplay itself, meaning that if you get a 360 no-scope on advanced warfare, they are going to hear your reaction first, then your actual footage.
   
   
2. IF you use a elgato for streaming, you will not be able to use your kinect as a webcam. Because of the proprietary connection and port on the xbox one and kinect, it will not be able to plug into your computer.
   
   If you want to stream gameplay from your xbox one to your computer, I highly suggest getting this.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder--C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422320062&sr=8-1&keywords=avermedia+stream
   
   A little bit more in the greenbacks than the elgato, but its definitely worth it. As for a webcam, I would use this.
   
   Again, its a little pricey, but I guarantee you, this webcam will last you for 5-6 years.
   
   I hope I cleared things up for you, feel free to reply back if you have any questions.

I know Nade and Scump use this one: http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder--C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422471834&sr=8-2&keywords=avermedia

I can do 1080p @ 30fps or 720p @ 60fps.

Suggestions?

Card I have: http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-C985-Gamer-1080p-Capture/dp/B007UXJ6LE

You will need a streaming HDMI capture card like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-PlayStation-Latency-Hardware-Encoding/dp/B007UXJ6LE

Then you will need a camera with clean HDMI out. Not many cameras do that.

http://nofilmschool.com/2013/04/canon-clean-hdmi-firmware-v1-21-5d-mark-iii

It might be easier to get a quality webcam.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-ConferenceCam-CC3000e-Conferencing-960-000982/dp/B00I0F78DO

I have this capture card, this one captures at 720p 60fps, which is all you can do with the bitrate cap for Twitch partners (3500 kbps).
If you want 1080p 60fps this one will do you good, but it's an external capture card.
I highly recommend an internal capture card, the quality is superior to an external equivalent and more importantly, there's no delay compared to an external capture card (external capture cards take much longer to encode, which causes mic audio to be desynced with capture video/audio and syncing them is a pain).

I have an Avermedia Live Gamer HD and it is outstanding. It is internal, but the install is simple. Quality is great.

I think there are lots of people who stream to Twitch or record video for Youtube using devices called "Capture Cards". They take the video from your unit (PS2/PS3), take it through a nearby computer, and from there you can stream it or record it. I know a lot of popular Twitch streamers use a Avermedia Live Gamer HD. Check those type of items out, and let us know what you find!

You can but it will make it 100% easier to manage. I'm going to assume that since you are able to afford a second PC that an extra ~$200 is not going to be a problem. I would recommend the AverMedia LiveGamer HD. It's pretty easy to set up and I currently use one.

http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-C985-Gamer-1080p-Capture/dp/B007UXJ6LE

If you want to stream with no hit to your CPU - you'd need two. One for just capturing though.

This is on sale right now for a great price if you're in the US.
http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder--C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417650819&sr=8-2&keywords=avermedia

You need a capture card to stream console games. you can use one like this.

The one I was looking at: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B007UXJ6LE?ref=emc_b_5_t


And I would try their software, but as long as it still takes away CPU power I would probably use OBS because it is more familiar

I looked through all the comments and didn't find this suggestion, perhaps because it involves spending more money? However, I have done some research on this and find that the most successful streamers use this method.

First, League of Legends is a CPU intensive game. Graphics are surprisingly a small part of running League.

Second, Twitch streaming is a HUGE load on your CPU.

Because of how rendering engines work, there is going to be some inherit lag between your CPU processing the game, giving the graphical output to OBS, OBS rendering the video with your overlays, then placing it on the network to the Twitch ingest servers.

Depending on configuration, some systems may be fast enough to overcome this processing lag in the background so that you never see it. However, most professional streamers have a separate computer specifically for running OBS and sending the output to Twitch. This is likely where your problem is.

My suggestion: build a secondary computer specifically for OBS rendering and network communication with Twitch ingest servers.

I would recommend you pay attention to 3 specific parts to your PC (perhaps building a custom pc?):

• CPU, at least an i5 to handle the load from streaming to Twitch
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-7500-Desktop-Processor-BX80677I57500/dp/B01MZZJ1P0/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1497844108&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289793011%2Cp_89%3AIntel%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_85%3A2470955011
  
  
• Capture Card, to take the graphical output from you gaming computer (LethalFrag uses this)
  
  https://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder--C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1447211372&sr=8-1&keywords=avermedia+c985&linkCode=sl1&tag=lethalfrag-20&linkId=2790cf038c502c295528967808f7f59a
  
  
• Network Card, ensures network stability with Twitch ingest servers including ping mitigation
  
  https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UG5RB2658&cm_re=network_card-_-9SIA4UG5RB2658-_-Product
  
  You will need a graphics card as well since OBS will use it for its rendering engine, but this card BY NO MEANS needs to be spectacular. A modern, basic graphics card should suffice.
  
  https://www.amazon.com/DUAL-GTX1050-2G-GeForce-Dual-Fan-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B01M69KN7E/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1497844717&sr=1-2&keywords=asus+1050
  
  Decent power supply, small SSD (128gb), basic case, 8gb DDR4 RAM, Windows and your set.
  
  I know. I know. It's more money. But, it really should kill your performance issues for good. According to your network speed test, your upload speed could be faster but it shouldn't be the source of your problem from what you described.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  Note: I am a Computer Engineer and mod for Twitch streamers

http://www.amazon.com/AVERMEDIA-Captures-Gameplay-Hardware-C985/dp/B007UXJ6LE/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1343628116

Not sure if he has this exact one but I've heard him say its an Avermedia Capture Card

Well most capture cards like the Live Gamer HD (C985 - what I use) use an HDMI Passthrough. Although you're going to have to also get an HDMI Splitter to alleviate the HDCP issues....but I wouldn't necessarily say there's any input lag. That, paired up with Xsplit Broadcaster / Gamecaster Console Viewer actually works fairly well. I wouldn't say I have any experience with playing a rhythm games on it, but I will say that playing other games that are lag-sensitive (Street Fighter), I don't have any issues. Check it out.
Splitter
Live Gamer HD

http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder-C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE

This correct?

This the same light?

http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-Recorder-C985-Capture-Stream/dp/B007UXJ6LE

If you enjoyed the Avermedia card so much then check this one out. This is the one I am currently using. Avermedia Live Gamer HD c985

I would recommend if you have a desktop the live gamer HD if you have a laptop the elgato HD60

I think there's a capture card that goes straight into your Motherboard, so it doesn't take any RAM, meaning no lag. It's the Avermedia Live Gamer HD. I have no experience with it, but it has great reviews and such.

Sorry for taking so long to reply.

I use an AverMedia Capture Card that runs $174.84. This card only works with desktops and needs to be installed on the mother board. It works very well.

If you don't have a desktop then you will probably want to use the Elgato Game Capture HD. It plugs into your computer via USB and is considered one of the si best.

A cheaper alternative is the Roxio Game Capture HD PRO. This plugs also connects to your computer via USB and includes it's own video editing software. It is cheaper than the others and runs at $99.99.

You also need a semi decent computer otherwise video editing will be a very slow process. It's really the editing part that uses the computer resources.

For editing I use CyberLink PowerDirector 12. It works pretty fast for editing and is cheaper than Adobe.

There are also free editing programs out there but I haven't really messed around with them to much. Message me if you have any questions. I hope this helps.

I use the Live Gamer HD.

http://www.amazon.com/AVerMedia-C985-Gamer-1080p-Capture/dp/B007UXJ6LE

It might seem a bit pricey, but it's worth the cost to me. When you're recording locally it does all of the work and takes the burden off your CPU. This means that I can record at ultra high quality without incurring any performance issues on my PC. The only negative is that 1080p capture is limited to 30 FPS. I don't really find this to be all that big of an issue, though. 720p and below can all be recorded at 60 FPS.

Software-wise, FRAPS is decent, but if your PC can't handle the burden that recording locally puts on it then you're going to either need to upgrade your PC or grab a capture card to do the recording/encoding.

The second option is to buy it directly from AVerMedia/Amazon for $180. Doesn't get you a free headset, but for people who are wary about Newegg, it's another choice.

Pretty sure it this one.

Oh sweet! All I need is a ~$1500 computer?? Or I could buy one of many sub-$200 cards and use it with any existing computer.

If you decide to go with the capture card route, you'll also need ~$60 in hardware for a lightning to HDMI adapter, and an HDMI splitter, but $60 + $200 > ~$1500.

If you already own a Mac, power to you! Otherwise, it's not the end of the world.