here are two main other uses for a capture card, though. The first is for PC use with a gaming console being the source of your game stream. While I’m mostly covering PC streaming here (where you are playing on the PC, too), you can stream your console-based gameplay through your PC, which is something that even primarily PC-based streamers may want to do. Broadcasting directly from your PlayStation or Xbox console with the built-in functionality is an easy option, but many prefer to use their PC setup as an intermediary to stream their console gameplay.
That might seem odd, but it’s easy to understand why. If you’re someone who streams both PC and console games, you don’t want to hop out of your regular PC setup to use your console each time you want to stream a console title. A full PC's streaming hardware setup is likely also superior, allowing you to use your computer’s microphone, camera, and more while playing a console game. To do this, the capture card connects your PC and console, so it can relay the console gameplay stream to your computer, and the broadcast happens from there.
The second capture-card scenario: using a second computer attached to your main gaming computer. The second computer is used for the stream processing. As I alluded to earlier, you don’t have to make your PC perform double duty as the gaming and streaming rig. You can use a second computer as a dedicated streaming rig, fed your gameplay footage (via capture card) by the primary gaming PC, which is the one you actually play on. With all of the streaming software on the second PC and the stream processing being done there, your gaming machine is relieved of the double workload.
A new streamer does not need to purchase two PCs off the bat. though. It’s not necessary for most people, and obviously a big expense. I’d hate to see people spend money they don’t have thinking they need to invest in two PCs to make it big. Professional, full-time streamers and some of the biggest names around use this kind of setup, but it makes sense investing in one only after you've had some streaming success, as a way to enhance your stream quality.
