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Capture cards

Linux sees a capture card as just another display, so the same black screen and EDID quirks apply as with regular monitors. Work through Display output first.

AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra (GC553)​

ResolutionStatus
1920×1080 at 60 Hz✅ Working
1920×1080 at 120 Hz❌ Black screen
2560×1440 at 60 Hz✅ Working (with the fix below)
2560×1440 at 120 Hz❌ Black screen
3840×2160 at 60 Hz❌ Black screen

Getting 1440p at 60 Hz working (fixes a black screen with the default settings):

  1. In the capture card's own HDMI compatibility settings, remove every EDID profile above 1440p.
  2. Remove video=DP-1:1920x1080@60 from cmdline.txt.
  3. Set vram.txt to 0x80000000 (2 GB).

Elgato​

Results vary a lot between models and firmware versions. HDCP handling in particular seems inconsistent from one unit to the next.

  • Elgato 4K X: works with the default configuration for some users and gives a black screen for others with the same model. A firmware difference is suspected, so update the capture card's firmware if you have problems.
  • Elgato HD60 X: shows 4K60 HDR correctly in the PS5 OS, but Linux only outputs 1080p60. Switching to 4K60 or enabling HDR in Linux causes a black screen. Unresolved.

HDCP​

Whether a capture card needs HDCP on, off, or an HDCP-stripping splitter varies between devices and setups. Some users need a splitter before their card picks up any signal; others have it working fine without one. If you're stuck, try both HDCP settings on the PS5 and, if you have one, an HDCP stripper.

Switching between a TV and a capture card without rebooting​

If you use both a TV or monitor and a capture card, arandr (a graphical front end for xrandr) has let some users switch between them without a full reboot:

sudo apt install arandr

Results are mixed: some users still can't get a picture back after switching and have to reboot anyway.