best HMDI to UVC adaptor for M1?

[project_2501]

I've had problems with the ElGato Camlink 4k which causes high CPU and fans even at 1080p and 720p when used with video conferencing tools.

Elgato Support - after doings lots of analysis of log captures - said their minimum requirements are a discrete NVIDIA or AMD GPU. They then said that they can't guarantee it works properly on an M1 MacBook which has a different approach to GPU accelerated video encoding/decoding.

What is the recommended hardware to connect an M1 MacBook (not bought yet, waiting for 2021 MacBook Pro) to an external DSLR camera to appear as a webcam over the USB-UVC protocol?

 

[Gnattu]

May I ask which video conferencing tool you are using? The Camlink 4K is working fine on my MacBook Pro.

 

[project_2501]

May I ask which video conferencing tool you are using? The Camlink 4K is working fine on my MacBook Pro.

I have a 2015 15" quad-core i7 with 16GB RAM. I am using a range of tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams and Big Blue Button.

I have tried the web conferencing tools with Safari, Firefox and Chrome - all result in high CPU and screaming loud fans.

Even using the Elgato tool to test the video causes the high CPU and fans.

I will purchase an M1 MacBook so this is an opportunity to fix this problem.

 

[Gnattu]

I have a 2015 15" quad-core i7 with 16GB RAM. I am using a range of tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams and Big Blue Button.

I have tried the web conferencing tools with Safari, Firefox and Chrome - all result in high CPU and screaming loud fans.

Even using the Elgato tool to test the video causes the high CPU and fans.

I will purchase an M1 MacBook so this is an opportunity to fix this problem.

From my own experience, the camlink 4k works very well on M1 MacBook Pro. Yes you will have some CPU load, but it won't cause performance problem and you won't hear the fan(unless you are using a demanding video processing tool). I use it to capture 1080p60 and 4K30 video streams and the system stays responsive.

One thing to note is that if you are using a USB hub to connect the camlink 4k, you may have unstable connection due to the huge data transfer amount.

 

[project_2501]

No USB hub - directly into the laptop, and no other peripherals except an external display (in clamshell mode so only 1 display being driven).

Thanks for letting me know it works with the M1.

I am thinking of getting the CalDigit TS3 Plus thunderbolt dock with it's USB-A ports... would that work?

 

[Gnattu]

No USB hub - directly into the laptop, and no other peripherals except an external display (in clamshell mode so only 1 display being driven).

Thanks for letting me know it works with the M1.

I am thinking of getting the CalDigit TS3 Plus thunderbolt dock with it's USB-A ports... would that work?

I'm using the CalDigit TS3 and it works very well as long as you are not using any USB hub behind that. You may need to use the extension cable due to the size of the Camlink 4K.

 

[project_2501]

I'm using the CalDigit TS3 and it works very well as long as you are not using any USB hub behind that. You may need to use the extension cable due to the size of the Camlink 4K.

Thanks - I plan to connect the TS3 to the MacBook over thunderbolt and then connect the camlink to the TS3's USB-A port.

Thanks for your help.

 

[halfnormalledtonowhere]

Thanks - I plan to connect the TS3 to the MacBook over thunderbolt and then connect the camlink to the TS3's USB-A port.

Thanks for your help.

Hi @project_2501 did you end up getting an M1 Mac? How's the performance when using the Cam Link 4K?

I'm using one with a 2019 MacBook Pro, and like you, as soon as I view the video feed in any app (Quicktime, Teams, Zoom, OBS, etc.), a process called UVCAssistant starts using >40% CPU and my fans spin up instantly. Did you find a solution on your old machine? It's the same for me through a CalDigit Mini Dock and a cheap Choetech USB3 hub.

@Gnattu what CPU usage do you see from UVCAssistant on your machine when using the Cam Link 4K? Thanks

 

[project_2501]

Hi @project_2501 did you end up getting an M1 Mac? How's the performance when using the Cam Link 4K?

I ordered an M1 MacBook Pro and it hasn't arrived yet - when it does, I'll probably go for the Caldigit Elements Thunderbolt 4 dock.

I have heard unscientific opinion suggesting the Avermedia capture device heats up less than the Elgato CamLink. I am also now considering the BlackMagic HMDi-to-USB-C device which looks much more professionally built.

None of these options may resolve the overloading on the MacBook itself - we'll have to see.

Contacting Avermedia, Elgato and BlackMagic has not resulted in enlightening answers - I suspect they know these solutions aren't great.

From my limited technical knowledge, I think the bottleneck is decoding+encoding the video stream ... which can be offloaded to a GPU, which is why Elgato's official minimum specs do state a discrete GPU. We'll see if the M1 SOC gpu cores can handle this without causing overheating and fans.