Chroma Subsampling on HDMI Passthrough

Updated June 03, 2026 22:14

Chroma Subsampling is the process of selectively lowering the resolution of certain color channels to reduce the bandwidth required for an image or video. Chroma refers to Color, Subsampling refers to reducing the sampling or resolution. All video you watch on YouTube, Twitch, Netflix, and even Blu-Ray discs will in some form be using Chroma Subsampling due to their use of certain video compression formats.

This process is also present on the HDMI Passthrough on some of our cards. The HDMI Passthrough refers to the port where you connect your TV, Monitor, or other Display. This is different than the image the card captures and sends to the computer.

4:2:2 - Game Capture HD
4:2:2 - Game Capture HD60
4:2:2 - Game Capture HD60 S

4:2:0 - Game Capture HD60 Pro

Some of our models have what is known as 4:2:2 Chroma Subsampling. This is where the color information is halved in the horizontal direction. Other models such as the Game Capture HD60 Pro have 4:2:0 Chroma Subsampling. This is where the color information is halved in the horizontal and vertical directions.

If you’ve noticed bright colors or other shades looking slightly softer than other parts of the image on your TV or Monitor when playing, this is likely the reason. Bright sharp colors like red text or thin colors on your Heads-Up-Display/HUD or outlines on characters are most likely to show this effect.

Below are some animated examples of the original source and what it may look like when being passed through one of the devices mentioned above and displayed on your TV.

For the cards listed above, this behavior is normal and does not indicate there is a malfunction with the device. The following Game Capture devices do not have Chroma Subsampling on their passthrough and provides an unchanged image to your display and do not experience this behavior.

Game Capture HD60 S+
Game Capture 4K60 S+
Game Capture 4K60 Pro
Game Capture 4K60 Pro MK.2

Game Capture HD60 S+ does not support YUV422 signals when receiving a 10-bit HDR signal. If your source or console is running in HDR mode, you will need to ensure the console is outputting a YUV420 format signal.

More information on this here: Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ – YUV422 Must Be Disabled

If this behavior is affecting your experience of play, a work around is an HDMI Splitter. This will allow you to bypass the need for using the HDMI Out on your Elgato Game Capture device and thus work around the Chroma Subsampling.

The basic setup for using an HDMI splitter involves connecting your console or source to the HDMI Input on the Splitter. Then connecting your Game Capture device to one of the HDMI outputs. Then connecting your TV, Monitor, Display to a different HDMI Output on the splitter.

You would not be connecting anything to the HDMI Output on your Game Capture device.

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