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Elgato Game Capture hardware doesn't support multichannel digital audio/Surround Sound (Dolby, DTS)

Elgato capture devices do not support capturing or passthrough of Dolby, DTS, or other multichannel digital audio formats.

 


Audio formats


These are the audio formats that Elgato devices support and do not support. This list does not include every known format. Compressed audio formats such as Dolby Digital are never supported. 

PCM or L-PCM ✅ Supported (up to 24-bit/48Khz)
Dolby Digital ❌ Not Supported
Dolby Digital Plus ❌ Not supported
Dolby TrueHD ❌ Not supported
Dolby Atmos ❌ Not supported
DTS HD ❌ Not supported
DTS:X ❌ Not supported

 

 


Channel formats


These are the channel formats that Elgato capture devices support and do not support. This list does not include every known or possible channel layout. 

Stereo (2.0) ✅ Supported
Stereo (2.1) ❌ Not supported
Surround (5.1) ❌Not supported
Surround (7.1) ❌Not supported
Object-based Surround (Atmos, DTS:X) ❌Not supported

 

 


Elgato Capture Devices


The above specifications apply to:

  • Game Capture HD
  • Game Capture HD60
  • Game Capture HD60 S
  • Game Capture HD60 S+
  • Game Capture HD60 X
  • Game Capture HD60 Pro
  • Game Capture 4K60 Pro
  • Game Capture 4K60 Pro MK.2
  • Game Capture 4K60 S+
  • Game Capture 4K Pro
  • Game Capture 4K X
  • Cam Link
  • Cam Link 4K
  • Cam Link Pro
  • Game Capture 4K S

 


Missing Audio


On some devices, namely the Nintendo Switch, it is possible to select a multi-channel audio output.

In this case, the device may output in a surround sound format and the capture device will only capture the front left and front right audio channels.

The result is that some sounds like dialogue which is typically played through a center channel in a multi-channel layout will be missing entirely. 

To resolve this issue, set the output/playback to Stereo (2.0) and PCM format. 

 

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