Elgato 4K Capture Utility — How to use Stream Link

Updated June 01, 2026 21:23

The following article is for a software that is now considered Legacy (EOL) status and no longer in active development. The information below may be outdated, no longer available or it may not match what is possible with current Elgato products.

Stream Link is a feature added in 4K Capture Utility Update 1.1

Stream Link can be enabled to record clean video and audio in 4K Capture Utility while utilizing the same video and audio in 3rd party software such as OBS Studio or XSplit.

Stream Link does not work with Elgato Studio software.

Note: If you just want to add your Elgato capture card to OBS Studio, you do not need to use Stream Link. Add the capture card as a "Video Capture" source directly in OBS Studio.

How to enable Stream Link in 4K Capture Utility

Note: Some Elgato capture devices support Multi App and do not require the use of Stream Link - Learn more.

Note: Enabling Stream Link can have serious performance impacts on your PC and is only recommended for high end PCs.

1. Open 4K Capture Utility.
2. Open the 4K Capture Utility settings at the top right.
3. In the General tab, check the box labeled “Enable Stream Link”.
4. Below, you can choose the resolution of Stream Link, up to a maximum of 1080p60.

In some cases the NDI redistributable must be installed before enabling Stream Link. Download it here:

OBS NDI Redistributable

How to Add Stream Link to OBS Studio

How to add Stream Link to OBS Studio (4K Capture Utility must be running and Stream Link must be enabled before doing this)

1) Download and install the OBS Studio NDI plugin from here: OBS NDI Redistributable
2) Once the installation is done, restart your PC.
3) Open 4K Capture Utility and OBS Studio.
4) In OBS Studio, click the “+” button in your scene and add a new “NDI source”.
5) Give the source a name like “4K Capture Utility Stream Link” then click OK.
6) Now a window for the properties of the NDI source will come up. If the source is not already correctly picked, choose the source titled “your PC name (4K Capture Utility)”.
7) Set the bandwidth to “Highest” and Sync to “internal”, then click on OK.
8) The Stream Link feed will take a second to show up

How to Add Stream Link to XSplit

How to add Stream Link to XSplit (4K Capture Utility must be running and Stream Link must be enabled before doing this)

1) Open XSplit.
2) At the bottom left, click on “Add”.
3) Hover over “Streams”, then “Newtek NDI stream (Beta)”, then you will see your PC name listed along with “(4K Capture Utility)”. Double click on that source.
4) After a few seconds you’ll see the video feed appear from 4K Capture Utility. Drag the edges to fill out the scene.

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