High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a digital copy protection system commonly associated with DisplayPort, DVI or HDMI connections. HDCP prevents the recording and piracy of commercial movies and TV shows.
Elgato capture devices cannot capture HDMI signals with HDCP protection enabled.
If you connect an HDMI signal that has HDCP protection, then Elgato capture devices will not display video.
Devices:
- PlayStation 5
- PlayStation 4 / Pro
- PlayStation 3
- Xbox One, One X|S
- Nintendo Switch
- Google Stadia
- Android Devices
- iOS Devices
PlayStation 5
By default, the PlayStation 5 enables HDCP over HDMI output.
First, connect your PlayStation 5 directly to your TV set or monitor via HDMI without any Elgato capture devices attached.
At the PlayStation 5 main menu, navigate to Settings -> System -> HDMI section of the PlayStation 5interface, and turn off Enable HDCP.
After that, you can use your PlayStation 5 with Elgato capture devices.
Connect your PlayStation 5 via HDMI to the HDMI In port on the Elgato capture device.
Connect the HDMI Out of Elgato capture device to your TV or monitor via an HDMI cable.
PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 4 Pro
By default, the PlayStation 4 enables HDCP over HDMI output. With firmware 1.70, Sony added an option that allows users to disable HDCP.
First, connect your PlayStation 4 directly to your TV set or monitor via HDMI without any Elgato capture devices attached.
At the PlayStation main menu, navigate to Settings -> System section of the PlayStation 4 interface, and turn off Enable HDCP.
After that, you can use your PlayStation 4 with Elgato capture devices.
Connect your PlayStation 4 via HDMI to the HDMI In port on the Elgato capture device.
Connect the HDMI Out of Elgato capture device to your TV or monitor via an HDMI cable.
Content other than gameplay may still be encrypted with HDCP. As a result, Elgato capture devices will not be able to capture that content.
The PlayStation 4 uses HDCP protection when watching a purchased movie, or using services such as Netflix, Hulu or built-in music player or Spotify. As a result, the content can not be captured.
Instead, you will get an error message that states:
Cannot start the application.
You must turn on [Settings] > [System] > [Enable HDCP].
PlayStation 3
HDCP is on in all PlayStation 3 consoles.
HDCP cannot be turned off.
Due to HDCP, capturing the PS3's HDMI output is not supported.
Xbox One / Xbox One S / Xbox One X
HDCP is off by default on Xbox One consoles.
HDCP will activate when media apps such as Netflix or Hulu are started.
HDCP automatically turns off when the media app is quit, if the signal does come back restart the console.
Nintendo Switch
HDCP is off by default on Nintendo Switch.
HDCP will activate when media players such as Netflix or Hulu are started.
HDCP automatically turns off when the media app is quit, if the signal does come back restart the console.
Google Stadia
HDCP is on by default on Chromecast Ultra with Google Stadia, meaning capturing Stadia gameplay is not supported on any Elgato Game Capture device
HDCP cannot be be disabled on Chromecast Ultra
In order to capture video from Stadia on Chromecast Ultra with a Game Capture device, Google would need to update Chromecast Ultra to disable HDCP.
Android Devices
Due to the large number of Android devices and differences between those devices, an exhaustive list of how they handle HDCP is not available.
iOS Devices
HDCP is off by default on iOS devices. However, the iOS device may still report HDCP as active if a media app was recently used. If HDCP is on, restart the device.
HDCP will activate when apps such as Netflix or Hulu are started.
HDCP automatically turns off when the media app is quit, if the signal does come back restart the iOS device.