This guide will walk through steps to take when your Elgato Capture Device is not capturing sound from a source as expected. 

All Elgato Capture Devices capture sound in the Stereo (2.0) format. The sound format must be PCM. Other sound formats, such as bitstream, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, Dolby Atmos, and others are not supported. 

Contents

• Check Audio Settings in the Game Capture HD or 4K Capture Utility software
• Check the Audio Configuration of the PlayStation 4/Pro
• Check the Audio Configuration of the PlayStation 5
• Check the Audio Configuration of the Nintendo Switch
• Check the Audio Configuration of the Xbox One/S/X
• Check the Audio Configuration of the PC 
• Select Either HDMI or Analog Audio Input Capture for Game Capture HD60 S/HD60 S+
• Select Analog Line-in Audio Capture for Game Capture HD60 Pro/4K60 Pro
• No Game Sound in OBS Studio

Check Audio Settings in the Game Capture HD or 4K Capture Utility software

Check that preview audio is un-muted, computer audio output is not low or muted

Open up either the Game Capture HD or 4K Capture Utility software to check the audio levels. If audio is being captured, the game audio bars will move corresponding with the game, and audio can be monitored. 

If no preview sound is heard, the preview may be muted. 

Click on the speaker button to un-mute the preview. 

If no audio is heard via the preview even though the audio monitor bars are moving

1. Make sure the sound output of the computer is not low or muted.

2. In the Game Capture Software, make sure the game sound dial is not set too low. 

Analog audio sound level

Both Game Capture HD and 4K Capture Utility software support analog audio capture from specific capture devices. The analog audio level can be changed in the software settings. 

Make sure the Analog Audio level is not set too low. 

Check the Audio Configuration of the PlayStation 4/Pro

Unplug the headset from the PlayStation 4 controller

The PlayStation 4 will not output sound over HDMI if headphones are plugged into the PlayStation 4 controller. 

Unplug the headphones from the controller and the PlayStation 4 will output sound to the capture card. 

To use headphones with the PlayStation 5 controller, a special cable was developed called Elgato Chat Link. Learn more about using Elgato Chat Link here.

Set PlayStation 4 to output stereo PCM

Elgato Game Capture devices capture sound in stereo (2.0) format. Make sure the PlayStation 4 is set to output Linear PCM.

1. Select Sound and Screen 

2. Open Audio Output Settings 

3. Open Audio Format (Priority). 

4. Then select Linear PCM.

Check the Audio Configuration of the PlayStation 5

Unplug the headset from the PlayStation 5 controller

The PlayStation 5 will not output sound over HDMI if headphones are plugged into the PlayStation 5 controller. 

Unplug the headphones from the controller and the PlayStation 5 will output sound to the capture card. 

To use headphones with the PlayStation 4 controller, a special cable was developed called Elgato Chat Link. Learn more about using Elgato Chat Link here.

Set PlayStation 5 to output stereo PCM

Elgato Game Capture devices capture sound in stereo (2.0) format. Make sure the PlayStation 5 is set to output Linear PCM.

1. Select Sound and Screen 

2. Open Audio Output Settings 

3. Open Audio Format (Priority). 

4. Then select Linear PCM.

Check the Audio Configuration of the Nintendo Switch

Set Nintendo Switch sound output to stereo

The Nintendo Switch lets users change the audio settings regardless of what the capture/display device is capable of. If the Nintendo Switch is set to Surround mode, some sounds will not be captured correctly by Elgato Game Capture devices. 

1. From the HOME Menu, select System Settings.

2. Scroll down the menu on the left-hand side of the screen and select TV Settings.

3. Select TV Sound. This can be set to:

• Automatic
• Surround Sound
• Stereo
• Mono

If the setting is on automatic and some sounds are not captured correctly, manually select Stereo. 

Using headphones with Nintendo Switch while docked

Similar to the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch will not output game sound over HDMI if headphones are plugged into the headphone port. 

To capture game sound via HDMI, unplug headphones connected to the Switch headphone port. 

Using headphones and capturing game audio can be done by using the Elgato Chat Link cable. Learn more about Chat link here. 

Check the Audio Configuration of the Xbox One/S/X

Set Xbox One to output Stereo sound

Double-check that the Xbox One is outputting the correct audio format. The Xbox One will try to detect the correct audio output format. 

Elgato Game Capture devices capture Stereo PCM audio format. 

1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide, then select System > Settings > General > Volume & audio output.

2. Under Speaker audio, select either HDMI audio

3. select Stereo uncompressed.

Check the Audio Configuration of the PC 

To record audio from a PC, the PC needs to output sound over the HDMI output of the graphics card. By default a PC can only output audio to one source at a time. 

To solve this issue, A tool called Elgato Sound Capture is available. Elgato Sound Capture will capture and split the PCs audio out over the HDMI output of the PC, and to a second output such as headphones. 

Learn about using Elgato Sound Capture for PC game recording here. 

Select Either HDMI or Analog Audio Input Capture for Game Capture HD60 S/HD60 S+ 

Elgato Game Capture devices such as the HD60 S and HD60 S+ have analog audio input ports. These devices can capture sound either via HDMI or the analog port. 

If no audio is being captured by the device, the wrong audio capture source may be selected. 

Change between HDMI or Analog audio input capture

1. Open the Elgato 4K Capture Utility software.

2. Click on the settings wheel at the top right of the 4K Capture Utility to open the Settings.

3. Click on the Device tab.

4. From the Audio Input drop down menu, select the correct audio input:

When using Elgato Chat Link or a different analog input, select Analog Audio. 

When capturing sound via HDMI, select HDMI Audio.

Select Analog Line-in Audio Capture for Game Capture HD60 Pro/4K60 Pro

The Game Capture HD software can capture the analog line-in sound from a desktop PC when using the Game Capture HD60 Pro or Game Capture 4K60 Pro (MK.1) capture cards. 

This is required when using the Chat Link cable. Learn how to use Chat link with Game Capture HD60 Pro here. 

To select Analog Line-in in the Game Capture HD software:

1. Open up the Device Settings (hammer/wrench icon in the device menu on the right side of the app).

2. In the Capture tab,  find the Audio Input setting.

3. Change Audio Input from HDMI Audio (Game Capture HD60 Pro) to Line-in Audio.

4. Click the OK button.

No Game Sound in OBS Studio

OBS Studio - Windows

OBS Studio will capture audio from an Elgato Capture device automatically when it is added to a scene. If audio is not captured as expected, try these steps: 

Make sure the correct audio input is selected for the Game Capture Device, either HDMI or Analog.

Manually select the capture card audio device by opening the capture card properties in OBS Studio, scroll to the bottom of the properties, tick the box Use Custom Audio Device and then from the drop down select the capture card. 

OBS Studio - macOS

When using Cam Link 4K or Game Capture HD60 S+ in OBS Studio on macOS, the audio capture needs to be set manually. Audio is not captured from capture devices automatically like in OBS Studio for Windows. 

To capture video, add the capture device as normal. 

To capture audio: 

1. Right click inside the sources box and select Audio Input Capture.

2. Give the Audio Input Capture a name.

3. From the Device drop down menu, select the Cam Link 4K or Game Capture HD60 S+.

4. Then click on ok.

Contact Elgato Customer Support

If you have tried all of these steps and audio is still not being captured, please contact our support team by going to https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/requests/new