Inogeni is a well-known manufacturer in the video-to-usb3 market, probably most famous for their 4K HDMI to USB3.0 capture box that fits even in your hand - and now we had a chance to try it out!

The Inogeni 4K HDMI to USB3.0 capture box is an UVC-compliant device, which means it is truly Plug&Play - no drivers needed, and just works out of the box: you power it on by plugging it to one of the computer's USB3.0 connectors and also connecting it to a HDMI source.

It does automatic hardware based up- and downscaling and color space conversion if needed, and supports all common video resolutions from 640x480 to 4K UHD - but unfortunately "only" 1080p on a Mac, read below - on all common frame rates (24-60Hz, but max. 30Hz on 4K).

Pricing is around USD 395.

4K on Windows and Linux, but not on the Mac yet

While 4K capturing works well on Windows and Linux - according to the manufacturer, we had no chance to try it out on those platforms - unfortunately 4K capture is not possible on the Mac yet.

This limitation is coming from OSX that does not yet support 4:2:0 color sampling over USB, which is required for 4K capturing due to the bandwidth limit of USB 3.0.

So, even if OSX lists the 4K output option for the device, it has to be automatically downscaled to 1080p by the device - in other words, you can send 4K content to the device on a Mac, but it will be downscaled to 1080p at the end.

However, an OSX update might make this possible in the future, and we are looking forward to see that happening.

4K Upgradable 1080p/60 HDMI version

Inogeni also offers a lower cost FullHD-only version of their capture box, but with upgradable-to-4k firmware, which could be a really good choice if you don't need, or cannot use 4K yet - especially Mac users: https://inogeni.com/hd-usb3-0/

Pricing is around USD 325.

Overall

We've measured 2-3 frames latency during our tests, which is totally acceptable and a common value with other known USB3 capture boxes.

After around 30 minutes of usage the device is going to be warm, but that does not affect performance at all.

Since Inogeni 4K is UVC-compliant it works without issues out of the box with both CoGe VJ and Mitti.

If you are looking for a reliable, truly plug & play USB 3.0 video capture dongle, we highly recommend this Inogeni capture box.

Inogeni also offers USB Capture SDI, VGA and DVI dongles, check out their full product lineup on their website.