Hands On: Genki ShadowCast 2 Pro - A Seriously Powerful Capture Card

Via its growing stable of products, hardware maker Human Things is slowly but surely changing the landscape of gaming tech. It all began with the Genki wireless USB adapter for Switch, which was supplanted by the Waveform wireless earbuds. Then, the firm expanded into the realm of Switch docks with the Covert Dock, and capture hardware with the Shadowcast.

This year, Human Things is expanding the Genki range again, but with a focus on improving what has gone before and making the range a little more appealing to non-Nintendo fans. The Shadowcast has been upgraded in the form of the far more powerful Shadowcast 2, while the Covert Dock gets a sequel that delivers 45W of power and can output 4K/60fps. However, perhaps the most interesting addition to the 2023 line-up is an entirely new product, the Shadowcast 2 Pro.

Despite the somewhat clunky name, this isn't really a follow-up to the aforementioned pocket-sized Shadowcast (as we've already established, that has its own direct successor). Instead, the Shadowcast 2 Pro is an entirely new proposition within the Genki family aimed at serious streamers and those who wish to capture high-quality footage at the best possible resolution and frame rate.

The headline news is that the Shadowcast 2 Pro offers both 4K60 input and output, which means you can play in 4K60 and record and stream content at 4K60, too. Furthermore, you can push that frame rate even higher if you so wish, with 2K/144fps being possible. If you don't mind dropping down to 1080p, Shadowcast 2 Pro can even reach 240fps – but naturally, this only makes sense if you're watching the resultant footage on a screen with the matching refresh rate.

In terms of its physical dimensions, the Shadowcast 2 Pro is larger than the Elgato HD60 S+ and boasts an attractive combination of transparent plastic and rubber. On the front, there's an array of LEDs which show the unit's current status – when it's glowing orange, for example, a device is connected and capture is possible.

On the rear of the unit, there are two full-size HDMI ports (one for input, the other for passthrough), a USB-C ports (for power and connection to your PC or Mac) and two 3.5mm audio sockets (Line-in and Aux-in).

We sadly were unable to test the Genki Arcade computer application with the Shadowcast 2 Pro as it hasn't been updated yet to work with the device, but the unit supports many popular third-party capture applications, including OBS, Wirecast, and X-Split. Getting the unit up and running in OBS was a breeze, and within minutes, we were happily capturing footage – and it was good-looking, buttery-smooth footage, too.

Because the Genki Studio app is available on iPad, it's possible to use that to capture footage, too – something that will please those gaming streamers and YouTubers who crave a smaller, more compact recording setup. Instead of relying on a bulky desktop PC, you can make your super-portable tablet your recording studio.

If this sounds like it might be up your street, then head over to the Shadowcast 2 Pro's Kickstarter page, where you can currently order a unit for $119 – a saving of $40 on the full price.

Thanks to Human Things for sending us a Shadowcast 2 Pro to test out. Is this enticing piece of kit something you're eager to add to your setup? Capture away in the comments section below.