 During the past nine months, most of us created more video footage than we probably created during the past nine years. And for most of us, most of this content was shot using our laptop's webcam or cell phone. Today, we will cover how to connect a camcorder or DSLR camera using an external capture device connected to your PC or your Mac. To start, be sure your Mac or PC's operating system is updated to the latest version and has enough resources and power to ingest and edit video. For optimum performance, a system running an Intel Core i7 processor with four cores or higher is recommended. Likewise, 16GB or higher of system memory or RAM and a 1TB hard drive or solid-state drive for storage is recommended. Your camcorder will need an HDMI, mini-HDMI or SDI output that offers a clean video signal, meaning one that does not contain on-screen display information. If you discover your camera is displaying on-screen display information in the video output once connected to your computer, you will need to go to your camera's menu and remove the on-screen display information from your video output. Most cameras enable you to do this, although some budget cameras might not. Each of the following recommended capture devices utilizes a full-size HDMI connector for their input. Most DSLRs and consumer camcorders will have a mini-HDMI connector as their output. If this is the case, you will need to purchase a cable with a full-size HDMI connector on one end and a mini-HDMI connector on the other. Also, make sure your computer has an available USB Type A 3.0 compliant port or a USB-C port. Many PCs will have a blue insert in the USB port if they have a USB Type A 3.0 connectivity, but this is not always the case. A USB-C port is a different shape than a USB Type A port and can be recognized because the connecting cable can fit in either direction. Both orientations of the plug will work. Naturally, the surefire way to know what you have is to check your computer's specification sheet because oftentimes logos that indicate the port speed are not labeled. The first device I recommend is the Avermedia Model GC553LGU for your video capture device due to its simplicity. It works with Macs and PCs and captures full HD and 4K video. It retails for about $200 depending on the retailer. It comes with a USB Type A cable in the box. Thanks to UVC or Universal Video Class technology, no drivers or additional software is required for Mac or PC installation. The GC553 is recognized as soon as you plug it into your computer. To capture video using the GC553, plug in one end of the supplied USB-C cable to your GC553 and the other to your computer's USB Type A port. The indicator on the top of the GC553 will turn blue once the device is recognized by your computer. If the indicator flashes green, you are not connected to a USB Type A port and should choose another port on your computer. Now turn on your camera and shoot some video. Connect one end of your HDMI cable from the video output on your camera and the other end into the video capture device, in this case the Avermedia GC553. For PC users to determine if your GC553 is working properly, open up the camera app on your PC. In the upper right hand corner of the app, click on the Change Camera button until you see footage from your camera. On a Mac, open a native app that supports UVC such as FaceTime. Be sure that the Avermedia GC553 is selected in the video drop-down menu. Once selected you should see your footage. Your Avermedia GC553 will now work with OBS, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Facebook Live Producer and YouTube Studio. Now let's cover Mac or PC-based notebooks with Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3 ports. Thunderbolt 2 ports use the mini-display port connector. Thunderbolt 3 ports use the USB-C connector. Most Thunderbolt ports are labeled with a special Thunderbolt symbol, but some are not. So it's always a good idea to check your computer's documentation to determine a port's specification. If your Mac or PC is equipped with Thunderbolt 2 ports, I recommend the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Mini Recorder. It works natively with DaVinci Resolve and Vimeo Livestream Studio on Mac and PCs as well as VMIX and OBS on PCs. It connects to your notebook with the Thunderbolt 2 cable and can capture video at up to 1080p at 30 frames per second. It is a 1.5G device meaning it can also capture video using an SDI or Serial Digital Interface cable instead of HDMI if your camera is so equipped. SDI cables are used when your camera is more than 12 feet from your computer. This legacy model often sells for between $120 to $200 on eBay and is still a viable option for those with a Mac or PC-based notebooks equipped with Thunderbolt 2 ports. If your late model Mac or PC-based laptop is equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 port, then I recommend the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Recorder 3G. It connects to your Mac or PC with a Thunderbolt 3 cable and can capture video up to 1080p at 60 frames per second. It also offers 3G SDI connectivity for users that have high-end cameras with SDI outputs. This model retails for about $120. Note, you cannot connect the newer Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Recorder 3G to an earlier Mac running Thunderbolt 2 using a bidirectional adapter such as the Apple MME L2AM. Even though the adapter will allow for the physical connections to match, the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Recorder 3G requires more power and bandwidth than the converted Thunderbolt 2 connection can provide. If you have a Mac Pro Tower or a PC desktop with an available x1 to x16 PCI Express expansion slot, then I highly recommend the $150 Blackmagic Design DeckLink MIDI Recorder that captures video up to 1080p at 60 frames per second and offers 3G SDI connectivity. The $200 4K version of this device requires a PCI Express x4 slot and can capture video at up to 4K at 30 frames per second and offers 6G SDI connectivity. To begin installation of your notebook Thunderbolt-enabled devices, simply connect one end of your Thunderbolt cable to your computer and the other end to the output of your UltraStudio Mini Recorder or UltraStudio Recorder 3G. To begin installation of the PCI Express internal DeckLink Mini Recorder in your desktop or Mac Pro Tower, be sure to turn off and unplug your computer. Once unplugged, press and hold your PC's power switch for approximately 20 seconds to completely discharge your computer's power supply filter capacitors. If you don't have a PCI Express x1 or x4 slot available in your PC, often a PCI Express x1 or x4 device can be inserted into a PCI Express x8 or x16 slot. Install the instructions in your PC's documentation to complete the physical installation of your DeckLink Mini Recorder. Once you have connected your UltraStudio device, download and install the Blackmagic Desktop Video Software that corresponds to the version of your operating system. The Blackmagic Desktop Video Software includes bundle drivers, plugins and applications needed to run Blackmagic hardware on your computer. Once installation of the desktop video software is complete, turn on your camera and shoot some video. Connect one end of your HDMI cable from your video output on your camera and the other end into the Blackmagic Video Capture device. Launch the Blackmagic Desktop Video app and choose the HDMI input by clicking on the HDMI icon. If you are using a camera with an SDI output, then choose the SDI icon. Note, even though the Blackmagic UltraStudio and DeckLink devices have two inputs, one for HDMI and another for SDI, both inputs cannot be used at the same time. After you select the input that matches your signal source, launch the Blackmagic Media Express program to test video capture. Ensure that your device appears in the device dropdown menu. Press the Log and Capture button to begin capturing video. Once you confirm that you can capture video using the steps above, your Blackmagic UltraStudio or DeckLink Mini Recorder can now be used with DaVinci Resolve, Vimeo Livestream Studio, VMIX, OBS, Facebook Live Producer and YouTube Studio. We covered a lot of technical information in this video. If you have any questions, please reach out to me using the contact information provided on screen. I would be happy to offer assistance and also connect you with a tech deacon in your area who can also help.