The ShadowCast 2 Pro is a promising 4K capture card that costs $119

Genki has a lot of power when it comes down to gaming accessories. Up there with 8BitDo, my head always snaps quickly in Genki’s direction when it announces new products. This month, the company debuted its “Alpine Collection” of streaming and charging accessories on Kickstarter, clad in lusciously translucent plastic. The collection blew through its goal in less than a day, and you have through Oct. 26 to back one of these products at a discounted rate, if you’d like to. The products will be shipped in December.

Genki

I’m most excited about the ShadowCast 2 Pro because it seems poised to disrupt the high-end capture card space. It’s wildly capable yet surprisingly affordable at $119 during the fundraising campaign. Its $160 price tag seems to be a great deal too. It pushes the bar above the category mainstay, Elgato’s HD60 X, thanks to its higher 4K HDR / 60 frames per second capture. Do you want to capture in 1440p or higher? You can also capture at 144 frame per second. Its passthrough capabilities (what you’ll see on-screen as you play games) are impressive, too, retaining HDR and variable refresh rate (VRR), assuming your input console or PC is compatible.

Ports-wise, there are two HDMI 2.0, one USB-C to connect your computer (or iPad), and two 3.5mm (one to monitor audio, chat with others, the second to mix audio).

Genki

Genki’s newest bite-sized capture card solution, the ShadowCast 2, has received some great upgrades. This capture card connects your console via HDMI and your computer via USB C, just like its predecessor. Genki’s USB 3.2 version allows 10x greater bandwidth than USB 2.0. It uses this to capture 1080p video at 60 frames-per-second and uncompressed stereo. Genki said it could also capture 1440p with 30 frames per seconds. The gadget costs $39 on Kickstarter, but will cost $50 in retail.

The Verge has published a review on the ShadowCast. Although I liked its portability it’s capture quality was not up to par. So, I’m looking forward to testing out its successor.

Genki

Lastly, the Covert Dock 2, which mimics the functions of Nintendo’s Switch dock (as well as most USB-C docks) is improved in ways that might tempt owners of the original model. Its power has been boosted by 50%, and its USB ports now recharge at combined top speeds of 45 W — perfect for the Steam Deck. The new model can display 4K resolution at up to 60 frames per second, a drastic upgrade over the previous model that couldn’t go beyond 1080p. The original Covert Dock also has an extra USB-A socket that you can use to plug in accessories. The Covert Dock 2 is a pretty good deal at $49, its price for the duration of the fundraising campaign (it’ll retail for $60).

Genki has earned a place in a couple of Polygon’s buying guides, including the best Switch accessories, and in our best capture card guide. With this new line of accessories, perhaps it’ll have an even bigger footprint after we’ve had time to properly test them out.