3 modified DS consoles with Loopy capture cards installed. All have been modified to operate without a top screen through the use of a resistor mod. This page has not been completed yet as the capture card was purchased a few days ago and has yet to come in. That's what I would have said if it weren't for the fact that I waited almost a year to write this review, and also bought 2 more in the process.
The capture card kits are a neat piece of tech sold by Loopy, here, and are definitely worth it for those who enjoy recording DS game play. The kit consists of a plex pcb, capture card board, and a USB cable. Installation of the capture card kits has also changed from when I first bought a kit. The last 2 kits I purchased were a newer model, and now required soldering to install the capture card.
The installation of the kits is fairly straightforward. The first step is to solder down the flex pcb to the motherboard through a dozen or so connections which breakout the display signals to the capture card board. The next step of the installation process was to cut a hole out in the shell for the USB C connector to go through. The second to last step was to connect the capture card board to the flex pcb, and test the setup to ensure it works before the board is stuck down with double sided tape. Once the operation was confirmed, the capture card board was stuck down and the shell closed up. This process was a little more involved then the old version of the Loopy capture card as the older version was designed with a pass through for the top screen, and thus would be connected between the motherboard and top screen to allow for a solder less installation. My particular installation jobs also involved a resistor mod to place a load on the system to make it think the top screen is still installed.
As can be seen, installation of the newer capture cards did not go as planned, and so I had to design a 3d printed bracket to hold the port in place.
Now that installation was complete, I had 1 last hurdle ahead of me. It turns out the official program created by Loopy is for Windows only, whereas I use a Linux machine to do all of my work. This problem was resolved after a little bit of searching on the official forums. Turns out, someone had created a Linux and Mac program for Loop capture cards. CuteCapture. While it has the occasional hiccup, I found it reliable enough for use. Now that everything had been taken care of, it was now time to game on, and stream.
Overall, the Loopy capture card seems to be one of the last in the market, and a great choice for those who want to record GBA and DS game play. Installation of the capture card used to be super easy, but has now become more difficult as it requires soldering to install. Though there is always the mail in option to have Loopy install it for you. Software support for these capture cards is good with options for all 3 major operating systems.