Review: Kaiser Baas Series 8 Game Recorder

By Wayne Webb

This is a dongle, but a pretty cool one. The basic concept has been around for a while, but this is a good version of it. Take the output RCA or S-Video of your device (and there you have pretty much anything with RCA/S-Video output) – plug in the cables and put the USB slot into your PC and run the software. Hey presto you can record your game.

Ever wondered how those videos of how to get past levels or achievements end up on you tube so fast? Well it’s thanks to devices like these. It’s been a while since I have used one – no need to extract video for myself, and I’m not part of the “send my achievements to YouTube” crowd.  The software and hardware contained in the Series 8 package will not change that – but if I ever needed to upload something, or did change my habits, this is the package I would use.

Install the software, connect the device (I tested it on the PS3 – but any device with the connections should work – PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii are on the supported list) and hit record. I did have to change the output away from HDMI to the AV cable, but that was neither here nor there. If a future release ditches the AV/RCA connection for an HDMI one I’d be happier, but it was not that big a deal to adjust for recording.

The device is not limited to games, although that is the stated purpose.  I played some games, I reconfigured my PS3 and played a video and some music – all recorded faithfully through the Series 8. There are a multitude of options in the menus for changing the state and quality of your finalised video files, and the basics are simple enough. Everything can be accomplished with a click of the mouse, though you may want to type out the file names as the default series of numbers give no clue to the content you record.

One gripe, no Mac compatibility. I’m sure that’s not hard to fix in the next release – perhaps even available on line in a downloadable version? I live in a Mac and PC world, with increasing numbers of people switching to Apple devices; time to have that as an option. If you can have multiple devices so easily, you can have multiple platforms.

Pros: Straightforward, easy to operate, does what it says on the box.
Cons: No Mac compatibility, no HDMI connection.

RRP
$78

4 Out of 5 Shacks