I am looking to increase my abilities and the quality of edit that I can produce and am curious about the best options for content sourcing.

Previously, my go-to option has been to use Mac’s default screen-capture software, a looped audio output>input cable, and the Firefox browser to record my own footage from streaming services that I subscribe to. I have found that this generally successful, but I’ve had recurring issues with skipped or stuttering frames (which I have had to re-record or trim), as well as pixel compression in dark scenes.

More problematic, I’ve increasingly found (late 2022) that several of the streaming services (Amazon, Paramount, maybe others) can now enforce the black-screen drm protection through Firefox, which previously got around it.

So I’m looking into other options. I’ve seen talk of buying an hdmi splitter, along with an hdmi capture device like elgato’s, and using those to take footage from a TV-based box like AppleTV or Roku and record it on a computer. Does that work or are there finicky things about that approach too? I’ve heard that some splitters work for this and others don’t?

Does the same splitter/capture method work for external physical media like BlueRay? Is it more reliable with physical or streaming?

Like I said, I’m still kind of a novice. I’ve done a lot of editing, but I’ve yet to use pro-level software or deal much in HD or 5.1 sound etc. I’d like to up my game, but I want to invest in the right tools.

Thank you.