Share screens from other physical devices, record them too!

Arnab Mitra, a Senior Program Manager for M365 recently tweeted one method to help troubleshoot Autopilot issues by using the Quick Assist tool.

If you only have one machine to work from then this is a pretty good workaround, I've seen customers use Teams via a browser session as well, but I personally prefer using a USB capture card so you can share or record your screens to another machine via program such as the built-in Windows 10 camera application, or something like OBS shown below.

Or even as a camera feed in Teams or Zoom

Teams can use camera input from USB video as well, but it will horizontally invert the view for the presenter (here's the UserVoice on that issue), in that case I recommend using the camera app and just sharing that application, or the screen where the app is running:

The capture card method helps in quite a few ways: you can share and/or record the video and audio feed from another system via HDMI, including capturing the full cycle for system reboots. This is great when working with remote staff that need to see the physical device, such as live support calls, or just recording a session for documentation/demonstration purposes.

Sure, this won't help if you need remote KVM access, such as with the PiKVM project I previously posted, but it works in a pinch and is cheap and easy to setup. Plus you won't run into any issues where Quick Assist is blocked or removed, and won't have to re-establish the Quick Assist after a reboot.

I have used three versions for this with varying degrees of success, none of which required drivers:

1. Elgato's Camlink - this retails for about $130, the video quality is fantastic, but if the system reboots you have to re-initialize the link, it's definitely not suited for that purpose
2. BlueAVS capture card - I bought the 30Hz version at the start of the pandemic for $50, that same model is now available for less than $20, and a 60Hz version is just a few bucks more. The quality for me is usable, but fine details are a little fuzzy, almost like they're converting digital to analog then back to digital. However no problems keeping the connection with a system reboot.
3. Mirabox Capture Device - This one is slightly more than the BlueAVS device but has the additional ability to simultaneously capture and display to a monitor. I tend to use this one the most; no issues with a keeping the connection during reboots. About the only "bad" thing is it will display a 4K signal as 4K, meaning you'll need to adjust the system display to make it usable for users with lower resolutions. The BlueAVS device makes the input system recognize the monitor as 1080p, so the system stays at that resolution all throughout.

This is a demo video I recorded last year with BlueAVS, it shows post pre-provisioning with Hybrid Join on a physical machine, from first boot to user logon.