Display clone method

Clone Your Gaming Display to a Capture Card (Windows 11)

This is the preferred capture card setup. The gaming monitor stays connected directly to the Gaming PC and a second GPU output sends the same picture to the capture card, so nothing sits between the game and your monitor and no extra software runs on the Gaming PC. In our tests it adds the least delay of the three methods.

If display clone is not possible on your hardware, use the Passthrough method next, and the OBS Projector method last.

#Wiring

Gaming PC GPU output 1 ──> Gaming monitor
Gaming PC GPU output 2 ──> Capture card HDMI IN
                            Capture card is installed in or connected to the Moonlight PC

Do not connect the second GPU cable to the capture card's HDMI OUT. HDMI OUT is used by the separate passthrough method.

#Step 1: Connect the Displays

1. Turn on both PCs, the gaming monitor, and the capture card.
2. Leave the gaming monitor connected directly to the Gaming PC GPU.
3. Connect a second Gaming PC GPU output to HDMI IN on the capture card.
4. Confirm the capture card has its current official driver and firmware.
5. On the Gaming PC, right-click the desktop and open Display settings.

The capture card should appear to Windows as another display. Its displayed name may be generic and may not match the capture device name shown on the Moonlight PC.

#Step 2: Clone the Correct Displays

For a two-display Gaming PC:

1. Press Windows key + P.
2. Select Duplicate.

If the Gaming PC has three or more displays:

1. Open Settings > System > Display.
2. Select Identify and note the number assigned to the gaming monitor and capture card.
3. Select the gaming monitor or capture-card display.
4. Under Multiple displays, choose Duplicate desktop on [gaming monitor number] and [capture card number].
5. Select Apply, then Keep changes after confirming the correct screens were cloned.

NVIDIA users can also open NVIDIA Control Panel > Display > Set up multiple displays, right-click the gaming monitor, select Clone with, and choose the capture-card display.

#Step 3: Set and Verify the Shared Display Mode

1. Open Settings > System > Display on the Gaming PC.
2. Select the cloned display group.
3. Choose a resolution supported by both the monitor and the capture card input.
4. Open Advanced display.
5. Select the gaming monitor or cloned group and choose a supported refresh rate.
6. Verify the actual resolution and refresh rate shown by Windows.

Capture-card specifications often list three different limits:

• The highest HDMI input signal the card accepts.
• The highest frame rate the card records or exposes to Moonlight.
• The highest signal its HDMI OUT port can pass through.

These are not necessarily the same. Check the card's input-format table, not only the marketing headline or passthrough specification.

If the screen goes black or flickers, start with 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz in SDR to establish a signal, then increase the refresh rate one supported step at a time.

#Step 4: Select the Capture Card in Moonlight

On the Moonlight PC:

1. Close OBS, the capture-card vendor preview, camera applications, and anything else that may be using the card.
2. Open Capture in Moonlight.
3. Set Capture Mode to Capture Card.
4. Under Capture Source, select the exact capture card.
5. Refresh the available formats and select a Format the card reports for the incoming signal.
6. If Moonlight is already running, Stop and Start Moonlight to apply the capture change.
7. Confirm the game appears correctly in Live Preview.

Moonlight's current capture-card path uses Native DirectShow C++. Instructions for selecting older capture backends do not apply to the current customer build.

#Verify Before Playing

Confirm all of the following:

• The gaming monitor still uses the intended resolution and refresh rate.
• The capture-card display is cloning the gaming monitor, not another desktop.
• Moonlight's Live Preview shows the complete game image without cropping or stretching.
• Capture FPS is stable at a rate the card actually supports.
• Entering fullscreen or borderless mode does not change the signal to an unsupported format.

#Troubleshooting

#The capture card does not appear as a display

• Confirm the HDMI cable runs from a Gaming PC GPU output to the card's HDMI IN.
• Turn on or connect the Moonlight PC and capture card before checking Windows displays.
• In Settings > System > Display > Multiple displays, select Detect.
• Reconnect the HDMI cable and try another known-good GPU output or cable.
• Update the GPU driver and the capture card's official driver/firmware.

#Windows cloned the wrong displays

Use Identify in Windows Display settings, then explicitly select Duplicate desktop on [number] and [number] for the gaming monitor and capture card.

#The gaming monitor dropped to a lower refresh rate

The monitor and capture-card input did not negotiate the desired shared timing. Choose a mode supported by both and verify it in Advanced display.

If the card cannot accept the gaming monitor's desired mode, do not leave the monitor unintentionally capped. Use the OBS Projector Capture Card Setup to keep the gaming and capture displays independent, or use supported hardware passthrough.

#The monitor works but Moonlight shows a black screen

• Close OBS, vendor capture software, camera applications, and other programs that can hold the capture device.
• Confirm Moonlight has the correct Capture Source and a format exposed by that card.
• Temporarily disable HDR, VRR, G-SYNC, or FreeSync and test a standard SDR mode.
• Test 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz, then raise the rate one step at a time.
• Protected video may intentionally produce a black capture and should not be used as the signal test.

#The picture is cropped, stretched, or off-center

Confirm Windows is cloning displays at one shared aspect ratio and resolution. Then select the matching input format in Moonlight. Avoid GPU scaling until the unscaled signal works correctly.

#The desktop works but the game loses signal

The game may be switching to a resolution, refresh rate, HDR mode, or exclusive-fullscreen timing the card does not accept. Match the game to the verified Windows mode or test Borderless Windowed.

#When to Use Another Method

• Use OBS Projector when the gaming monitor must run at a resolution or refresh rate the capture card cannot share.
• Use Capture Card Passthrough when the card sits between one GPU output and the monitor and supports the complete desired passthrough mode.

#Quick Reference

#Reference Instructions

• Microsoft: Screen mirroring and projection options
• Microsoft: Change the refresh rate in Windows
• NVIDIA: Clone displays