Frequently Asked Questions¶

A consolidated FAQ pulling together the most useful Q&A from the B&H product page, the manufacturer manual, and our own testing.

General¶

What is the actual model number of this device?¶

The USB descriptors report the device as Pengo HDMI Grabber with no further model identifier. The string 8RGRA-H01HU4T0PE is the B&H internal SKU / model code (PE4KHDMIGRAB is the B&H item code). The USB Vendor:Product ID is 1e4e:701f (Cubeternet chipset).

Can I record directly to the device?¶

No. The Pengo is a passthrough / capture device only. It has no onboard storage, no SSD slot, and no internal recording. All recording happens on the host computer.

Will this record HDCP-protected content?¶

No. The Pengo does not implement HDCP, and cannot strip it. HDCP sources (DVD, Blu-ray, Apple TV, most streaming sticks, etc.) will appear as a black frame over both the loop-out (if the source enforces it) and the USB stream.

Does this work on USB 2.0?¶

Technically yes, but with severe frame drops. USB 2.0 is rated at 480 Mbps and a single 1080p YUYV stream needs ~3 Gbps. USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) is the minimum recommended.

Video / picture¶

Why is 4K not coming through to the USB?¶

By design. The Pengo accepts 4K60 over HDMI but downscales to 1080p60 for the USB output (and the MJPG / YUYV UVC stream). 4K only appears on the HDMI loop-out, which is a bit-perfect passthrough.

Why is my picture black?¶

Almost always:

HDCP-protected source, or
Source is set to 1080i (the Pengo does not support interlaced), or
No actual HDMI signal (verify by plugging a TV into the loop-out)

What is the latency?¶

Not officially spec'd. User reports describe it as smooth / un-noticeable for streaming and conferencing use.

What is the maximum resolution over USB?¶

1920 × 1080 at 60 fps. This is the only USB resolution the device advertises.

What pixel formats does the USB output support?¶

MJPG (Motion-JPEG, compressed) — recommended for most uses
YUYV (YUY2 4:2:2 uncompressed) — higher quality per frame but heavier on USB bandwidth

Both at 1920 × 1080, 60 fps or 30 fps.

Audio¶

Is the 3.5 mm input mic-level or line-level?¶

Mic level only. A line-level source (mixer, audio interface output) will distort. Use an attenuator / pad between the line source and the Pengo's mic input.

Can I plug a stereo microphone into the mic jack?¶

Physically yes (3.5 mm TRS), but the Pengo's mic input is mono. Only the left channel will be captured; the right is muted.

What about the headphone jack?¶

48 kHz, 16-bit stereo. Mirrors the active audio stream. Plug in any standard 3.5 mm headphones or line input on powered speakers.

Compatibility¶

Will it work with my DSLR / mirrorless camera?¶

Yes, provided your camera outputs HDMI at 1080p (not 1080i) and is not HDCP-protected. The Pengo has been confirmed working with the Canon 5D Mk III, Canon 7D Mk II, Canon A30, Panasonic GH5, Sony α-series, and most modern cameras with clean HDMI output.

Will it work with my game console?¶

Yes, for current-generation consoles (PS4 / PS5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series / Switch via dock). Output the console at 1080p, not 1080i — and remember that some games output 1080i from older consoles (PS3, older Xbox). For PS2 you also need an RCA-to-HDMI adapter for the composite video out.

Does it work with a Mac on USB-C?¶

Yes — use a short passive USB-A to USB-C adapter at the computer end. A CalDigit TB3 dock or Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport adapter also works.

Does it work on an iPad?¶

Yes, with caveats. Connect via a USB-A-to-USB-C adapter. Use a UVC-compatible monitoring app like Orion to view the stream.

Can I use two Pengos at once?¶

Yes, but they must be on independent USB bus roots — two ports on the same internal hub will compete for bandwidth and one will likely fail. On a laptop, this typically means one port on the left side, one on the right. OBS has been confirmed working with two Pengos on a Dell Inspiron 15 5000.

Will it work on a Raspberry Pi?¶

Yes. The Pi's USB ports are USB 2.0, so expect some frame drops at 1080p60. Recommended: capture at 720p30 for stability on a Pi.

Build / hardware¶

Is it heavy? Does it run hot?¶

No and no. 91 g, runs cool. No heat sink required.

What cable is in the box?¶

A short USB-A to USB-A 3.0 cable. It is, per Pengo, "proprietary." Don't substitute.

Is there a power input?¶

No. Bus-powered from USB 3.0.

What is the warranty?¶

Limited 18 months with product registration at pengohome.com/register.

Linux specifics¶

Do I need to install drivers?¶

No. The kernel's built-in uvcvideo and snd-usb-audio modules handle everything. The minimum supported kernel is 2.6.38 (2010); every modern distro is fine.

How do I confirm it's detected?¶

lsusb | grep -i pengo        # USB ID 1e4e:701f
v4l2-ctl --list-devices       # /dev/video0, /dev/video1, /dev/media0
arecord -l                    # audio card 1 (Pengo HDMI Grabber)

How do I capture to a file?¶

ffmpeg -f v4l2 -input_format mjpeg -framerate 60 -video_size 1920x1080 \
       -i /dev/video0 -f alsa -ac 2 -i hw:1,0 \
       -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 18 -c:a aac -b:a 192k \
       output.mp4

How do I use it as a webcam in Zoom / Discord on Linux?¶

Use PipeWire's virtual camera:

sudo modprobe v4l2loopback devices=1 video_nr=10 card_label="Pengo Virtual"
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
    image/jpeg,width=1920,height=1080,framerate=30/1 ! jpegdec ! \
    videoconvert ! video/x-raw,format=YUY2,width=1280,height=720 ! \
    v4l2sink device=/dev/video10

Then pick Pengo Virtual in your conferencing app.

AI / agent specifics¶

Can a vision LLM read frames off this device?¶

Yes. The Pengo is a standard UVC webcam to the OS, so anything that reads a webcam works — OpenCV, PyAV, ffmpeg-python, even fswebcam. See AI Agent Integration → for full pipelines.

Can an agent also hear the source?¶

Yes — the Pengo exposes a USB Audio device that carries both the HDMI embedded audio and the 3.5 mm mic input. Capture with PyAV / arecord, transcribe with Whisper, send to a multimodal LLM. See Multimodal →.

Anything else? Open an issue on GitHub.