diff --git a/tests/comparison_capture.py b/tests/comparison_capture.py
index 1692a00..d54f87a 100644
--- a/tests/comparison_capture.py
+++ b/tests/comparison_capture.py
@@ -108,7 +108,88 @@ def capture_frames(
     )
     ctx.params = params
 
-    # Add message overlay stage if enabled
+    # Add stages based on source type (similar to pipeline_runner)
+    from engine.display import DisplayRegistry
+    from engine.pipeline.adapters import create_stage_from_display
+    from engine.data_sources.sources import EmptyDataSource
+    from engine.pipeline.adapters import DataSourceStage
+
+    # Add source stage
+    if preset.source == "empty":
+        source_stage = DataSourceStage(
+            EmptyDataSource(width=preset.viewport_width, height=preset.viewport_height),
+            name="empty",
+        )
+    else:
+        # For headlines/poetry, use the actual source
+        from engine.data_sources.sources import HeadlinesDataSource, PoetryDataSource
+
+        if preset.source == "headlines":
+            source_stage = DataSourceStage(HeadlinesDataSource(), name="headlines")
+        elif preset.source == "poetry":
+            source_stage = DataSourceStage(PoetryDataSource(), name="poetry")
+        else:
+            # Fallback to empty
+            source_stage = DataSourceStage(
+                EmptyDataSource(
+                    width=preset.viewport_width, height=preset.viewport_height
+                ),
+                name="empty",
+            )
+    pipeline.add_stage("source", source_stage)
+
+    # Add font stage for headlines/poetry (with viewport filter)
+    if preset.source in ["headlines", "poetry"]:
+        from engine.pipeline.adapters import FontStage, ViewportFilterStage
+
+        # Add viewport filter to prevent rendering all items
+        pipeline.add_stage(
+            "viewport_filter", ViewportFilterStage(name="viewport-filter")
+        )
+        # Add font stage for block character rendering
+        pipeline.add_stage("font", FontStage(name="font"))
+    else:
+        # Fallback to simple conversion for empty/other sources
+        from engine.pipeline.adapters import SourceItemsToBufferStage
+
+        pipeline.add_stage("render", SourceItemsToBufferStage(name="items-to-buffer"))
+
+    # Add camera stage
+    from engine.camera import Camera
+    from engine.pipeline.adapters import CameraStage, CameraClockStage
+
+    # Create camera based on preset
+    if preset.camera == "feed":
+        camera = Camera.feed()
+    elif preset.camera == "scroll":
+        camera = Camera.scroll(speed=0.1)
+    elif preset.camera == "horizontal":
+        camera = Camera.horizontal(speed=0.1)
+    else:
+        camera = Camera.feed()
+
+    camera.set_canvas_size(preset.viewport_width, preset.viewport_height * 2)
+
+    # Add camera update (for animation)
+    pipeline.add_stage("camera_update", CameraClockStage(camera, name="camera-clock"))
+    # Add camera stage
+    pipeline.add_stage("camera", CameraStage(camera, name=preset.camera))
+
+    # Add effects
+    if preset.effects:
+        from engine.effects.registry import EffectRegistry
+        from engine.pipeline.adapters import create_stage_from_effect
+
+        effect_registry = EffectRegistry()
+        for effect_name in preset.effects:
+            effect = effect_registry.get(effect_name)
+            if effect:
+                pipeline.add_stage(
+                    f"effect_{effect_name}",
+                    create_stage_from_effect(effect, effect_name),
+                )
+
+    # Add message overlay stage if enabled (BEFORE display)
     if getattr(preset, "enable_message_overlay", False):
         from engine.pipeline.adapters import MessageOverlayConfig, MessageOverlayStage
 
@@ -120,9 +201,21 @@ def capture_frames(
             "message_overlay", MessageOverlayStage(config=overlay_config)
         )
 
+    # Add null display stage (LAST)
+    null_display = DisplayRegistry.create("null")
+    if null_display:
+        pipeline.add_stage("display", create_stage_from_display(null_display, "null"))
+
     # Build pipeline
     pipeline.build()
 
+    # Enable recording on null display if available
+    display_stage = pipeline._stages.get("display")
+    if display_stage and hasattr(display_stage, "_display"):
+        backend = display_stage._display
+        if hasattr(backend, "start_recording"):
+            backend.start_recording()
+
     # Capture frames
     frames = []
     start_time = time.time()
@@ -132,18 +225,36 @@ def capture_frames(
         stage_result = pipeline.execute()
         frame_time = time.time() - frame_start
 
-        # Extract buffer from result
-        buffer = stage_result.data if stage_result.success else []
+    # Get frames from display recording
+    display_stage = pipeline._stages.get("display")
+    if display_stage and hasattr(display_stage, "_display"):
+        backend = display_stage._display
+        if hasattr(backend, "get_recorded_data"):
+            recorded_frames = backend.get_recorded_data()
+            # Add render_time_ms to each frame
+            for frame in recorded_frames:
+                frame["render_time_ms"] = frame_time * 1000
+            frames = recorded_frames
 
-        frames.append(
-            {
-                "frame_number": i,
-                "buffer": buffer,
-                "width": preset.viewport_width,
-                "height": preset.viewport_height,
-                "render_time_ms": frame_time * 1000,
-            }
-        )
+    # Fallback: create empty frames if no recording
+    if not frames:
+        for i in range(frame_count):
+            frames.append(
+                {
+                    "frame_number": i,
+                    "buffer": [],
+                    "width": preset.viewport_width,
+                    "height": preset.viewport_height,
+                    "render_time_ms": frame_time * 1000,
+                }
+            )
+
+    # Stop recording on null display
+    display_stage = pipeline._stages.get("display")
+    if display_stage and hasattr(display_stage, "_display"):
+        backend = display_stage._display
+        if hasattr(backend, "stop_recording"):
+            backend.stop_recording()
 
     total_time = time.time() - start_time