Capturing game footage: Difference between revisions

Capturing game footage (view source)

Revision as of 04:13, 5 June 2016

1,264 bytes added , 5 June 2016

rewrote Codecs section to clarify and update it; copy-edited Windows section, added prices; updated Snapz Pro section

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 ==Codecs==
-The most popular by far remains the so-called MPEG-4 and DivX/XviD/3ivX/whatever series. There are also a few decent Microsoft codecs, either preinstalled or coming with Windows Media Player updates (also using the AVI wrapper). WMV is produced by Windows Movie Maker: the "superior quality" setting can have lousy anti-aliasing for titles, but for raw in-game footage it's mostly OK, and it has a very convenient compression ratio. Apart from those, there is a "countable infinity" of 3rd-party codecs, more or less compatible with cross-platform editing of the recorded footage.
+When choosing a format in which to save your recording, you need to understand the difference between the file suffix, which is just the wrapper, and the actual codec used internally for the video data. The most popular and cross-platform-compatible video codec is MPEG-4/H.264, which is usually saved in a .mp4 file. Some video capture software has a tendency to save .flv files, which will usually be encoded in H.264 or H.263 (Sorenson Spark). These can be less convenient to work with, but they upload just as well to YouTube.
+There are also a few decent Microsoft codecs, either preinstalled or coming with Windows Media Player updates (saved in a .avi wrapper). The WMV codec is used by Windows Movie Maker (usually wrapped in .asf, .avi, or .mkv): the "superior quality" setting can have lousy anti-aliasing for titles, but for raw in-game footage it's mostly OK, and it has a very convenient compression ratio.
+Apart from those, if you are willing to experiment, there are a ton of other codecs that are more or less compatible with cross-platform editing of the recorded footage, and most of these should also be accepted by YouTube.
 ==Windows==
-===Open Broadcaster Software Classic===
+===OBS Classic===
-https://obsproject.com/
+Free, https://obsproject.com
-Tested OBS Classic 0.657b on Windows 10 Pro (Laptop), Oni in windowed mode and fullscreen
+OBS Classic does a fine job of recording Oni, both when running in windowed mode and full-screen. It offers a ton of options, including customizable hotkeys, but it is a bit non-intuitive and rather complex for those who are new to recording gameplay.
-;Pros
-:free
-:many options including customizable hotkeys
-;Cons
-:a bit non-intuitive / complex for starters
+English tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-L5zhhVuSc
 German tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2n5nfE26YA
-English tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-L5zhhVuSc
+There are many subjects addressed in the tutorials, but the following settings should be enough to get you started:
-There's many things addressed in the tutorials but the following changed options should be enough to get you started:
 * Settings > General > Language
-* Settings > Hotkeys > Broadcast: Start recoding: F2 (don't write, hit F2 key)
+* Settings > Hotkeys > Broadcast: Start recording: F2
-* Settings > Hotkeys > Broadcast: Stop recoding: F3
+* Settings > Hotkeys > Broadcast: Stop recording: F3
 * Settings > Broadcast Settings > Mode: File Output Only
 * Settings > Video > Change resolution so that it matches Oni's resolution
@@ Line 33: / Line 30: @@
 In some cases:
 * Settings > Audio > Desktop Audio Device: Standard
-* Settings > Audio > Microphone/Auxiliary Audio Device: Disable (Build-in microphone of laptops can record a lot of noise)
+* Settings > Audio > Microphone/Auxiliary Audio Device: Disable (Built-in microphones can record a lot of noise)
 * Settings > Audio > (click button) Reinitialize and Apply
-===FRAPS===
+===Fraps===
-http://fraps.com
+$37, http://fraps.com
 ;Pros
-:The main limitations for writing uncompressed video at large resolutions are CPU and HDD usage, and FRAPS somehow manages to get fast enough HDD access and doesn't steal much CPU time from Oni either (of course this depends on your CPU and HDD).
+:The main limitations in writing uncompressed video at high resolutions are CPU and HD usage. Fraps has high performance in writing to disk, and doesn't steal much CPU time from Oni either (of course this depends on your CPU and HD).
 ;Cons
-:FRAPS is shareware: the demo version displays a watermark and stops recording after 30 seconds.
+:Though Fraps can be used for free, the demo version displays a watermark and stops recording after 30 seconds, which is why we aren't listing Fraps as "free" above.
-:The FRAPS codec is proprietary and Windows-only, so one can't play back the video in Mac OS without having installed [http://www.perian.org Perian]. (This codec extension is still buggy in its ability to handle FRAPS video due to a glitch in the underlying libraries, but it may be fixed soon.)
+:The Fraps codec is proprietary and Windows-only, so Macs cannot natively play the recordings without using [http://www.perian.org Perian] or VLC, which sometimes have their own issues with the Fraps codec. If you were going to edit the recording on a Mac, then you would first have to convert the video to something more compatible, so in that case you should consider using a different capture program altogether. Now, if you are simply going to upload the video to YouTube, it's going to get converted to HTML5 and Flash video anyway, allowing any computer to play it.
 ===Taksi===
-*http://taksi.sourceforge.net
+Free, http://taksi.sourceforge.net
-A freeware, open-source counterpart to FRAPS
 ;Pros
-:Freeware: no watermark, unlimited recording length, compatibility with every video codec installed
+:Freeware: no watermark, unlimited recording length, compatibility with every video codec installed.
 ;Cons
-:Doesn't record sound (but this isn't all that relevant for elaborate music videos anyway)
+:Doesn't record sound (but this may not be necessary if you are making a music video).
 :May create "empty" ranges at the start of the video, if the recording is not the first in the Taksi session.
 :Doesn't reliably detect Oni as an application window. This is fixed by using [[User:RossyMiles|Rossy]]'s OniUSB.
 ===CamStudio===
-*http://camstudio.org
+Free, http://camstudio.org
-This is actually a tool intended for capturing video tutorials, not specifically tailored for video games, but it can yield decent results (depending on the codec, HDD and CPU of course). Like Taksi, is can use pretty much every video codec available system-wide. Unlike Taksi or FRAPS, it can't hook a specific application, and instead records a specific portion of the desktop. Unlike Taksi, it can record sound.
+This is actually a tool intended for capturing video tutorials, not specifically tailored for video games, but it can yield decent results (depending on the chosen codec, and your HD and CPU, of course). Like Taksi, it can use pretty much every video codec available system-wide. Unlike Taksi or Fraps, it can't hook a specific application, and instead records a specific portion of the screen. Unlike Taksi, it can record sound.
 ==Mac A/V recording==
@@ Line 85: / Line 82: @@
 $69, http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
-Snapz Pro used to be the most popular screen recorder for Macs, but it was overtaken when its development seemed to halt and it stopped supporting new versions of OS X. However, an update has been released that promises updated support for OS X.
+Snapz Pro used to be the most popular screen recorder for Macs, but it was overtaken by competitors during a period when its development halted. Snapz Pro is now being maintained for new versions of OS X again, but it doesn't offer a lot of recording options, and it can't record above 30fps like iShowU, ScreenFlow, and OBS can. It also does not support capturing by window, only by screen region, which opens you up to the danger of selecting a region that is misaligned by a row or two of pixels, ruining the end result (however, OS X's Zoom feature, under the Accessibility preferences, can help you make a precise selection).
 ===iShowU===