Capturing game footage: Difference between revisions
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An overview of the different methods available for recording Oni footage on Windows and on Macs. | An overview of the different methods available for recording Oni footage on Windows and on Macs. | ||
= | |||
==Windows== | |||
===Codecs=== | |||
==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 antialiasing for titles, but for raw ingame 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. | 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 antialiasing for titles, but for raw ingame 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. | ||
==FRAPS== | ===FRAPS=== | ||
http://fraps.com | http://fraps.com | ||
;Pros | ;Pros | ||
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: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 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.) | ||
==Taksi== | ===Taksi=== | ||
*http://taksi.sourceforge.net | *http://taksi.sourceforge.net | ||
A freeware, open-source counterpart to FRAPS | A freeware, open-source counterpart to FRAPS | ||
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:May create "empty" ranges at the start of the video, if the recording is not the first in the Taksi session. | :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. | :Doesn't reliably detect Oni as an application window. This is fixed by using [[User:RossyMiles|Rossy]]'s OniUSB. | ||
==CamStudio== | |||
===CamStudio=== | |||
*http://camstudio.org | *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 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. | ||
= | ==Mac A/V recording== | ||
==Snapz Pro== | These programs will automatically record Oni's sound and video at the same time. | ||
===ScreenFlow=== | |||
$99, http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm | |||
Bizarrely missing an option to record just a region of the screen, ScreenFlow's post-recording editing suite allows you to crop the video captured from your screen down to just the game window, though it's a bit of a pain. If you're recording in full-screen mode, then it shouldn't matter. | |||
===Snapz Pro=== | |||
$69, http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/ | |||
Snapz Pro used to be the go-to screen recorder for Macs, but development has practically ceased and it does not work well in OS X 10.10. Used to be worth the price, but now you are better off with the options below. | |||
===iShowU=== | |||
$20, http://www.shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html | |||
Insert useful information here. | |||
==Mac video-only recording== | |||
These programs theoretically record audio too, but they don't record system sound output out of the box. You have to combine one of these programs with one of the options under "Mac audio-only recording" to get an A/V recording of Oni. | |||
===OBS Studio=== | |||
Free, https://github.com/jp9000/obs-studio/releases | |||
This free open-source app is a bit tricky to set up, and requires Soundflower (below) to capture audio separately. But when it works, it works great. You can use the included Syphon app to siphon video directly from a game window. The resulting recording is a compact FLV file which, and if you make sure that you record only what you want the user to see, then you can simply feed the FLV directly into YouTube in order to publish it. | |||
Instructions coming soon. | |||
===QuickTime Player=== | |||
Free, built-in | |||
Simply choose File>New Screen Recording. You will be allowed to select a region of the screen to record, which still leaves the challenge of precisely capturing the window's region up to you. Like OBS, QT Player also will not record system sound without additional help (see below). | |||
==Mac audio-only recording== | |||
These programs will either record the audio separately, to be recombined with the video in your video editor of choice, or will divert system sound to the program that normally wouldn't record it (as seen under "Mac video-only recording" above). | |||
===Audio Hijack=== | |||
$49, http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/ | |||
The basic issue with most programs that record your system sound is that they record all the sound, including various sound effects from your mail client, instant messenger, etc. This program allows you to specifically record the audio from just Oni. | |||
== | ===Soundflower=== | ||
Free, https://rogueamoeba.com/freebies/soundflower/ | |||
This | This app lets you loop the audio from your system output to your system input. Instructions [http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-record-audio-from-your-computer-using-Quick/step3/null/ here]. | ||
== | ===An audio cable=== | ||
[ | If your Mac has a [[wikipedia:Phone_connector_%28audio%29|minijack]] audio in port, just plug an audio cable into the audio out and audio in ports to loop your sound output around to the line-in input, and select that source when recording video in one of the above programs. | ||
[[Category:Oni Support]] | [[Category:Oni Support]] | ||
Revision as of 21:52, 6 February 2015
An overview of the different methods available for recording Oni footage on Windows and on Macs.
Windows
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 antialiasing for titles, but for raw ingame 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.
FRAPS
- 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).
- Cons
- FRAPS is shareware: the demo version displays a watermark and stops recording after 30 seconds.
- The FRAPS codec is proprietary and Windows-only, so one can't play back the video in Mac OS without having installed 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.)
Taksi
A freeware, open-source counterpart to FRAPS
- Pros
- 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)
- 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 Rossy's OniUSB.
CamStudio
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.
Mac A/V recording
These programs will automatically record Oni's sound and video at the same time.
ScreenFlow
$99, http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm
Bizarrely missing an option to record just a region of the screen, ScreenFlow's post-recording editing suite allows you to crop the video captured from your screen down to just the game window, though it's a bit of a pain. If you're recording in full-screen mode, then it shouldn't matter.
Snapz Pro
$69, http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
Snapz Pro used to be the go-to screen recorder for Macs, but development has practically ceased and it does not work well in OS X 10.10. Used to be worth the price, but now you are better off with the options below.
iShowU
$20, http://www.shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html
Insert useful information here.
Mac video-only recording
These programs theoretically record audio too, but they don't record system sound output out of the box. You have to combine one of these programs with one of the options under "Mac audio-only recording" to get an A/V recording of Oni.
OBS Studio
Free, https://github.com/jp9000/obs-studio/releases
This free open-source app is a bit tricky to set up, and requires Soundflower (below) to capture audio separately. But when it works, it works great. You can use the included Syphon app to siphon video directly from a game window. The resulting recording is a compact FLV file which, and if you make sure that you record only what you want the user to see, then you can simply feed the FLV directly into YouTube in order to publish it.
Instructions coming soon.
QuickTime Player
Free, built-in
Simply choose File>New Screen Recording. You will be allowed to select a region of the screen to record, which still leaves the challenge of precisely capturing the window's region up to you. Like OBS, QT Player also will not record system sound without additional help (see below).
Mac audio-only recording
These programs will either record the audio separately, to be recombined with the video in your video editor of choice, or will divert system sound to the program that normally wouldn't record it (as seen under "Mac video-only recording" above).
Audio Hijack
$49, http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/
The basic issue with most programs that record your system sound is that they record all the sound, including various sound effects from your mail client, instant messenger, etc. This program allows you to specifically record the audio from just Oni.
Soundflower
Free, https://rogueamoeba.com/freebies/soundflower/
This app lets you loop the audio from your system output to your system input. Instructions here.
An audio cable
If your Mac has a minijack audio in port, just plug an audio cable into the audio out and audio in ports to loop your sound output around to the line-in input, and select that source when recording video in one of the above programs.