14 replies to this topic

[Burned_Follower]

I'm looking for a good quality video capture program.

I started off using Fraps(the full version) for several months and it crashes the heck out of MWO. It started off with me having to WAIT until I'm connected into a match and I'm watching my mech pilot start to press buttons inside my cockpit before I press record or I crash...I also have to "stop recording" before I click on "exit match"...or I crash.

...but now my MWO client crashes in the middle of gameplay. After some troubleshooting I learned that these new crashes are also due to Fraps.

I'm now in the market to replace this. I'm trying to create good quality videos specifically of MWO to upload to youtube to use for recruitment videos, possibly tutorials down the road, etc. I'm a complete noob to video editing software so I'm in the process of teaching myself how to do it, along with learning what I can via google or forums like this one.

So here's my questions:

1. Anybody know of a good video capture/editor program that
a. that costs under 100 bucks?
b. that I can record my entire desktop, and not just ingame
c. that doesn't crash MWO?

2. Anybody know about/have experience with AVS? I'm experimenting with a free version and having problems but I can't tell if it's due to "free trial" limitations or if AVS is just junk like Fraps

[evilC]

The big issue with capture utilities is the encode.
Ideally you want to compress to H.264 or similar, to avoid the ridiculous file sizes of raw captures, but H.264 encoding is quite intensive if done via software.

You have a few options:
1) Software encode (eg FRAPS)
Not really an option if CPU power is your issue (Which it will be with MWO).

2) External hardware encode (eg external boxes that plug into video ports)
Rubbish for PC as none below about $500-$1000 support above 1080p or >30FPS.

3) Internal hardware encode (eg MPEG encoder boards)
Again can be pricey, also extra hardware required

4) Existing hardware encode (ie Special features of CPUs / GPUs)
A newcomer to the scene, and likely your best option.

If you have a decent nVidia card, they will be releasing a hardware accelerated capture app called "ShadowPlay" as part of Geforce Experience soon. This will probably be your best option as it should be pretty much a zero performance hit seeing as MWO is so CPU intensive.

If you have an Intel CPU that supports Quick Sync, then you can use a compatible capture utility to hardware accelerate the H.264 encode. Mirillis Action can do this (info here).

Hope this helps.

Edited by evilC, 08 October 2013 - 03:30 AM.

[Sen]

msi afterburner has built in video capture as well.

[KumoriMyou]

Use fraps you can configure it anyway you want and it records in the highest quality possible
though you need space its like 2.5GB per 2 minutes i believe and its only 40$

[VikingN1nja]

http://www.bandicam.com/ is similar to fraps but i prefer it.

Edited by omegaorgun, 08 October 2013 - 05:48 AM.

[Hammerhai]

For recording Game Booster 3.5 Beta worked very well for me when other apps suffered in the days of horribad memory leaks. Another freeware utility that I tried was gregion, but that was a bit unfriendly.

[Lord Letto]

omegaorgun, on 08 October 2013 - 05:47 AM, said:

http://www.bandicam.com/ is similar to fraps but i prefer it.

That's what I use. I don't have the money to buy a Video Capture program so I use free Bandicam over Free Fraps due to the fact that you can only record 30 Second Clips with Fraps when you can record 10 Minute Videos with Bandicam and that's long enough to record MWO Matches, Only Downside is the Watermark.

[Burned_Follower]

KumoriMyou, on 08 October 2013 - 05:25 AM, said:

Use fraps you can configure it anyway you want and it records in the highest quality possible
though you need space its like 2.5GB per 2 minutes i believe and its only 40$

Thanks, but like i said, I already have the full version of Fraps...meaning I paid the 40 bucks. I have issues with it and need to replace it. Recommend you re-read my post.

Sen, on 08 October 2013 - 05:09 AM, said:

msi afterburner has built in video capture as well.

I have MSI afterburner and I use it to manually tweak my GPU fan speeds while playing MWO. I'm not aware of this "built-in video capture". Can you please elaborate?

[Sen]

I think I can accomodate that:

https://www.youtube....I&v=CSbJlfJtbsE

[Burned_Follower]

Sen, on 08 October 2013 - 01:54 PM, said:

I think I can accomodate that:

https://www.youtube....I&v=CSbJlfJtbsE

lol I just got back to this forum after searching MSI video capture on youtube to find tutorial vids. After discovering that I had this video capture program I got it setup and it is working great! Thanks for the tip. Only issue I'm having at the moment is that the video capture program is recording my PC's audio just fine but it's not picking up my mic(I'm using a Logitech G35 gaming headset and it has a mic on it). I'll go ahead and watch your link to see if it will give me some insight.

I guess while I'm at it, I'll go ahead and post another question on this subject that I forgot to ask:

Another problem I had with FRAPS is that the application recorded my "breathing" while ingame. I had to breathe very softly while recording THIS VIDEO...and even then if you listen closely it kind of sounded like a "drunk Darth Vader" was piloting my mech...you can even hear me burp once, haha...I had this problem even if I programs my TeamSpeak to only record my voice if I pressed Left Ctrl. Is there a way to avoid that problem with MSI audio capture?

Edited by Burned_Follower, 08 October 2013 - 02:18 PM.

[Burned_Follower]

Ok after some exploring I found out how to solve my "darth vader issue" and now I have a push to talk option so that MSI Video Capture will only record my voice if I use a foot switch pedal.

Now the last thing I need to do before I begin recording videos is that I need to undo a mistake I made while messing with MSI's settings. I accidentally assigned a "hotkey" to record the computer's audio when I was trying to assign a hotkey for my headset mic.

How do I reprogram the settings so that MSI captures my PC's audio automatically?

Edited by Burned_Follower, 08 October 2013 - 02:51 PM.

[frag85]

I find DXtory to be better than FRAPS and MSI Afterburner. For quick and dirty cuts you can use something like virtualdub. I've kind of grown accustomed to Sony Vegas for editing though. You can find some of the older versions for less, but its kind of expensive. I know adobe released a bunch of their older software for free some months back (like Photoshop CS2 era software), I think they might have released premiere pro, but I can't recall. That would be a powerful piece of editing software for you.

[Burned_Follower]

awesome, thx frag!

As for undoing my mistake just figured it out...I reset the hotkey for the PC's audio by pressing "Alt" and problem solved.


I just ran a test doing a pug drop and the MSI video capture worked flawlessly!

Thanks again for the help guys.

Edited by Burned_Follower, 08 October 2013 - 06:31 PM.

[Sen]

Anytime, that's what we're here for ^^

[Colonel Fubar]

Sen, on 08 October 2013 - 01:54 PM, said:

I think I can accomodate that:

https://www.youtube....I&v=CSbJlfJtbsE

Thanks Sen' I appreciate this link.