Video Capture Software

I have no problem with the sound using Fraps, and I have a very exotic sound system, the KX Driver. I think with some investigation you will be able to fix your sound problem.
Mick Berg.

Mick I sent 2 mails to Fraps and recieved 2 replies, the last of which said that the lack of sound could be cured by downloading the new Realtek drivers.I checked the Realtek site and found I already had the latest drivers but not the latest "audio codecs".I then uninstalled Fraps, installed the new audio codecs, went into Realtek and tinkered with every setting I could find, all to no avail.I just looked at the KX Project site, and even if I could understand what it meant, it appears it only applies to the States.As a true Brit I know I should be a fighter, but on this occasion I think I will hang my head,admit defeat and chuck Fraps in the Recycle Bin.
 
A couple of things about CamStudio. Firstly, the latest version doesn't record from the speaker port so I'm told. Thus you can only record from a microphone. Secondly, CamStudio works by taking rapid screenshots (frames) to make the recording look like a movie. It's the same as movie film. Each frame is just a photo, but at 25 frames per second the projector creates motion. (I know you already knew that.) The thing is, shooting a frame is one thing, but storing it to disc is another. A 75kb frame takes a moment to store to disk and CamStudio won't take the next frame until the first one is stored. This delay is what causes the jitters. You can get around the problem to some extent by doing the following:

Reduce the physical size of each frame by reducing the Trainz screen to 640 x 480. I use 600 x 800 but I have a very fast video card with heaps of memory. As such, it doesn't interfere too much with the CPU. By making the screen smaller, each frame will also be much smaller and they will be saved to disk much faster, thus avoiding or reducing jitter.

Also consider using a feature in CamStudio where you can select an area of the screen. This will reduce the size of each frame and speed things up even more.

Keep in mind that running CamStudio and Trainz together places a huge load on your computer's resources. The finished movie will never be as good as Trainz running alone.

If anyone is interested, I can do a video tutorial on making videos with CamStudio. To make this possible, I'll have to record CamStudio in action using a proper video camera. Just post here if you're interested and I'll get myself motivated.
 
Hi To All Picked Up A new One Does Better Job Also If you Have Capture Card etc;
Debut Video Capture Software

Avilable Here www.nchsoftware.com/capture
Under Downloads
Archar
Be careful with this one.
I downloaded MixPad several months ago, to see how good it was, and it installed a lot of little extras along with it.
Nothing malicious, but you'll find a lot of links and extra shell options in Windows when it's installed.

Like I say, there's nothing malicious in there, but they'd really like you to buy their other products. :hehe:

Stay slinky.
 
I would have to agree,be carefull with the nchsoftware one. I tried another called "ZD soft game recorder " from download.com and it seems to work quite well but you need to purchase to get full value. I tried the free one. Not quite as good as fraps but close.
 
I also downloaded Debut, and shortly after Driver Detective.Shortly afterward my PC crashed, and its now an expensive doorstop.I am typing this on my "old" PC.
 
I just looked at the KX Project site, and even if I could understand what it meant, it appears it only applies to the States.
I don't see why KX should be USA specific, but you may be correct. If you're not particularly interested in digital sound and stuff, it's quite challenging. But it's very versatile and I was able to improve the awful sound of TRS2006 quite dramatically with it. But it only works with Creative cards, I believe, because it was "reverse engineered" from the SoundBlaster.

I'm tempted not to even look at Debut, because I just paid for the full version of Fraps, and I'd be very ticked off if Debut worked as well for free! NCH products are very solid and professional-looking, but I think the freebies are really just teasers for the full-price products.

Mick Berg.
 
One question. Which program do you recommend me to use?

My computer caracteristics:

AMD 1,29 GHz
2,00 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 LE (256 MB)

I have tried to use Fraps or Hypercam but it just goes too slow.

All sugestions are very wellcome ;)
 
One question. Which program do you recommend me to use?

My computer caracteristics:

AMD 1,29 GHz
2,00 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 LE (256 MB)

I have tried to use Fraps or Hypercam but it just goes too slow.

All sugestions are very wellcome ;)

To use Fraps successfully, I did a few things;
Run Trainz in Windowed Mode. (change TrainzOptions file)
Run Trainz with a lower resolution than your screen; I used 800x600, as my screen resolution is 1024x768. This will also make things smoother as the CPU load is reduced. (Do this in the CMP settings page)
You'll need to pay to register the program. If you don't, you'll get no sound, and you'll only be able to record 30-second clips.

I've tried Fraps, CamStudio and Debut. Fraps has been the best choice for me.

Mick Berg.
 
An issue has come up with using Fraps with Windows Media Player, I get no sound!! It works fine with the Nero video player, which seems to also give better video quality. I'm using WIMP version 10, because I prefer it to version 11, but maybe I'm missing a codec or something. Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mick Berg.
 
I remember that when I ran FRAPS on the festering heap of electrical equipment in my living room there was an option to use "Windows Sound Input".Did you try that? It sounds logical.
 
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www.fraps.com but that has proven to be a big hassle and since of a proposed new YouTube series (that is as far as I am going to go into it untill it is ready for production sorry guys if I were to say any more they would have to kill me:p ) and I need a more advanced recorder that can record fast frame rates, able to record with many trains on the screen with out lag, have longer than 30 seconds of record time, and most importantly BE FREE so I am also interested as to what else is out there for making videos of Trainz
 
Here's the one you need.

CamStudio

Open source, completely free under the GPL license, and works like a dream.
It can also convert to flash video if you want, and has all the bells and whistles you need, including full screen or defined area of screen, and sound (only through Micrphone at the mo).

Never tried it with Trainz, but works great for video tutorials.

http://camstudio.org/

:D

thank you sir :wave:
 
Smileyman If you use CamStudio with success doing video tutorials is there any chance you can share your video and sound settings with us? CamStudio is indeed an excellent program but it's notorious for the sound and video getting out of sinc. I make tutorials all the time, but find that at the end of a very short (2 minute) tutorial the sound can lapse by 10 seconds or more. Some of the tutorials on YouTube are shocking, with the sound being 30 seconds behind the video after five minutes.

I've heard that by changing the settings this can be slightly improved, but with so many settings that can be changed, it's not all that easy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, I don't think the latest version of CamStudio allows for sound to be captured from the speakers - essential for Trainz users.
 
I use Fraps (the free version) and then put it all together using windows movie maker. Check out my vids at Youtube. My username is trainbrain10.

Matt

Do you experience reduced video quality using WMM? I do, and it's bothering me. I tried another editor called AVIEdit and it was very promising, but then it started to misbehave crazily. Can anyone suggest good video editing programs that aren't expensive and don't degrade the video?
Thanks,
Mick Berg.
 
Every editor will (and must) downgrade video quality if you want the video small enough to email or work on YouTube. Fraps is good because a 30 second clip is about 3 meg (I think). Thus a 3 minute video will be about 18 meg compared to 3 or 4 meg when compressed to YouTube standards. If you really want a high quality video, try maxing out all the compression settings offered in the options section of most editors. Just make all settings 100%, but don't try to post on YouTube or send copies to your friends.
 
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Every editor will (and must) downgrade video quality if you want the video small enough to email or work on YouTube. Fraps is good because a 30 second clip is about 3 meg (I think). Thus a 3 minute video will be about 18 meg compared to 3 or 4 meg when compressed to YouTube standards. If you really want a high quality video, try maxing out all the compression settings offered in the options section of most editors. Just make all settings 100%, but don't try to post on YouTube or send copies to your friends.

I'm not trying to reduce file size for YouTube or anything, I want the best quality I can get to make DVD's. I have Movie Maker at 100% (or "best quality", to use their "user-friendly" terminology) but I still see some degradation. I'm very sensitive to it, I worked in HD TV production for a long time.

After experimenting, I found that the above mentioned AVIEdit gives the best quality but it is a disaster, ( half-gig videos came out at 4 gigs with no compression, and the end of the video appeared at the beginning!!!) Nero comes in second best but the editor is a pain, and WMM, as you might expect, is reliable and easy to use but at the expense of quality.
Thanks,
Mick Berg.
 
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The problem I am having with WMM is that the saved product looks little like the project I made. The video looks fine in WMM. After saving the project as a movie, and it doesn't seem to make a difference what format is used (I've tried five of the many formats so far), the final .wmv file plays as a much darker and redder video. The green and blue are turned way down as if the Trainz layout were built on Mars.

The picture on the left is the .wmv produced by WMM. The picture on the right is the project viewed within WMM. It also matches Fraps footage and, oh yeah, REALITY. Notice how the product does not match the starting material.

3848687795_4a82d20e21.jpg


Any ideas how to fix this? I'd really rather not have to re-do all this.

I tried to download CamStudio, and every .zip I get is an empty archive. What is wrong with their website?
 
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CamStudio should be in the Zip file, just make sure you're going to the official CamStudio site. I struck several problems with this program: The most recent addition doesn't record from the speakers, thus not choo choo sounds. You need to record them separately. The situation may have changed, but I don't think so. As mentioned above, if you record via a microphone, there is a serious sync problem that can put the sound 15-20 second delay on a 2 minute movie. You can eventually resolve the problem, but it changes with every movie you make.

The thirty second version of FRAPS is really all you need because scenes in the best movies or TV productions are seldom longer than 20 seconds. !5 is the norm. This is all to do withn audience attention. Make the scenes long and your audience gets bored. keep in mind tha like music, everyone has different tastes. You may love the long drawn out scenes in your Trainz movies, but everyone else may hate them. Just do 20 second scenes in FRAPS, whith each scene taken from a different camera or aspect. Joint them to getter without fades, resolves etc., and add your soundtrack.

If you want to get serious, you'll need a program like Ulead Video Studio or Adobe Premier. TrakaxPc may come close
 
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