VP3 Video Recording (Guide)
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:16 pm
OK I've been asked to write a guide on how to record VP3 videos. I'll try to make it as simple as possible.
First of all you need a real time video-capturing program and I recommend Fraps above anything else. You need the full registered version so you can record as long as you like and with no watermarks; it should be easy to find. If you want you can buy it here http://www.fraps.com/volume.php, if not you can ask me for the fully registered free version.
Run Fraps. The default hotkey for video-capturing is F9. Make sure you check the settings under the 'Movies' tab; I highly recommend recording at Half-size and 30FPS (or 60 on better PCs) to reduce stuttering as much as possible. Half-size is related to resolution, so if you play at 1600x1200 for example, the video will be captured on 800x600. Sound makes the file larger and you don't really need it in a VP3 vid, so leave ''Record Sound' unchecked (which also results in a slightly better compression) - not very important though. Now you can run VP3 and record with F9. You should also consider turning background off in game for better performance.
The size of your video will be huge and the next step is to compress it. So first you need to download a good codec to use for compression; I tried everything and I can say the best is by far x264vfw: http://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/files/ (free).
Now the compression part. The program for that is VirtualDub, which is free and can be downloaded here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtual ... p/download.
So that's basically all you need. Note that the game will stutter a bit while recording. That's normal, because even if that happens the video will turn out perfectly smooth, on any decent PC. I made a short general guide video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CMQKZbQEGks (check its description).
Important notes:
1) When you choose x264vfw from Compression, press Configure and set Ratefactor to 18.0, it's the optimal number (anything higher will decrease quality, anything lower will only increase filesize with no change in quality).
2) If you plan on uploading it on YouTube and you want it to show in HD, the video must have 1280x720 resolution or higher. So you can't record at Half-size then like I recommended, you'd need to set your VP3 resolution at 1280x720 (optimally) or higher and record with Fraps only at Full-size. For this you need a powerful PC, but it's the best quality you can get on YouTube.
3) Fraps doesn't work if you're playing in Desktop Mode. It can't record 2D in Windows, only captures 3D applications.
Good luck. Any questions, ask!
First of all you need a real time video-capturing program and I recommend Fraps above anything else. You need the full registered version so you can record as long as you like and with no watermarks; it should be easy to find. If you want you can buy it here http://www.fraps.com/volume.php, if not you can ask me for the fully registered free version.
Run Fraps. The default hotkey for video-capturing is F9. Make sure you check the settings under the 'Movies' tab; I highly recommend recording at Half-size and 30FPS (or 60 on better PCs) to reduce stuttering as much as possible. Half-size is related to resolution, so if you play at 1600x1200 for example, the video will be captured on 800x600. Sound makes the file larger and you don't really need it in a VP3 vid, so leave ''Record Sound' unchecked (which also results in a slightly better compression) - not very important though. Now you can run VP3 and record with F9. You should also consider turning background off in game for better performance.
The size of your video will be huge and the next step is to compress it. So first you need to download a good codec to use for compression; I tried everything and I can say the best is by far x264vfw: http://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/files/ (free).
Now the compression part. The program for that is VirtualDub, which is free and can be downloaded here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtual ... p/download.
So that's basically all you need. Note that the game will stutter a bit while recording. That's normal, because even if that happens the video will turn out perfectly smooth, on any decent PC. I made a short general guide video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CMQKZbQEGks (check its description).
Important notes:
1) When you choose x264vfw from Compression, press Configure and set Ratefactor to 18.0, it's the optimal number (anything higher will decrease quality, anything lower will only increase filesize with no change in quality).
2) If you plan on uploading it on YouTube and you want it to show in HD, the video must have 1280x720 resolution or higher. So you can't record at Half-size then like I recommended, you'd need to set your VP3 resolution at 1280x720 (optimally) or higher and record with Fraps only at Full-size. For this you need a powerful PC, but it's the best quality you can get on YouTube.
3) Fraps doesn't work if you're playing in Desktop Mode. It can't record 2D in Windows, only captures 3D applications.
Good luck. Any questions, ask!