Capture Codecs

2005-07-30 06:36:11 am

I'm just wondering what codecs you guys used to make such small files. I was using Huffyuv 2.1.1 as my capture codec and recorded myself just walking around on Halo 2. The file size was 16.1 MB for a 33 second clip. This was recorded at the lowest quality that Huffyuv 2.1.1 could offer. Surprisingly, the built-in codecs that come with Windows XP Pro are even more space-consuming. One of my 26-minute recordings ended up being 18 GB.

I just want a good codec for compression that doesn't lose too much picture quality.

Thread title:

bartendorsparky

2005-07-30 10:11:25 am

always move fast

divx (www.divx.com)

is what is generally used.

nate

2005-07-30 01:58:53 pm

please see http://faq.metroid2002.com/ (yes, it's part of sda now) for an overview of my capture methodology.

USBCD36

2005-07-30 03:23:27 pm

If you record the stuff on a Mac with a high-quality capture device (ie, Formac capture thingy or PYRO A/V link) which has component video inputs, the best codec would be H.264, which I am waiting for a speed run in. Still need the PYRO though, it is awesome.

Impact009

2005-07-31 02:38:38 am

DivX gives me error code -2 when I try to compress the .avs file. It works fine when I directly compress the actual recording. Also...how do I record sound? I split the A/V and it should have sound, yet it doesn't. I'm told that I would have to hook it into my sound card, but how do I do that?

nate

2005-07-31 03:01:40 am

dunno about the .avs problem ... check to see that your output's width and height are both individually divisible by 4.

as for sound, you want to plug into your sound card's LINE IN port (NOT its MIC port) and select that by using "windoze mixer" in the audio menu of vdub. make sure it's selected and set to a good (not too high, not too low) volume. (i just use one tick above absolute silence and normalize later if necessary.)

SamuraiSamus

2005-07-31 09:08:37 pm

Beware: off duty ninja

okay, random question that I don't know where to put anywhere else, so move if nessecary. also, do not tar and feather me for all to see. I bruise easily. >_> <_<

first, is there a way to capture directly to a computer (winblows, the firend in question has the knowledge ) and bypass the vcr step? (vcr in tv likes to eat tapes T_T)

what hardware aside from the capture card mentinoed in the faq at radix's site would I need? would be hard to capture without hardware and all . . .

I couldn't find what I was looking for in the faq, and I tend to do better if someone tells me what's going on. so please don't shoot me and thank you in advance to the person who can answer my queries

nate

2005-07-31 09:11:05 pm

scroll down to --> CAPTURING SECTION and read from there. let me know if you have any additional questions.

USBCD36

2005-07-31 09:11:55 pm

Yes it is possible, yes it is reasonable, yes it is handy. It is even better than capturing with a VCR because there is less quality degradation. The caveat: you must have a huge hard drive and a video capture card. Many people just send their tapes to Nate, they don't have the card to do it with. I think this was in the FAQ…

SamuraiSamus

2005-07-31 09:42:31 pm

Beware: off duty ninja

well I have a huge hard drive, so space is not an issue. also, this recording is for personal purposes to improve what I can do in the prime series as I would like to get faster, and need something to "reference" from much like a formula one driver uses a special chart to figure out where they are good, and where they need to improve on any given track. and the friend that has the knowledge will help out with the capturing stuff (go having a tv tuner card in his pooter, and the laptop to transfer it to my pooter)

what I was concered with was what kind of niggly bits that you wouldn't ordinarily have to put cube directly to pooter for recording, and nay relevant info. I'm scanning voer the faq now, and it is answering some stuff I wouldn't have thought of, so thanks for the link nate :D

nate

2005-07-31 09:57:47 pm

yep, no prob. and i think you will find out a lot of very interesting things about how you play if you really look hard at what you record.

Impact009

2005-08-01 12:53:21 am

I read that my problem with encoding was because DivX 6 doesn't work with the .avs. I can only find DivX 6 on the original site anyway. I was recommended to try XviD, but the installation looks like it's for UNIX-based operating systems. Should I use DivX 5 or something?

And yes, my dimensions are divisible by 4. 640 x 480.

nate

2005-08-01 01:45:42 am

i'm encoding with avisynth using divx 6. i'm not saying that can't be it, but it makes it less likely. have you tried encoding without any filters to make sure it's not the filters you may be applying (e.g. smart bob)?

USBCD36

2005-08-02 01:09:32 am

I have a question: where do you get DivX 6 for Mac? I can't find it on the website.

nate

2005-08-02 01:21:59 am

it doesn't exist yet afaik.

Impact009

2005-08-04 06:44:27 am

Yeah, I tried it without filters. The original VirtualDub completely screws up my computer. Everything turns black and the mouse goes all over the screen. I'm using a modified version of VirtualDub. It's VirtualDub 1.4.9.3 VCR + Sync. It works fine on my computer, and it works fine according to the capture guide. I think that might be the reason why I can't use AviSynth.

Oh, and the original VirtualDub screws up when I select Capture AVI.

Edit: Nevermind, I also tried the original VirtualDub. Same error code -2 with AviSynth. I'll attach a picture.

Notice how the text gets blurry in the output. Anyway I can fix that? The text is really the last thing I care about. I mainly care about a high-quality video at feasible low size.

bartendorsparky

2005-08-04 09:27:54 am

always move fast

the length/width has to be divisible by 4 to use divx. and for the bluriness, you could just need a highter bitrate for the output.

nate

2005-08-04 12:03:43 pm

yeah, that output doesn't really look like it's 640x480.

Impact009

2005-08-06 05:56:59 am

Well, my screen resolution is 1024 x 768, so the output is 640 x 480. Oh, and the output gets cut off because it goes out to the right, so that might be why it doesn't look like 640 x 480. The output bitrate is 1,500, which makes 100 MB - 150 MB files without sound.

nate

2005-08-06 10:20:14 am

ohh, i see, your output is still on the right. sorry about that.

wish i could tell you something. i guess if it still doesn't work with no filters, and it does work exporting to e.g. huffyuv (not direct stream copying), then you know your divx installation is borked somehow. would suggest uninstalling all vestiges of divx, rebooting, and then reinstalling the latest version of divx from the divx site in that case.

Impact009

2005-08-09 01:22:26 pm

My capture card has RCA, and the yellow, white, and red ports. If I have to split the white and red a second time into my line in, then what's the white and red there for? The capture card itself only records video, and I never hear any sound. If I don't select "no audio" when exporting in VirtualDub, it starts to compress sound data that's not there. I'm just wondering about that.

nate

2005-08-09 02:02:55 pm

afaik rca is what the yellow, white and red connectors are called.

as for the audio, try messing with the "windows mixer" accessible via the vdub audio menu. keep screwing with the settings (e.g. select line in and playing with the volume level) until you can see an audio signal (when playing your source through the card) in the 'audio level' (or something like that) dialog accessible via the audio menu. once you see that, you should be able to capture audio along with video using vdub.

Impact009

2005-08-10 11:30:42 pm

I split it from my TV to my line in, and I'm receiving sound signals. I still don't get sound though.

nate

2005-08-10 11:33:13 pm

you mean when you play back your vids, they don't have sound? make sure line in is selected in the windoze mixer. and make sure vdub is set up to record audio (double check all the settings related to audio, such as "capture audio" or something like that in the preferences dialog).

Impact009

2005-08-11 05:35:56 am

Every time I turn, horizontal lines appear. They're not noticeable in the original file unless you actually look for them, but they're really visible after compressing it in DivX 6 at a bitrate of 1,500. Any ideas? Does an 08:32 file at 102 MB seem too big?