Hack videos

2008-11-04 08:20:43 pm

Fear Me! (Or else...)

I'm creating this thread because I couldn't find a reasonable thread for this question. This should be a short thing, which is why I was hesitant at creating this thread. How do you make videos of your hacks and such? I've tried using the Snes9x, but that created a video that was over 3 million bytes, or whatever it was measuring in. If this helps the frame of reference, it said that my SM unheadered rom was 3072 bytes. The next video I tried making was almost 5 million. How can I make a video that isn't that big? What methods are you other people using?

Thread title:

Quietus

2008-11-04 08:38:38 pm

Super Secret Area - Dead Ahead!

The easiest way that I've found without getting too involved in movie editing programs, and lots of fiddling is to use SNES9X and Windows Movie Maker. Load SNES9X, followed by your game. Get to the position where you want to start recording, then select 'Record AVI' in the menu.

Select 'Full Frames (Uncompressed)'.

When you save it to the system, it'll be huge, which is what I assume you've done so far.

Load Windows Movie Maker, and import the movie.
Drag it to the bottom area, then click 'Save to my computer'.
Name it, and select a location.
Select 'Other', then 'High Quality (Small)'.

You should then find that the size has been greatly reduced, and is fine for uploading to the internet.

There are no doubt other, better ways to do it, but this is the simplest I've found. Happy editing! :D

Oni Elem

2008-11-04 08:58:37 pm

This is the tool I use for video compression, Mediacoder: http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/
I use it mostly for converting my anime from my DVD's to a format that will work on my Zune, but it is a very powerful and easy to use tool, not to mention absolutely free.

A good guide to using Mediacoder for compression for video upload sites is here, on Something Awful's 'Let's Play' subforum.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=327032691#post327032691

ZephyrZx

2008-11-04 09:03:01 pm

The method quietus gave is pretty much the easiest one i know, thats how i recorded this:

Bioniclegenius

2008-11-04 09:04:50 pm

Fear Me! (Or else...)

Ok. I keep messing up with the snes9x, though. The lag hits at just the wrong moment, and I fall into spikes. How can I record these using the Zsnes?

Kejardon

2008-11-04 09:23:11 pm

Embarrasing Fact: Power suit made by lowest bidder

snes9x is far better for recording movies. IMO the best way to do it is to first record a SMV, and then replay the SMV and have snes9x record it as avi.
The tools you use afterwards differ more by personal opinion or taste than utility.

Bioniclegenius

2008-11-04 09:25:01 pm

Fear Me! (Or else...)

Ok, but how do you get the zsnes to save the video file? And I know snes9x is better, it just is more difficult for me.

Deep_Space_Observer

2008-11-04 09:25:43 pm

Quote from Quietus:

Select 'Full Frames (Uncompressed)'.

You can easily cut down on the file size by using a good codec while preserving movie quality. I haven't even downloaded the best one, and the one I found that I like to use cuts the size of the .avi file almost tenfold with barely a difference in quality compared to uncompressed.

Bioniclegenius

2008-11-04 09:28:17 pm

Fear Me! (Or else...)

For the Zsnes, do I want video dumping? I can't tell if it's dumping to a file that I can keep, or if dumping as in deleting it. How do I make that video using the zsnes? I can probably figure it out after that.

devonodev

2008-11-05 12:57:42 am

Devonodev: Other D

i use zsnes video dumping, but it took me a long time to finally get it working good.
but once you do... its awesome.

P.JMan

2008-11-05 04:12:56 am

I like Big Butts and I can not lie

I never understood ZSNES's video dumping, with snes9x's I either do a lossless record with x264 or a quantiser 20 with x264

Opium

2008-11-05 04:38:42 am

Quote from devonodev:

i use zsnes video dumping, but it took me a long time to finally get it working good.
but once you do... its awesome.

hey man, can you save your zsnes config and then attach it to a post or email it to me? I cant figure it out. Thanks.

Quietus

2008-11-05 04:54:00 am

Super Secret Area - Dead Ahead!

Bioniclegenius, you don't need to worry about the lag when recording if you follow Kejardon's instructions.

Just follow my instructions above, but instead of recording the AVI straight away, record an .SMV file, start it replaying, then record .AVI. Even if it lags at this stage, it shouldn't matter when playing the actual movie.

And for all of those naughty little tinkers above, I was trying to provide the easiest option, with no fiddling necessary. No codecs, no programs, no research. :P

If you want a more in-depth guide to setting up SNES9X for recording, check this out.

Lastly, if I remember rightly with ZSNES, you can't record the movies well without external applications again, so it'll require fiddling around, not just configuring ZSNES itself. Not sure how current it is, but this is taken from an old ZSNES board:

To record a video you need 1.50 or one of the latest work in progress builds of ZSNES. Get them here: http://zsnes.ipherswipsite.com/

You will need a copy of mencoder. For Windows users, I recommend getting mencoder here: http://oss.netfarm.it/mplayer-win32.php
Place mencoder.exe in the same location as zsnesw.exe, you do not need any codecs or other movie programs installed.
Linux users, having mencoder in your path is fine.

If you want to compress the outputted audio, or compress it before it goes into the video as opposed to during, you will need a copy of LAME.
If you use Windows, you must get LAME from here: http://geocities.com/joecool22us/lame.zip
Any other copy of LAME for Windows will not work due to a bug in LAME. This fixed build of LAME is based off the offical 3.97 source.

Before you are able to dump an AVI, you must have recorded a movie first; it converts movies, it does not just dump video on the fly.

To play back the dumped videos, you'll need either the proper codecs or a video player with built in decoding of the video mode you selected.
I recommend getting mplayer which decodes anything created with mencoder. For Windows, you can get mplayer here: http://oss.netfarm.it/mplayer-win32.php
The GUI build is optimal for playback, but you also want the RTM build because mencoder is provided in that package.

Advanced users can edit zmovie.cfg and tweak the settings if they want, and even use something other than mencoder and LAME as long as it supports encoding via stdin and you set it up properly.

Bioniclegenius, you don't need to worry about the lag when recording if you follow Kejardon's instructions.

Just follow my instructions above, but instead of recording the AVI straight away, record an .SMV file, start it replaying, then record .AVI.  Even if it lags at this stage, it shouldn't matter when playing the actual movie.

And for all of those naughty little tinkers above, I was trying to provide the easiest option, with no fiddling necessary.  No codecs, no programs, no research.  :P

If you want a more in-depth guide to setting up SNES9X for recording, check [url=http://tasvideos.org/EmulatorResources/MakingAVI/Snes9x/Windows.html]this[/url] out.

Lastly, if I remember rightly with ZSNES, you can't record the movies well without external applications again, so it'll require fiddling around, not just configuring ZSNES itself.  Not sure how current it is, but this is taken from an old ZSNES board: [spoiler]To record a video you need 1.50 or one of the latest work in progress builds of ZSNES. Get them here: http://zsnes.ipherswipsite.com/

You will need a copy of mencoder. For Windows users, I recommend getting mencoder here: http://oss.netfarm.it/mplayer-win32.php
Place mencoder.exe in the same location as zsnesw.exe, you do not need any codecs or other movie programs installed.
Linux users, having mencoder in your path is fine.

If you want to compress the outputted audio, or compress it before it goes into the video as opposed to during, you will need a copy of LAME.
If you use Windows, you must get LAME from here: http://geocities.com/joecool22us/lame.zip
Any other copy of LAME for Windows will not work due to a bug in LAME. This fixed build of LAME is based off the offical 3.97 source.

Before you are able to dump an AVI, you must have recorded a movie first; it converts movies, it does not just dump video on the fly.

To play back the dumped videos, you'll need either the proper codecs or a video player with built in decoding of the video mode you selected.
I recommend getting mplayer which decodes anything created with mencoder. For Windows, you can get mplayer here: http://oss.netfarm.it/mplayer-win32.php
The GUI build is optimal for playback, but you also want the RTM build because mencoder is provided in that package.

Advanced users can edit zmovie.cfg and tweak the settings if they want, and even use something other than mencoder and LAME as long as it supports encoding via stdin and you set it up properly.[/spoiler]

Opium

2008-11-05 05:08:59 am

Quote from Quietus:

Lastly, if I remember rightly with ZSNES, you can't record the movies well without external applications again, so it'll require fiddling around, not just configuring ZSNES itself.

I realize it wouldn't be quite that simple (that would be too easy), but I would like to see what a working config looks like in hopes that I may better understand it.

ZephyrZx

2008-11-05 08:53:55 am

Instead of going through all the trouble of getting the stuff to record with zsnes, why not just get snesx9 and record with that?

Also, I've been using zsnes my whole life, till i started seriously playing SM and the hacks around, then i got snesx9 and its awesome slowdown function and stuff, and it looks nicer ;D

NuZalem

2008-11-05 09:48:34 am

Leader of the "Council of XIII"

I use Snes9xGTK, ZSNES, and Snes9x 1.51 to record them as .smv or .zmv (and then re-record it to AVI). Afterwards I edit them with VirtualDub, which is freeware.

uNsane

2008-11-05 07:40:22 pm

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quote from Quietus:

I was trying to provide the easiest option, with no fiddling necessary. No codecs, no programs, no research. :P

That's a bad idea when it's fairly likely that the reason for his asking for help is almost certainly not using a codec.

Quietus

2008-11-06 05:30:01 am

Super Secret Area - Dead Ahead!

No, the reason he was asking was because the size of the movie file that SNES9X creates is huge, which is common. It makes sense to offer a simple solution. Maybe it's just me...

uNsane

2008-11-06 04:38:42 pm

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Quote from Quietus:

No, the reason he was asking was because the size of the movie file that SNES9X creates is huge, which is common. It makes sense to offer a simple solution. Maybe it's just me...

But the AVI file was most likely huge because he was not using a codec. A 4-minute X-viD video with a quantizer of 5.20 is, for me, about 58 megs, which seems to me to be a bit less than 5 gigs.

Bioniclegenius

2008-11-06 07:02:34 pm

Fear Me! (Or else...)

Well, I've gotten almost all of it worked out. I just need to figure out how to get the zsnes to record it in .smv format, and then I'm good. Any clue on how to do that? Because after that, it'd be fairly easy.

uNsane

2008-11-06 08:33:47 pm

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ZSNES cannot record a .smv; that is a Snes9x exclusive, like how ZSNES savestates are .ZSV (or something) and Snes9x savestates are .000, .001, et cetera. I'm fairly certain that ZSNES has an equivalent feature, however.

Bioniclegenius

2008-11-06 08:44:40 pm

Fear Me! (Or else...)

It does. It records a .zmv. Is there a file converter for that to .smv that I haven't found? I've been googling and hunting for one, but nothing's turning up. Well, in any case, is there a way that I can enlarge the snes9x screen? That would be just as good.

Quietus

2008-11-07 05:42:05 am

Super Secret Area - Dead Ahead!

There shouldn't really be a need to convert a .ZMV file to an .SMV file. Both emulators are very good, and have basically all of the same features, so you should just play on SNES9X instead, if you're looking into the movie side of things.

And when you say 'enlarge the screen', what do you mean?

If you are after changing the resolution, it's in the options somewhere, but I don't think it affects the resolution of the recording at all, as it's recorded at the SNES resolution. I think...

And uNsane, I agree that it is a solution, as is mine. I was simply offering the solution that involved no installtions or additional software. Let's agree that they're both viable alternatives. :)

shinlvl2darkchozo

2008-11-10 04:16:38 pm

XEL NAGA from CHOZO? ADUN TORIDAS

hey what is this

Zhs2

Edit history:

Zhs2: 2008-11-11 03:15:09 pm

2008-11-10 04:20:03 pm

Yo.

That is The Hammer, a custom boss programmed by #JZD's very own jman2050. In any case, the code for this boss enemy was never released to the public.

I'm surprised you haven't found "The Flowalk" yet... =P