FRAPS HQ video conversion question

[charliedeft]

hi, i'm trying to convert the video files i get from recording game footage in fraps into reasonably sized files, with decent quality. i've searched around a bit and tried a few programs that were recommended: TMPGEnc, virtualdub, and WMM. it tones down the file sizes quite a bit, but the resulting files look pretty horrible. i end up with videos that look like they were ripped from youtube(pre "HQ" videos). my question is, what are your guys' recommendations for converting my files to smaller sized videos while keeping at least decent video quality? in case you guys need it, these are the specs for the videos i recorded.

used fraps:
512x384
60fps

[guns1inger]

That is a very low resolution. What are you intending to do with the files ?

If you just want to compress them, keep the resolution the same and try encoding to Xvid, constant quality with a quantizer of 2.

[charliedeft]

i'm saving the files to make a game highlight with later on. any recommendations on programs, and would you be able to take me step by step? i have some experience with video converting, but i'm still fairly noob when it comes to it.

[guns1inger]

Game highlights for a DVD or youtube ?

[charliedeft]

most likely youtube, but i'd also like a decent quality copy for myself and for whoever wants to download itl.

[guns1inger]

The best option would be h264, but if you computer specs are right encoding will be slow.