Captruing question..... kinda

[woody2k2]

hey, im using a standard win tv go card, to capture video i recorded from my pc, onto vhs. essentially im making a demo of a clan match, unfortunatly the game doesnt provide demo support.

so im using my tv out / tv in to record it

but what codec and resolution do you guys recommend on using, and what settings?

ideally i want 3 mins of video, at around 30mb, + a background mp3 at 128k

any ideas? will be appreciated

btw im using tmpgenc to edit the video, i cant get my head round premier.

[Digifreak]

Regardless of the resolution and format you go with your video bitrate is determined by the desired filesize and length of your clip. 30MBytes = 30*8*1000 = 240,000 Kbits. Subtract off your audio, 128kbps*180s= 23040 kb. 240,000kbits-23,040kbits = 216,960kbits left for video. 216,960kbits/180s = 1205kbps for video.

If you are looking for a pc only format, try mpeg1 or divx(requires additional codecs not part of Windows OS). If you need a format that you can burn to CDR and play in a standalone DVD player you can use VCD or SVCD. At 1205 kbps bitrate, SVCD 480x480 starts to look a little crappy you you might want to go with VCD(mpeg 1) 352x240. Now do your homework to the left.

[woody2k2]

well im currently capturing with virtual dub, but i have the problem, that the full resolution is to big, and the medium one is to small.

so what other prgrams allows me to capture with the win tv card?

also what is a good codec to use? im kinda n00b like at this.

for an example of what i have done, you can see the first demo i did here - ftp://66.28.236.111/demo/iO_v_dm26_chase_1246388.zip

[Digifreak]

You generally get best results if you capture at highest resolution your machine can handle, Vdub is fine(as long as you're not dropping frames) then re-encode (TMPGEnc or CCE) to the desired resolution, using bitrate for video and audio to adjust file size. Your sample was mpeg1, you can do this with either encoder mentioned. To play properly at the right aspect ratio with Window Media Player, I suggest you keep your H/V resolution ratio on the capture and re-encode at 4:3 (eg. 320x240, 640x480). WMP only interprets pixels as square without additional codecs. Vary your avg. video/audio bitrate to get the desired file size. (Video bitrate+Audio bitrate)kbit/sec * clip length sec = file size in kbits. kbits/8= kbytes...kbytes/1000=Mbytes. The trick is to find a balance between resolution and bitrate that give the quality and size you're looking for.

[GiantRobo]

Take Digifreak's advice and capture at the highest possible resolution that doesn't drop frames too excessively. Then resize to 520x390 if you only plan on playing on PCs. I feel it's a good trade off between size/speed and quality. Just magnify to 200% for playback and it looks great. I've also seen clips made by others using 576x432. Again for 4:3 (television stuff) to play on PCs only.

[woody2k2]

ok guys, take note, im a n00b, all this is to complex for me.

in Vdub the highest i can capture at is 768x576, i would like higher, as in some tutorials i have seen an option to customise the size you capture at with vdub, but cannot find that option in mine.

Vdub captures it into an avi, while i capture it, i use the MS MPEG-4 V3 codec to compress witht he following settings -

keyframe - 6553 seconds
compression control - 75
data rate - 2360

can you recommend better settings to capture with ?

typical this outputs a file of an hour and a half that is around a gig in size. Im not sure about how it drops frames either or how to make it so it doesnt.

Then i convert it from avi to mpeg in tmpgenc, to make it easier to work with, as i use tmpgencs mpeg tools to edit it. When i convert it though, i bring the resolution down to 352x256, set the bitrate to 1650 and motion search precision to high quality. Also during the conversion i cut out the sound, as the clan is on comms shouting abuse

Im totally unsure about the best software in which to capture etc and what settings, could anyone provide more specific advice to a little lost n00b ?

[Nelson37]

Okay, you're making progress, BUT -

There are dedicated screen cap programs which should get you best source quality, higher resolution, etc. I don't think most TV cap programs will go over 720x480 (576), plus your converting analog to digital, etc, gets the VCD out of the picture, etc.

Perhaps I got a bad connection, but I'm on cable modem and 15 minutes for a game vid is too long. Consider 10-second clips and screen shots. If you intend to distribute on the Internet, that demo is just too big. If you intend to distribute on CD, consider raw AVI @ 352x480, or MPG-1 @ 640-480 or higher, 3000-5000 bitrate.

If your target audience is knowledgable, patient, and really wants your video, Divx has best size and quality. If your target is less ept and you really want them to have it, use MPG-1. If for PC only, use high-bitrate, high resolution (WMP will play it). If you want to play in a Standalone DVD, use VCD settings.

[snowmoon]

720x576 capture directly to mpeg-4 will fail hard. I haven't seen anything that can keep up with that.

Capture to huffyuv or pic mjpeg FIRST. Re-open in vdub ( for resizing and converting to .avi ) or TMPGenc ( for converting to mpg ).

Good luck.

[woody2k2]

im gonna try huffy, thats free i think.

[woody2k2]

maybe not, 107mb for 12 seconds ouch !

which ither capture programs are available btw ?