tgk
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Post by tgk on Mar 4, 2008 3:47:59 GMT -5
I want to start recording some of my melee stuff, and I was wondering what the best way to go about this is. I don't know much on this area, but I would like it to be of good quality. What is regarded as the best method of recording? What do some of you guys use?
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Post by Treklink256 on Mar 4, 2008 8:43:22 GMT -5
I almost always record my gaming stuff on my VCR first. Then I hook my VCR up to my computer using a WinTV PVR-150 capture card and capture/edit the video using Windows Movie Maker.
Quality-wise, stand alone DVD recorders will give you a better picture, but they're quite expensive if you don't already own one. I don't think most of them can rewrite DVD-/+RWs either but I don't know that for a fact.
Your third option is to use a digital camera. I've seen some pretty clear videos recorded using digital cameras, but the quality usually leaves something to be desired.
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tgk
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Post by tgk on Mar 4, 2008 14:03:27 GMT -5
I looked at a few of your videos and the quality is good enough for me. What way do you have your VCR hooked up to your TV?Component?Composite?S-Video?or something like a cable cord? This is what I have on the back of my old VCR -  My only two options look like a using a screw on cable or just the white audio in and yellow video in. Are you doing a similar setup? My TV has 1 HDMI, 2 S-Video, 2 Composite, and 2 Component spaces. |
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Post by Treklink256 on Mar 4, 2008 18:52:18 GMT -5
I use all composite w/stereo sound for my setup.
The cable connection combines all video and audio data into one signal and carries it along that one cable. The picture quality is poor but better than nothing. You'll get better picture quality using composite (the white/yellow ports). Some newer VCRs have S-video input. That's better still.
It looks like your VCR only accepts/outputs mono audio. Remember to set the game to mono audio (under Options from the main menu) when using the composite so you won't get only half the game sounds.
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tgk
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Posts: 22
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Post by tgk on Mar 4, 2008 22:15:38 GMT -5
Ok, for now I guess I will be doing composite. I also am going to need help getting it onto my PC. So... umm... how am I going to do that? Sorry I'm asking so many questions.
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Post by Treklink256 on Mar 4, 2008 23:11:12 GMT -5
If you're talking about software, most of us use Windows Movie Maker to capture and edit our videos (Start-All Programs-Accessories-Windows Movie Maker) . From the "File" menu, select "Capture Video". This will bring up the capturing wizard. Select the input audio and video source and enter a filename. For the quality, I recommend High Quality Video (small), which gives a good balance between file size and quality. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.
Once the video is captured, you can edit it by dragging the clips at the top middle of the screen down into the timeline below (I recommend the timeline view and not the storyboard view)(ctrl+T). You can split, move, delete, add fades, add music, add titles and subtitles, and so on. The best way to figure out that stuff is to just play with it. ;D
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tgk
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Post by tgk on Mar 4, 2008 23:51:50 GMT -5
I probably will be using Windiws Movie Maker, but how am I getting the media from the VCR to the computer?
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Post by llcooldave on Mar 5, 2008 0:29:11 GMT -5
Do not use Windows Media Maker. It's like putting a painting through a blender to transport it from your home to the gallery. I suggest using VirtualDub (It's free and all you'll ever need for videoediting) to capture. Capture in HuffYUV (fairly fast, lossless codec) and compress in a H.264 (I suggest x264 revision 389, the last one released as a codec) Codec with MP3 Sound at around 768kbit/s to 1024kbit/s at 320x240 for quality's sake. If you want a blurry mess, sure, use Windows Movie Maker and it's WMV format. You either get horrible quality or horrible filesize.
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tgk
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Post by tgk on Mar 5, 2008 1:14:33 GMT -5
Do not use Windows Media Maker. It's like putting a painting through a blender to transport it from your home to the gallery. I suggest using VirtualDub (It's free and all you'll ever need for videoediting) to capture. Capture in HuffYUV (fairly fast, lossless codec) and compress in a H.264 (I suggest x264 revision 389, the last one released as a codec) Codec with MP3 Sound at around 768kbit/s to 1024kbit/s at 320x240 for quality's sake. If you want a blurry mess, sure, use Windows Movie Maker and it's WMV format. You either get horrible quality or horrible filesize. I don't mind giving VirtualDub a try, but I still need a way to get the recording onto my computer. |
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Post by 1221 on Mar 5, 2008 1:26:49 GMT -5
The majority of people just upload videos to youtube and don't really care about great quality. WMM is the easiest choice and it makes videos that are good enough quality for youtube. I don't have a problem with the quality of wmm for video game vids.
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tgk
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Post by tgk on Mar 5, 2008 3:25:27 GMT -5
The majority of people just upload videos to youtube and don't really care about great quality. WMM is the easiest choice and it makes videos that are good enough quality for youtube. I don't have a problem with the quality of wmm for video game vids. They are good enough quality for me as well, but I still need help on getting them from VCR to PC. |
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Post by Treklink256 on Mar 5, 2008 9:14:01 GMT -5
All you need is the cables. You'll need a plain 'ol RCA cable to carry video data from the VCR's video output jack to the TV tuner's video input jack, and you'll need a mono RCA to 1/8" minijack adapter to carry audio. Both are available at any video electronics store for no more than a few dollars if you don't already have one. You'll likely need the VCR and computer in the same room, unless you don't mind drilling holes in walls and have REALLY long cables.
I will agree with llcooldave that VirtualDub is superior to WMM for archival quality videos. But it sounds like you're talking about web-res videos, not archival quality. WMM is quick and easy and good enough for YouTube.
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tgk
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Post by tgk on Mar 5, 2008 12:19:33 GMT -5
I may have missed it, but I still don't see how I am getting the footage from my VCR to my Computer. I know how to get my VCR hooked to my TV. Also, my VCR and computer are located in the same room.
The only open spaces on my computer are 3 USB ports, 2 ethernet jacks, a printer port, and a game controller port.
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Post by Treklink256 on Mar 5, 2008 18:23:38 GMT -5
Sounds like you're going to have to buy yourself a TV tuner. You can find them at any store that carries computer equipment, such as Best Buy or Circuit City. They usually run around a hundred bucks, but you can find one for half that if you wait for one to go on sale (usually once a month or so). If you have a credit card or PayPal account, Newegg.com has an assortment of cards to choose from for even less.
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tgk
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Posts: 22
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Post by tgk on Mar 5, 2008 22:47:40 GMT -5
Yeah, it felt like I was missing something lol. Thanks for all the help! I'm going to look around for a TV tuner now.
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