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karbil

Free video capture software?

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I can tell from U-tube fsx videos and from other posts here that FRAPS seems to be the preferred video capture software. does anyone know of a freeware software that can do a fairly good job of recording FSX outside of the game? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Bob K.

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Guest napamule

Bob,Fraps has a 'trial' version which is free. Only limitations (you get all the features of pay version) is that you can only record 30 seconds of video at a time. It is THE program for SCREEN CAPTURE (not video capture-but I know what you meant). Fraps was designed to capture what ever is on you screen, including the cursor if you are making a demo or how-to.Unless you want to pay $299 for a program, this $39 jewel is tops for the price and works seamlessly in background while flying Sim (FS9 too). You can record 'live' or record 'Instant Replay'. Start Fraps, pick settings, pick 'Start/Stop' hot key (I use 'Insert' key-that key is not used by FSX or FS9), and then minimize. Go fly. Hit Hot Key to start recording, hit hot key to stop recording. Simple. Save clips to 'C:\Fraps' folder itself (it's ok-no problems). You MAY want to move Scenery and AutoGen sliders back a couple of notches each for better frame rate, depending on your specs, so as to get better video (no stutters or sound corruption).Then you use Windows Movie Maker to edit, add music, cut unwanted parts (with 'Clip+Split or Set Start/End Point (where the cursor is) and save as 'WMV' for YouTube posting, which ALSO reduces the size of your raw (AVI) video down to 1/8th the size. Typical 3 to 4 min 'movie' is around 40 Mb. You can then save as a WMMaker 'project' for making changes later, or to do a 're-do'. Then you can delete the AVI clips Fraps made to save disk space (but not if you plan to do a re-do with 'Project' option of WMM as you need the AVI clips for 'project' to reload clips for re-edit, etc). Have fun.Chuck BNapamule

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Guest flightHEAD

Try Camtasia , im sure there used to be a free edition of it some time ago. Or try HyperCAM

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I think HyperCAM also puts text on the bottom of the capture if you don't register, though it says you can get unlimited use if you install some toolbar they offer (no thanks, for me).scott s..

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I think HyperCAM also puts text on the bottom of the capture if you don't register, though it says you can get unlimited use if you install some toolbar they offer (no thanks, for me).scott s..
Never used it in FS so I don't know how much overhead it uses, but I have used Camstudio to record tutorials. It's open source and free. http://camstudio.org/Eddie

Eddie
KABQ

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I've been using Replay Video Capture for a while now and I'm very happy with it. The free version lets you record for 2 minutes, and the licenced version is only $40. Pretty hard to beat in my opinion.http://applian.com/replay-video-capture/


Mike Beckwith

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Thanks for all the suggestions and info, especially Chuck B. It looks like I will have to bite the bullet and purchase FRAPS if I really want to create a good quality video. What I am going to do is take-off from KLCW(which I have enhanced version of), fly the pattern and land. I did this when I took my first flight lesson. Thanks again. Bob K.

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Thanks for all the suggestions and info, especially Chuck B. It looks like I will have to bite the bullet and purchase FRAPS if I really want to create a good quality video. What I am going to do is take-off from KLCW(which I have enhanced version of), fly the pattern and land. I did this when I took my first flight lesson. Thanks again. Bob K.
I downloaded Camstudio and the Fraps demo.... I was so impressed with Fraps, I purchased it immediately... Now I have an outlet for my youtube ambitions. :)-John

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GameCam was the best for FS. Low overhead, Cost was only about 2 fps at high resolution, small file sizes. It did have one problem in the RTM and SP1 FSX release in that with FS2004 aircraft in foggy conditions the recording whited out, FSX modeled aircraft was ok. but else it was very good. Unfortunately with FSX SP2, this problem is now across the board, making it unusable. Support is aware of the problem, and I hope they can fix it. FRAPS had too big of a performance hit, and it's filesize was massive. Most of my videos on youtube were done with GameCam. I've tried the others mentioned and most do not work in full screen mode, and the ones that do or in Windowed mode the performance is as bad or worse than FRAPS.http://www.youtube.com/user/tf51dBTW The GameCam problem is reportedly only with Nvidia cards, (I have a 9800GTX) ATI works ok!


Thanks

Tom

My Youtube Videos!

http://www.youtube.com/user/tf51d

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GameCam was the best for FS. Low overhead, Cost was only about 2 fps at high resolution, small file sizes. It did have one problem in the RTM and SP1 FSX release in that with FS2004 aircraft in foggy conditions the recording whited out, FSX modeled aircraft was ok. but else it was very good. Unfortunately with FSX SP2, this problem is now across the board, making it unusable. Support is aware of the problem, and I hope they can fix it. FRAPS had too big of a performance hit, and it's filesize was massive. Most of my videos on youtube were done with GameCam. I've tried the others mentioned and most do not work in full screen mode, and the ones that do or in Windowed mode the performance is as bad or worse than FRAPS.http://www.youtube.com/user/tf51dBTW The GameCam problem is reportedly only with Nvidia cards, (I have a 9800GTX) ATI works ok!
Cool video!

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Wanted to add a comment that Fraps seems to limit videos to 3.9 GB Segments, then it will add a new segment. Virtualdub can be used to append the segments together, just be aware if you want to create a video longer than a few moments. I am not seeing a significant performance hit when Fraps runs, but I will keep experimenting with it to see how I progress.-John

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BTW. Has anyone heard of or tried BBflashback? I found it listed as freeware at CNET. Bb K.

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Wanted to add a comment that Fraps seems to limit videos to 3.9 GB Segments, then it will add a new segment. Virtualdub can be used to append the segments together, just be aware if you want to create a video longer than a few moments. I am not seeing a significant performance hit when Fraps runs, but I will keep experimenting with it to see how I progress.-John
That's because Moviemaker at one time (in XP, and not sure if the problem still exists) could only handle files less then 4GB. So they started spliting them up awhile ago.

Thanks

Tom

My Youtube Videos!

http://www.youtube.com/user/tf51d

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There are some other free video conversion tools available. Rad Game Tools, which many video game developers use for videos in games is free for private use. There are several different codecs included including DivX. Make the videos with FRAPS, but convert with Rad. Also, Xfire has a way to capture video and screens though I have yet to be able to take screens in FSX with it. :(


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