The Painful Art of Capturing Video Game Footage

[max_cady]

I've been wanting to capture and record video game footage for quite some time now, partially out of an attempt to possibly use the footage for review purposes and other amusing shenanigans.

I want to do it, you see on a PC, it's insultingly easy, all you need is FRAPS and you're done. But when it comes to recording footage off a TV, the s*** hits the fan. I started googling stuff and there's an entire world of different solutions and configurations, some require fancy hardware others try to MacGyver-it.

I've searched for an impressive item called the EasyCap DC60, which I am told the most affordable option right now and from what I could tell, it is the biggest fake item bait on Ebay and elsewhere. So 10 bucks and 20 days later, I soon discover that the seller sent me a knock-off version of the EasyCap DC, the infamous SMI Grabber.

However, to my surprise, for a knock-off, it actually does a pretty good job.

Here's a 5-minute sample that I took using the following items:
-SDTV;
-Power Director 9;
-SMI Grabber connected with 2 RCA cables, 3 female-to-female Y Splitters and the Xbox 360 HD Component Cable(set at 480p);
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pPHzx6R5FU

It looks great. Not HD great, but just good enough.
However, when I attempted to use my LG LCD TV, I have one issue that I cannot fix, I was hoping for some help.

I use the same configuration, but sadly, Scart input on my LCD just looks like S***!

Any suggestions on how to improve my situation? Also how do you guys record footage and also record narration for "Let's Play" videos? Just thought, I'd ask.

[mylifewithsega]

Personally, I use a DVD recorder to capture my footage. I have an A/V switcher so that everything is fed through the DVD recorder, then back onto the screen. Once I'm done, I slap my DVD-R in the player connected to my VAIO and capture the footage using Pinnacle Studio 16....

Here's the thing, I use an older USB Pinnacle capture device that uses traditional A/V cables. The quality is good, though you need to adjust the brightness and contrast before capture. Otherwise, your footage will look too dark. Pinnacle has a more sophisticated USB capture device available that uses an HDMI, though I've yet to make the upgrade. I'm kind of cheap.

That's how I do it and it works out pretty well. The only time it bothers me is when I'm editing a Dreamcast game, because I end up losing some resolution in the process. Again, if I invested in better cables and captured at full-quality (I use MPEG-2), they would look much better. Still, it's just more than I commit at the moment.

The 2-Man Scrambles are kind of like "Let's Play", so I'll elaborate on that a smidge. I use the DVD recorder to capture game footage. At the same time, I set up my DV camera so as to record Mickey Mac and I playing the game so I can cut back and forth between in-game and live footage. I match up the time code and sync the audio once it's all on the computer.

[max_cady]

Gotcha, I'll tweak the constrast and brightness on the next try.

The only troublesome thing right now is that I get better image quality overall via the CRT TV, the only inconvience for me that I gotta drag that old 15-inch TV into my room every once in a while.

If only I could find a way to capture quality footage via the HD Component Cable!


Update: I should clarify when I use the CRT TV, I switch the Xbox 360 HD AV Cable to "TV" settings and connect the three wires with a Scart Adapter and plug it into the Scart socket.

But when I try to connect to my Xbox 360 via the Component Socket on my LCD TV, I get a buttload of artifacts and overall poor image quality. I use two of the three wires and hook those up with the TV along with the other three wires plugged in the other Component sockets... Oh... wait... I think I know why I messed up....

[crackdude]

Usually I just film the tv. With a stable setup and good positioning of the camera the result is decent enough.
Recording through a VCR is also very accessible.

Capturing high quality HD game footage is easy. Just not cheap.

[TJKitsune]

For my game recording, I use a Elgato HD Capture device.  It's a bit pricey..  Around $160 from NewEgg, maybe a little more..  I got it while it was on sale.  It works really well, but there are some important things to know about it..

Make sure you have a really good computer to record to with alot of hard drive space.  Having an i5 or i7 Processor is really needed for smooth recording, with about 4-6GB of memory.  Be sure you're running Windows 7/8, as it's not compatible with Vista or XP.  The device uses HDMI, so you can simply plug in your Xbox 360 via HDMI, and then it passes through another HDMI connection to your TV.  PS3 and Wii can use the Component cable connections that come with the device, and there's some setting adjustments you'll have to do between those systems and your capture device.  I've tested mine with my Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, and it works on those systems as well, however, don't use a Samsung TV, as I've found on mine that the HDMI input doesn't support lower resolution systems, like the Saturn and Dreamcast, and often won't show a pitcure, but your PC will record. 

There's also about a 3 second lag between what you see on your TV and your PC.  So if you're recording sound, record sound on a seperate program, like Windows build in speech recorder program, and just remix it with your video later.

After recording game play and audio, I then export the video into Windows Movie Maker, or another video editing program, like Sony Vegas, and add in the audio.  Windows Move Maker is free to download and mixes the video and sound pretty good.  I have samples on my YouTube channel if you'd like to see the two test videos I did on my xbox and ps3.

[max_cady]

I found the lag amusing and distracting while I was recording. I'm recording a lot of footage from the Sleeping Dogs video game, I have maybe a 1-2 second lag. So I keep hearing the same audio repeated over time.

Speaking of recording devices, I've found the item that I really need. There are plenty of options for Video Game Capture that use HDMI and VGA cables, but those are just too expensive.

I'm not getting the results I want with the SMI Grabber. The device sometimes fudges up the CRT TV feed. I recorded at least three videos from that game only to discover that they had some visual issues, which is why I am done with SCART cables.

I'm gonna save up some cash for this device: http://tinyurl.com/cb5jnkd

This device allows you to record footage using the AV HD Component Cable, which is exactly what I want!

I know that the HDMI and the VGA Cable are far superior options for my Xbox 360, but for whatever reason (i.e. my LG LCD TV) seems to have the better overall picture quality. On my LCD TV, the VGA cable has an excellent definition, but has muddy colors, on the HDMI, the colors are waaay too vibrant. The HD Component cable seems to go well with my TV.

[George]

Personally, I use a DVD recorder to capture my footage. I have an A/V switcher so that everything is fed through the DVD recorder, then back onto the screen. Once I'm done, I slap my DVD-R in the player connected to my VAIO and capture the footage using Pinnacle Studio 16....

Here's the thing, I use an older USB Pinnacle capture device that uses traditional A/V cables. The quality is good, though you need to adjust the brightness and contrast before capture. Otherwise, your footage will look too dark. Pinnacle has a more sophisticated USB capture device available that uses an HDMI, though I've yet to make the upgrade. I'm kind of cheap.

That's how I do it and it works out pretty well. The only time it bothers me is when I'm editing a Dreamcast game, because I end up losing some resolution in the process. Again, if I invested in better cables and captured at full-quality (I use MPEG-2), they would look much better. Still, it's just more than I commit at the moment.

The 2-Man Scrambles are kind of like "Let's Play", so I'll elaborate on that a smidge. I use the DVD recorder to capture game footage. At the same time, I set up my DV camera so as to record Mickey Mac and I playing the game so I can cut back and forth between in-game and live footage. I match up the time code and sync the audio once it's all on the computer.

I kinda want to see a video of how you do all this, a behind of scene sort of thing one day.

[mylifewithsega]

I kinda want to see a video of how you do all this, a behind of scene sort of thing one day.

LOL! Good God, why?

[max_cady]

A true expert never reveals his secret.

I'm gonna try and capture some footage again, if nothing else, I'm gonna sell the item so I can raise money for a better capture device.

[crackdude]

I'd love to start some youtube recordings or something

[max_cady]

It's a fun idea, just make sure you get a recording device that goes well with that you got.
The Easycap/SMI Grabber/DVD Recorder might be a good idea in the short run, but there are some limitations with it at least in my case, there are... I mean, my SD TV is fine and all, but I ain't draggin' that thing from the guest room into my bedroom everytime I want to record, using the regular composite or even the Scart cable just don't give me the same visual finesse that I get with the big 3 (HD Component, VGA and HDMI).

If you got the means, think about gettin' a Roxio Game Capture card or an Elgato HDMI Capture Card, these, from what I am told are better than 99% of the stuff that's sold on Ebay and the likes.  Me I'm aiming for the middle range (Game capture devices that use HD component cables).

Speaking of which, here's another recording that I did with Saint's Row 2:
http://youtu.be/cydmFMhGOy4

[Gagaman]

It cost a bit of money but what I use is this for my PS3 and Wii:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hauppauge-PVR-Gaming-Edition-Definition/dp/B005FR1MFU

I got my one of these on eBay for around £100. The RGB connection at the front is useless but the component cables that go into the PS3 and Wii along with the brilliant software called ArcSoft ShowBiz make it worth it. Make sure you get the Gaming edition and NOT the PVR 2 as that uses just HDMI which is a pain for PS3.

For older games using S-video or RGB I use the software that came with along with this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rescue-Your-Videotapes-4-0-PC/dp/B00592GF2G

[max_cady]

One thing that also helps is the capture software. I've been using Power Director 9 and while it's produced some good content, someone suggested me the Blaze HD/AV Capture Software instead.

It does have some pretty nifty features, but nevertheless, I mean Power Director, dependin' on the profile you choose, a 5 minute video can weigh about 400+ Megabytes. Blaze HD/AV already does a conversion resulting in much smaller files (70-140 MB).

But nevertheless, I want to capture gameplay through component cables...