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The MPEG-4 video file format

edited January 2011 in Support
Hello!,
I run CamStudio v2.6 r294 and I see the only output is AVI format, but I should like to get MP4 video file format ¿how to do it?. Any plans exist to add this option for next release of CamStudio? -- thanks!.
Best regards,
Blas.

Comments

  • edited January 2011
    blasmolero,

    No plans currently exist to record in other formats than AVI, though in the future this is hoped for. The only reason for doing this is to overcome the 2GB size limit.

    That said, you should keep separate the two concepts of Codec versus container. Selecting DivX or h.264 or Xvid, among others, encodes your AVI into an Mpeg-4 codec format.

    If you want to convert to another format, many people convert by using VirtualDub http://www.virtualdub.org/ or AnyVideoConverter http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

    VirtualDub is also very good at getting the audio and video to sync again if it has gone out of sync. Read elsewhere in these pages (search for "sync") to see discussions of best settings for video and audio to maintain synchronization. Mainly: Do not use the default settings.

    Terry
  • Dear Terry,
    Thank you for answering, I will follow your suggestions:

    1) VIRTUALDUB:
    I have donwloaded VirtualDub and with this product I am lost: I have donwloaded "VirtualDub-1.10.0-AMD64.zip" (I run Vista x64) and after decompressing the zip file I do not see any setup.exe file to install the software. If I do a DIR command this is what I see:

    29/06/2009 22:20 18,321 copying
    29/06/2009 22:20 1,296 frameserver64.reg
    24/12/2010 13:11 4,096 vdlaunch64.exe
    24/12/2010 13:12 72,704 vdremote64.dll
    24/12/2010 13:11 57,856 vdsvrlnk64.dll
    24/12/2010 13:12 9,728 vdub64.exe
    24/12/2010 13:12 3,803,648 Veedub64.exe
    24/12/2010 13:12 303,141 Veedub64.vdi
    24/12/2010 13:14 254,763 VirtualDub.chm
    9 archivos 4,525,553 bytes

    If I click on "Veedub64.exe" it opens the VirtualDub user interface. If I use "File > Open Video File" and try to load ANY video generated by CamStudio v2.6 r294 I get the following error:

    >>> Couldn't locate decompressor for format "CSCD" (unknown)
    VirtualDub requires a Video for Windows (VFW) compatible codec to decomspress video. DirectShow codecs, such as those
    used by Windows Media Player, are not suitable <<<<

    To generate videos on CamStudio I use the following video options (see picture):
    http://fotos.subefotos.com/fed7136866559dcfa5e96da8f4bd6882o.png

    2) AnyVideoConverter:
    Very good, easy-to-use, and professional as well, I am able to open any video from CamStudio 2.6 r294 and I am able to convert ot MP4 with success, without loss of quality -- thanks!.

    Best regards,
    Blas.
  • You were running the 64-bit version of VirtualDub. (And you figured it out - it doesn't have an installer, as all the program elements are contained within that one folder.) CamStudio Lossless Codec is a 32-bit codec (kept in a different location completely). It will work fine with the 32-bit version of VirtualDub. You can have both on the same machine (as each version resides complete in its own folder).

    Do a search here in the forums (searching comments, not topics) on the word "virtualdub" and you will find many instructive posts on how to get the most out of the various settings and capabilities of VirtualDub.

    Glad you liked AnyVideoConverter!

    You are using very good settings for your video options settings, BTW.

    Terry
  • Dear Terry,
    Thanks for commenting. I have donwloaded the 32-bits version of VirtualDub1.10.0, and in fact, not any installation needed, but running VirtualDub.exe opens with success the CamStudio file, no probems. But ... how to export the CamStudio AVI file with the MP4 format?. I do not see a explicit command likae "Save as MP4" or "Export as MP4", any help is welcome -- thanks!.
    Best regards,
    Blas.
  • edited January 2011
    blasmolero,

    This is that container vs codec thing again. Nick covers this a bit in an older post where the desired output was to use the video in Quicktime or Final Cut Pro:

    http://camstudio.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=272

    Here's the important parts from Nick's post:

    "Hi straz

    VirtualDub will transcode new video but I believe it only reauthors AVIs.

    I know FCP has issues with reading AVIs that have had anything to do with CamStudio, so I would test these:

    METHOD 1:

    1. Download and install FFDShow Tryout (http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net) it will appear as a codec in VirtualDub.
    2. Import the first AVI you've created, select Full Processing Mode in the Video menu
    3. Select the Compression menu item from the Video menu and choose "ffdshow video codec" and click the Configure button
    5. Change the Encoding method to either H.264, DivX, or whatever codec you know FCP will accept.
    6. Do the same with the Audio menu if needed or just set it to Direct Stream Copy if the audio is MP3 or PCM (uncompressed)
    7. Save the new AVI and when done, see if it will be imported by FCP.

    If that doesn't work ...

    METHOD 2:

    1. Download WinFF (www.winff.org - free)
    2. Import your first edited AVI into WinFF
    3. Change "Convert To" to MP4 and choose the Device Preset to whatever is required*
    4. Click the Options button if you want to finetune the conversion parameters or leave them blank for the default
    5. Click Convert and see if the resulting MP4 file will import into FCP

    * You can add your own presets by going to Edit > Presets"

    Also, there is a post by me from a while back about Quicktime settings for conversions here:

    http://camstudio.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=492

    Terry
  • Dear Terry,
    First at all thank you for answering, for me -a senior Msc engineer- the world of video recording & postprocessing is a competely new world, this is most dificult than engineering a complex structure!!.
    I have downloaded & installed in my computer running Vista x64 the software "ffdshow - Beta7". Now I see the codec in VirtualDub as "ffdshow Video Codec", >>>but missing on CamStudio v2.6 r294<<<<. any reason?.
    Best regards,
    Blas.
  • edited January 2011
    Blas,

    [Edit] - I just tried r294 and indeed the ffdshow codec does not appear (others are missing as well... don't know why) You can try installing r264, but beware - I'm not certain whether the "off-by-one-pixel" bugs that persisted in earlier versions still exist for certain region options (I couldn't get an error in my trials of Window and Fixed Region, though the program's recording window is showing the wrong read-out, the actual recording seems to be correct). http://sourceforge.net/projects/camstudio/files/CamStudio%202.6%20beta/CamStudio_2.6b_r264_build_14july2010.exe/download )

    See this page of screen shots I just added to my hosting to compare the odd variations of codecs appearing (all are installed on the same machine!!)

    http://screencasttutorial.org/camstudioversions.html
    [/Edit]
    --------------
    Doesn't ffdshowtryout work? That is Nick's favorite one.

    http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net/

    See this FAQ by Nick for some suggested settings.

    http://camstudio.org/faq.htm#Optimize

    I agree that the "subtleties" of video screen capture can be rather impressive!

    By the way, I'll admit that I usually "cheat" when I need an MP4 version - I upload to YouTube in "Private" mode, then I download their conversion (in mp4 h.264 - all ready to go and converted using fairly optimal settings by the pros at YouTube!)

    Terry
  • Dear Terry,
    I uninstalled R294 and installed R264 and .... all were problems. Yes, now I see the "ffdshow Video Codec" but I get continuos errors, then I have uninstalled R294 and back again to R294, I will try to live with it.
    Best regards,
    Blas.
  • Blas,

    R264 gave problems, eh? Bummer.

    BTW - you needn't un-install a version to install another - you can pick among the versions in your Program Files (x86) folder. The most recent install becomes the one defaulted to from the shortcut icons.

    We'll have that codec issue tackled eventually. Till then, record in something available, then either transcode in VirtualDub or AnyVideoConverter, or upload to YouTube and download the one they create (MP4 in h.264).

    Puzzling stuff! I'm posting a bug ticket at Sourceforge tonight.

    Terry
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