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Best Settings For A Smaller Video File

Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
edited May 2012 in Common Tips & Tricks
I've got to say Camstudio is a great recording software

but currently I've got settings that makes Camstudio can't compress long videos (I tried one about 40 min) and it comes up with the infamous "Note: File Creation Error. Unable to rename/copy audio file." error which makes the output or at least what was the temporary video and audio, that was to be the final video, useless. I know it's because of the file size and because I'm using the "Camstudio Lossless Codec 1.5".

I was wondering if anyone knows the best settings on Camstudio for recording long videos (40min or more).

I've been trying to find the h.264 codec, because I know it has high compression, but haven't been able to find a tutorial to install it for Camtudio. If there is a better codec out there or a way to install the h.264 codec please let me know (TerryBritton I know I already asked this on your YouTube video (with the same username by the way), but I want the info somewhere for anyone to see that wants to know, if thats alright).

Also I know that the LAME MP3 encoder is also a great compressed audio format for recording too, but how do I install it without adding anything extra that I won't need (ex. using the K-lite Codec Pack), I just want the LAME MP3.

Thank You in Advanced
~Nelsonngyn0

Comments

  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    Nelsonngyn0,

    Yes, I saw your question at YT and answered it already, but for the record here, as you know I recommend Xvid all the time since I get up to 3 hours WITH MCI SYSTEM AUDIO using that codec at a quality setting of 1 recording 1280X720 videos. CamStudio Lossless records much unnecessary data, and is actually a bad choice for games and motion video anyway as a lossless choice (Lagarith Lossless is far better, a spin-off of Huffyuv). If you download the CamStudio 2.6c beta from the "Next" folder at Sourceforge, you can use ffdshow or ffdshow tryouts, which includes h.264 (well, actually it uses the open-source version, x.264, since h.264 is licensed by the MPEG association group).

    Terry
  • Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
    edited May 2012
    Thank you again Terry
    But may I ask what the difference between CamStudio 2.6b r294 & Camstudio 2.6c beta? Seeing as you've suggested it in previous posts I've read.

    By the way what is "MCI recording"?
    Also should I download the LAME MP3 codec from the sourceforge site? (specifically http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php)
  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    edited May 2012
    Nelsonngyn0,

    The primary difference is that all the codecs now show up in the drop-down in the Video Options dialog. r294 hid ffdshow and divx for some reason that was fixed in 2.6c

    "Use MCI to record" is an option that I recommend in the Audio Options for Microphone dialog, and what checking that does is force CamStudio to use the system audio (16-bit, 44mHz audio) settings and overrides any other compression you may have picked from the drop-downs above. For good sync, I recommend checking this box and then keeping the "Capture Frames Every" setting TIMES the "Playback rate" setting being 1000. That way you stay synced to the 1-second intervals properly, and since CamStudio does not (yet) allow decimal-point entries in those boxes, you cannot have 30fps work, as you cannot enter 33.333333 into the "Capture Frames Every" box. So, safe numbers are 100/10, 50/20, 40/25, 25/40, and 20/50 (I use 100/10 for most screencasts, but then need to convert to MPEG-4 using Any-Video-Converter for those to play back alright in every media player...)

    Don't bother with LAME for recording - do MP3 compression using Any-Video-Converter afterwards and check for your sync to be ok - I use AC3 or AAC (using that one more lately) instead, as sync has stayed solid much better - MP3 just messes with it for some reason.

    http://www.any-video-converter.com/download-avc-free.php

    Terry
  • Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
    Thank you Terry,
    that information is very useful.

    But I installed the AC3 and AAC and they don't show up in the list for audio compression
  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    They'll show in Any Video Converter. Like I said - set it to "Use MCI to Record" during the actual making of the recording to retain good sync.

    I get up to 3 hours of video with audio using Xvid 720HD and "Use MCI to Record", though when going that long, I sometimes get nervous and set the quality setting in Xvid to 2 instead of 1.

    Terry
  • Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
    Thank you again for the help, but there is a post I'm trying to find.
    I remember it was users, including you, discussing finding the most possible time that can be recorded with Camtudio while staying under the 4gb limit. If you could direct me to that that would be great.
  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    Yes - the conclusion of that was the discovery of Jawor's Xvid.

    This was the thread you remember:

    http://camstudio.org/forum/discussion/658/req-recommended-settings-for-recording-for-90-min.

    Terry
  • Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
    That was the one, thanks bunch
  • Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
    I've used the xvid codec to try to record some Minecraft gameplay, but only when it is set on Xvid or x.264 for compression the game seems jerky at times. Is it because of all of the work that the computer has to do to compress the video to the codec? if so do you recommend any other video codecs?
  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    Nelsonngyn0,

    Likely the jerky behavior is due to the two programs fighting for processor power. Try lowering the Capture Frames Every to 50 and Playback Rate to 20 - or even vise-verse. There is a processor priority selection, but if you have limited resources, the only way may be to run the game in a smaller window.

    Terry
  • Nelsonngyn0Nelsonngyn0
    I guessing thats the problem I've been having with recorders. I'll try that and see if it helps. If not what should I lower in terms of that capture rate, playback rate, or the other setting.
  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    Well, lower playback rate can help, but then you get not-so-smooth captures of animation. You have to change the capture rate in a see-saw fashion against the playback rate so the two multiply to 1000 or the audio sync falls apart. If that doesn't matter to you, try lowering the capture rate but keep the playback rate around 20-25 - even 30. Let me know how that works for you.

    Terry
  • ForbiddenSoulForbiddenSoul
    edited June 2012
    You can get LAME here http://www.rarewares.org/files/mp3/lameACM-3.99.5.zip without any extra garbage. Install instructions are in the zip

    I found that I have to compress the audio after recording the video, as Camstudio doesn't use mp3 encoding even with it selected (for myself atleast, yet to confirm for others). Have a video on how to do this here (audio part is near the end of the video)

    An alternative method would be to not record audio with Camstudio, but use another program in conjunction for example audacity or, windows sound recorder, then add the audio file to your video afterwords.
  • TerryBrittonTerryBritton
    ForbiddenSoul,

    Actually, I've been having better luck with sync holding by using AAC or AC3 in conversions to MPEG-4 Custom by Any-Video-Converter. MP3 nearly always drifts on me.

    http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

    Terry
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