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Multiple issues

Hello. I've decided to try CamStudio Recorder v2.6 to record gameplay, video clips (mostly youtube), webcams and more which usually have between 2 and 30 minutes duration and preferably with the same video and audio quality as in real time. I have encountered several difficulties and was going to discard the program but I want to give it a chance. I have tried searching for solutions to certain issues without any luck. I am using Windows XP with Google Chrome and the Lossless Codec v1.5.
Any help with these issues would be greatly appreciated!

1. When I finish recording something for over 5 minutes or so, I get an error saying "Note: File Creation Error. Unable to rename/copy audio file." which, I'm assuming, makes me lose the recorded video. I read that CamStudio currently cannot create avi files over 2GiB in size, so I'm wondering if there's a way to record long video with lower file size without lowering the quality.

2. If I try to record while CamStudio is compressing, I get an error saying "CamStudio Recorder has encountered a problem and needs to close." and it immediately closes, which cancels the compression.

3. I'm not able to open more than 1 CamStudio programs at a time, thus not being able to record again until the previous recording's compression is complete. I can't record anything continuously for more than a few minutes.

4. The recorded video file sizes are incredibly large. What's the best way to reduce it as much as possible while keeping the same quality?

5. I read that it's best to use the H.264 encoder in the FFDShow Tryout codec but I'm not sure how to do this. I have installed the ffdshow program but nothing new is displayed in the list of compressors in the Video Options. Also, even though I have 'CamStudio Lossless Codec v1.5' selected as the compressor, it displays 'Codec : MS Video 1' on the main screen when recording.

6. What program should I use to simply cut out parts of the video? I have tried using Windows Movie Maker but I've had so many problems with it (mostly the frequent program shut downs and the high amount of lag).

7. Many of the thumbnail previews of the videos I have recorded show a tilted black and white image with colored horizontal lines across it.

8. Even though I selected the Desktop as the 'User specified directory' for recording, it asks me where to save the file and sets the CamStudio folder as the default. I'd like for it to automatically select the Desktop as the directory to save in.

9. When I'm finished recording something and write down the name of the file to save it as, it will automatically replace an existing file with the same name without alerting me that a file with this name already exists.

10. I set the View to Compact View but it is always set in Normal View when I open the program.

Comments

  • edited May 2012
    user86,

    Well, for starters...

    STOP using the lossless codec! What a waste of space! Use Xvid or ffdshow tryouts and you'll get crystal clear videos at much smaller file sizes.

    Record the audio with "Use MCI to record" checked. See the 2012 video up top in the sticky posts section for details.

    You can open CamStudio 2.6 and follow that with opening 2.0, but not the reverse. Explained also in the above video.

    Use CamStudio 2.6c (in the "Next" folder at SourceForge) to see all of your codecs.

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/camstudio/files/next/

    You'll need 7-Zip to un-zip the installer:

    http://www.7-zip.org/download.html

    All the links you'll ever need are in the "2012" YouTube video mentioned in the info section.

    Any-Video-Converter (with the dashes) or VirtualDub are good for simply trimming or cutting out little sections (with no transition effects, though).

    Tilted views mean the dimensions were "odd" to the codec being used. Some dimensions simply do not work that well. Stick with the standards -- and see that video!

    In # 8, you are specifying where to place the temporary files, not the end result. If "Name of AVI File" is set to "Ask for Filename" it asks you where to place the end product. If that is not selected, the final product is saved to the same folder as is designated for the temp files.

    # 9 - On some machines, it over-writes a file with the same name, while on others it simply throws an error and makes you come up with a different file name. I agree, this is a little wonky!

    # 10 - yes, the view is not saved, and you have to reset it (with the 4th button to the right of the stop button) every time.

    I hope that helps you!

    Terry
  • I now realize how much space the Lossless Codec uses so I stopped using it.

    The 2012 video was of great help!

    I did not need the 7-Zip to unzip the CamStudio 2.6c installer.

    I tried the ffdshow Video Codec and got the error "Unable to initialize the output video codec. Check that the video codec is compatible with the output video frame size and that the settings are correct, or try a different one." and then tried the Xvid MPEG-4 Codec and got the error "Cannot start video compression. An unknown error occured (may be corrupt data). (error code - 100)" and realized it occured when recording a manually selected region because of the dimensions not being a multiple of 2.
    I'm using the Xvid MPEG-4 Codec now and it seems to work well though I can only seem to record using a fixed region and the height and width have to be even number pixels.

    I tried out Any-Video-Converter and VirtualDub, but I find Windows Movie Maker, although slow, more simple and easy to use.

    CamStudio does error and close if I try to record while it's compressing and I also can't open more than one of this program at a time. I can still use the previous versions to not encounter this issue.
    I'm hoping a future release will resolve this as well as issues #8, 9 and 10.

    Thank you for your help, Terry!
  • user86,

    Glad you are getting it running to where you can make use of it. Someday, some profiles with given settings already set up will be possible, but for now we must work with the program by finding out what settings work best for our purposes. Perhaps some easy batch-file based tool that swaps ini files will work or something like that until a proper solution is developed for a future version.

    Terry
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