This forum software has now been archived into static HTML page (i.e. it does not function as a working forum anymore, so you cannot login.)

In due course a new forum will be available to help support newer CamStudio versions.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Smallest File Size

edited July 2012 in General Discussion
Has it been quantified what the best video settings should be? I understand that the smaller the playback frame rate is set the smaller the file size. How do I determine what is too small? Should I or can I set it to 1?

Comments

  • edited July 2012
    btk55343,

    You CAN set the playback rate to one frame per second, and I'd be very interested to hear what your results are!!!

    If you do set it to 1, set the Capture Frames Every to 1000 so that the sync holds OK with the audio - at least theoretically - and let me know how your experiments work out.

    Personally, I use Capture Frames Every set to 100, Playback Rate set to 10, and the Set Keyframes Every set to 200. That uploads just fine to YouTube and holds sync over 2 hours as you can see from my 2-hour webinar on my channel at YouTube below.

    One nice thing about YouTube is that it gives you that great MPEG-4 downloadable file that runs in any media player imaginable, transcoded up to 30 fps for you with sync holding perfectly! I alternately use Any-Video-Converter to accomplish the same thing (with the Custom MPEG-4 settings), but it is cool that YouTube gives such a useful download.

    Terry


  • Thanks, Terry.

    So, are you saying that setting the playback rate too low results in choppy video? What I'm looking for is settings that allow for the smallest file sizes with still usable if not perfect video...
  • btk55343,

    Hey! I never said my videos looked choppy!! ;-)

    I live with the slight stuttering of the mouse movement at 10 frames per second in order to make a smaller video, and since so little changes in a screencast tutorial frame-to-frame, I can get away with setting the key frame setting high. But it always comes down to what you are trying to accomplish. A smooth game video, for instance, will need a faster frame-rate. What are you recording?

    For certain, whittling it down to one frame per second will seem almost like a stop-motion film! But you'll definitely get a smaller file size from capturing fewer frames.

    Xvid still has the best results for making compact videos, and you do not HAVE to use the quality of 1 - quality of 2 or more is often acceptable. You just have to experiment.

    Just keep the Capture Frames Every setting TIMES the Playback Rate totaling 1000 to hold your sync, and use MCI to record the audio if sync is important to you. If not, go ahead and compress the audio or use a coarser bit-rate for the sampling frequency on the audio to save file space on the audio end.

    Terry
  • Thanks Terry, I think I'll stick with 10X100 setting you recommend...
  • Keyframes- 120
    Capture- 33
    Playback- 30
    DivX Codec

    Question, what would you recommend to increase recording time when I'm trying to play games at 20fps?
    I'm only able to react 15 mins of recording...

    Thanks,
    -Jack
  • Jack,

    I'd use capture every 20 and playback rate of 50 and see how it goes, then scale back to capture every 25 and playback rate of 40 to see if it is acceptable, and finally capture of 40 and playback rate of 25 to see if that gives smooth enough results for the smaller file size. Note that the two numbers always sum to 1000 when multiplied - that is to hold sync when "Use MCI to record" is checked in the CamStudio "audio options for microphone" settings.

    Terry
Sign In or Register to comment.