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Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
Camstudio is not recording the area I am selecting
Hi, Camstudio has worked just fine for me on my old XPS laptop running XP. I tried using it on my new XPS, which runs Windows 7, but the program seems to disregard the area I select for capture and only capture a portion of that. The weird thing is that it knows the area I am selecting because the video turns out to be as large in area as the area I selected, but instead of showing the entire area on playback, it shows a portion of that area, zoomed in such that the portion takes up the entire playback area.
Help?
Help?
Comments
A couple of questions:
Is this version 2.0 or the new 2.6 beta? The 2.6 beta has a new "Region==>Window" setting that allows selecting a pre-sized window as your region and recording area (I don't know if Sizer works with Win7, but that's what I use to size windows in XP - http://www.brianapps.net/sizer/ )
The oddest thing is that it is "stretching" the portion captured to fit the region you have specified. Are you using a DivX codec? (DivX requires that the width be a multiple of 4 and the height be a multiple of 2, so perhaps something is being compensated for there...)
As a matter of fact, what video codec are you using? (Options==>Video Options==>Compressor) and what settings are you using under the "Configure" button?
I love really oddball issues like these! They are such an inviting challenge! :-)
(Sorry you're going through this, though!)
Terry
I am using version 2.0. Should I switch? Under Compressor it says Microsoft video 1.
Yes, try the newer 2.6 beta,
but first try switching the compressor to Camstudio Lossless 1.4, since you have the program basically working currently in 2.0.
Terry
Yeah... I was afraid of that... You'll have to put in the C++ Runtime files for 2.6 beta to work.
Go to Microsoft and download and run the MS C++ Runtime Library installer package:
English : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A5C84275-3B97-4AB7-A40D-3802B2AF5FC2&displaylang=en
German : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A5C84275-3B97-4AB7-A40D-3802B2AF5FC2&displaylang=de
(Other language: change xx after displaylang.)
This is being worked on, but is a known issue with 2.6 beta and affects Vista and Win7 installations.
That said, I'm more surprised that even using Camstudio Lossless that you are encountering this problem, which I've never seen mentioned before. Please keep us posted as to your progress here, and anything else you can tell us about your setup would be helpful as well.
Terry
Now 2.6 Beta works. I have a similar problem as with 2.0, except when I am dragging the area I want to record, it actually forms a box around what will be recorded. The problem is that this box is not the area my mouse is dragging over; it's above and to the left of it, and always smaller. Therefore, it produces the same end result as Cam Studio 2.0 produces: a zoomed in portion of the area I actually want to record.
Some other 2.6 Beta problems I don't have with 2.0
-Clips are coming out in a huge file size. Huge.
-The program is not saving my settings when I exit. When I re-open, it's back to the default.
I'll be glad to share any other details. Please advise.
Since this is a fresh install, make certain all the settings are similar to the 2.0 settings under "Options", and check whether "Program Options==>Save Settings on Exit" is checked now. I wonder if you have to be running in some XP compatibility mode for the ini files to be writable?
The size increase may be due to the default settings being used again. Try to duplicate the video settings you had used in 2.0.
I use Camstudio Lossless 1.5 (in 2.6 Beta) with
Set Key Frames Every set to 30 (a higher setting will reduce file size),
Capture Frames Every set to 25, and
Playback Rate set to 40.
These last two, when multiplied, should equal 1000 for audio and video to remain synchronized.
An even smaller file size can come from the following settings:
Set Key Frames Every set to 100 (an even higher setting will reduce file size even more - 200 is not unheard of, but will make for coarser "seeking" in FF),
Capture Frames Every set to 50 and
Playback Rate set to 20.
I compress my audio in VirtualDub after the fact, so I use the audio option setting checked for "Use MCI for recording".
Now, as to this odd changing of the sizes of the capture...
The 2.6 beta version includes a new choice under the "Region" menu of "Window", where it will record the dimensions of a window that you click on after initializing the record sequence (that is, after hitting record). Could you try that and let me know if it records your window size?
This is all so very strange. Can you tell what color bits you are set to? (16-bit color, 24-bit color or 32-bit color?)
I hope one of the programmers checks in here soon, but we are giving whoever does arrive first some good information to go with here.
Terry
I realized why the files were huge. My custom settings make files really small, but 2.6 won't save my settings. I must have forgotten that I was back on default settings when I observed the huge file size output. And yes, Save Settings on Exit is checked, though 2.6 does not save my settings when I close the program.
That Window feature under Region is pretty clever, but I'm again having the same problem. It's recording a zoomed-in region of the window I selected, and to the left such that it also records part of the left background outside of the window. My monitor is on True Color 32-bit.
I wonder if this could have anything to do with transparency? Can you try a recording with it set t 16-bit color? That would take transparency out of the equation.
(Also, Nick mentions somewhere else here in the forum recently a way to turn off desktop enhancements in Win7 - I'll see if I can find the reference.)
[Edit: Ah! Found it! "@tbritton, that "drop your display to 16-bit" tip is a cracker. I believe Vista/Win7 Premium users can get the same effect automatically by selecting "Disable Desktop Composition" in the Compatibility tab after right-clicking Recorder.exe and selecting Properties.
At least I see the same "The color scheme has been changed to Windows Vista Basic" message." ]
Terry
What is the difference between 16 and 32 bit?
Also, changing to 16 bit messed up the very program I wanted to record (oh the irony), and now that program is stretched. So I can either use the program and not record it, or record it but use it with distorted graphics.
Here is an article describing the differences between 16-bit, 24-bit and 32 bit color.
http://screencasttutorial.org/16/best-color-depth-16-bit-color-vs-32-bit-color-explained-135
The program you are trying to record must use transparency (or at least the alpha channel in some other way) big-time. Drat. What program is that?
And why the color mode settings would have any effect at all on your ability to save your settings is beyond comprehension! What could that be???
Nick and Jan - HELP!!! ;-)
(The following article shows some alternative ways to change the color bit and resolution settings)
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/258-color-bit-depth-display-settings.html
Notice - if you require Aero to run this program, it will only run in 32-bit color. (from the above article)
Aero Requirements to be Enabled in Windows 7:
* 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
* 1 GB of system memory
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
* You must be have True Color (32 bit) set instead of High Color (16 bit).
* The desktop composition and Animate controls and elements inside windows options enabled in Visual Effects.
* Refresh or update your WEI score.
So, I'd suggest trying some other settings here and there and seeing what, if anything, works for both.
Terry
AFAIK the colour bit-depth shouldn't have any effect on being able to save settings.
I'm wondering if UAC in Windows 7 is denying CamStudio access to change the INI config files in "Program Files\CamStudio" ...?
@Slashtap - you could try running Recorder.exe as Administrator (right-click Recorder.exe > Properties > Compatibility > check Run as administrator > Apply > OK.
The problem is that CamStudio 2.0 was written for XP, which allowed program data to be written to directories in Program Files ...
For Windows Vista and 7 it's a different matter - programmers are advised NOT to write program data to directories in Program Files - and instead use the %APPDATA% folder.
But because we can only currently get CamStudio running in XP Compatibility mode, I believe this is causing the not saving settings glitch.
Once we get CamStudio running natively in Vista/Win 7 without needing XP Compatibility Mode, this issue should go.
Fingers crossed, sometime soon.
Jan, feel free to correct me :o)
Cheers
Nick :o)
Someone on that program's forums told me to change my DPI to 96. When I did, the program was normal again, and I could still record just fine with 2.6 Beta.
Changing to 96 DPI made everything on my monitor a lot smaller, though. I'm willing to accept that compromise, but if you know whether there is a way to make stuff bigger again, especially everything I see in my Firefox browser, that would be great.
I must admit that reading all the issues people report and the solutions offered by Terry and Nick are in most cases very valuable for me.
It shows me how other people are using Camstudio and in some case I make remarks about the things I want to test and improve.
We need people like Slashtap who take their time to report which challenges they met.
Thanks Slashtap..!
Jan
Someone on that program's forums told me to change my DPI to 96. When I did, the program was normal again, and I could still record just fine with 2.6 Beta.
Changing to 96 DPI made everything on my monitor a lot smaller, though. I'm willing to accept that compromise, but if you know whether there is a way to make stuff bigger again, especially everything I see in my Firefox browser, that would be great. "
Slashtap,
Thanks a million for finding that out! I never in a million years would have thought of the dpi setting as being the culprit (though I will think of that now!!!) :-)
I've done this to myself, actually, having set the dpi to 150% for a presentation and seeing it whack-out Photoshop or something once. But in this context it just didn't sink in. It makes perfect sense!
The only way I ever make things larger now is to merely set the screen resolution itself, though XP's Desktop tab/Advanced button allows you to select font sizes on a window-by-window basis that likely would still work OK for screen recordings. I should give it a try (after dinner!) and see if it works. I do not know if you can change the fonts in the same way in Windows 7, though.
Terry