AudioSurf Video Creation - A HowTo and Discussion.

[Desslok]

So while I wouldnt mind "Hey, that would be kind of cool to share", I'm not really prepared to spend 40 bucks on something thats only kind of cool, that I'll never use beyond this one instance. Anyone have a cheaper alternitive to Fraps?

[BlackShark]

I don't use fraps because it can't produce stable framerate. I found a better solution but it's a bit more difficult to use and requires some hardware.
I clone my screen output with the TV-out of my graphics card, then i use my TV capture card to record my gameplay.
It produces about the same resolution as using fraps with 1/2 resolution, records with a very stable framerate of 30 interlaced fps, deinterlacing using simple weave creates a light motion blur, which makes the video look smooth and fluid, and it uses less CPU ressources than fraps.

The only drawback is that you have to deal with lots of different aspect ratios and settings because of PAL/NTSC interlaced formats, so beginners can easily use the wrong parameters and screw the video.
My other problem is my capture card only has a composite in so some colors tend to be a bit dirty (especially intense reds).

You can see what it looks like here : http://www.dailymotion.com/BlackSharkfr/video/7488349
I'm uploading it to stage6 at the moment because flash quality is quite poor.

[racingfreak92]

Okay this might already have been covered, but is it possible to use GameCam to record AudioSurf or any other Steam games? Last time i tried with Gamecam it didnt work, when i added the exe the games just wouldnt launch

[mitc.HELL]

This was a great help, I all I need to do is get the right balance for audio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AmkcBb0P-U

[Rynex]

Ok, I tried to do a video via the specifcations others have requested. They was

60FPS
320x280 (apparently youtube size)

Guess what, it looked like crap. Youtube ruined the encoding beyond an acceptable point. Stick with what I've suggested unless you can honestly strike a balance that Youtube likes. Or just upload them on Gametrailers, which really brings the quality out. Stage 6 dying pissed me off.

Granted, I did this with the DivX codec. So if you can be bothered to figure out the right bitrate and Lanczos3 filter then go for it. Until there is a bullet proof solution that can be easily explained, I think my way works kinda nicely.

This guide is great, but I have a problem : I use Fraps, my recording is fine, but no sounds. At all.
I did the recommendations, and here are my settings :

I don't know what to do.. Thanks in advance

Make sure the Mixage Stéréo tick box is ticked underneath the slider.

Make sure in Fraps that your Sound Input is set to Mixage Stéréo, and the Sound Device is set to Realtek HD Audio. Make sure the record sound tick box is ticked. If this doesn't work, you may need to update your sound drives.

If they are already updated, open Sound Recorder and play some music in whatever program. If you record the sound in sound recorder, then there might be a problem with Fraps itself. I hope this helps.

[mitc.HELL]

Ok uh one problem...



Search doesn't have any results for it either.

Any ideas?

[rerunx5]

Ok uh one problem...



Search doesn't have any results for it either.

Any ideas?

Try Audacity to record some sounds
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[Rynex]

Yeah, audacity can fit your needs for recording sounds. I find it kind of shocking that you don't have anything in there D:

[ElfShotTheFood]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but if you're using VirtualDub to compress the video, do this if your audio and video isn't synching:

- Select "Video"
- Select "Frame Rate"
- check the "Change So Video and Audio Durations Match" radio button

Also, like someone else mentioned, GameCam doesn't seem to work with AudioSurf: you can point to the .EXE and launch through GC, but are unable to record anything.

[Dark-Sonik]

44100 Hz 64kbs CBR, Mono 8Kb/s

I cannot stress this enough. Setting it to stereo will ramp up the file size, and can actually make the song sound like crap. Mono is a lot better on the internet it seems. If you honestly must set it to stereo, then by all means do it, but this is a personal preference.

That might come through the fact that people often record videos with the Stereo Mix, which is often not the best source for the audio. Wave is more made for that since it has a higher quality than stereo mix.

Unfortunately, Wave can't be chosen on most low-cost-cards, making these people have to use Stereo Mix. For that, this Mono-Compression is good.

[Lo/Rez]

How do I do this with vista?  They've hidden it from meh. the sound part that is.

[Cody900]

Not a very nice size for uploading to YouTube, where most videos go I think.

Personally I use XviD, better compression than DivX, and is actually easier to set up, you only need to move 1 slider up or down for smaller file size/best quality. My videos generally come out at around 60MB.

And 30 FPS affects the game A LOT. It's near impossible to play a song like Encounter on 30 FPS.... if I recorded at 60 FPS would I still keep 60 FPS in the game? Providing I have the computer power to record at that speed.

[Dark-Sonik]

How do I do this with vista?  They've hidden it from meh. the sound part that is.

In the sounds-settings in the Control Panel, go to the Record-Tab and right click it and choose "Show hidden devices", then you can change the audio-setting from Mic to Stereo Mix or Wave ect.

I had Vista for a month so I know about that. xD

And 30 FPS affects the game A LOT. It's near impossible to play a song like Encounter on 30 FPS.... if I recorded at 60 FPS would I still keep 60 FPS in the game? Providing I have the computer power to record at that speed.

Depends on the PCs performance, resolution and operating system. With a good PC, in a moderate resolution (for Fraps the Half-Size-Setting is important) and with WinXP (Vista caused me very hard FPS-Problems) it works fine when you set the FPS on 60. It will just not get any higher than 60 when recording. But that's still better than recording on 30 FPS...

[Mustard]

It wont let me compress the audio with Mono, so I'm trying Stereo.  What Stereo setting do you recommend?  I don't have a "44100 Hz 64kbs CBR, Stereo 8Kb/s" option.

[Rynex]

Not a very nice size for uploading to YouTube, where most videos go I think.

Personally I use XviD, better compression than DivX, and is actually easier to set up, you only need to move 1 slider up or down for smaller file size/best quality. My videos generally come out at around 60MB.

And 30 FPS affects the game A LOT. It's near impossible to play a song like Encounter on 30 FPS.... if I recorded at 60 FPS would I still keep 60 FPS in the game? Providing I have the computer power to record at that speed.

This is the thing I would of liked to of touched upon. XviD is a lot better in terms of compression and I understand that, but DivX is more easily obtainable and more of a mainstream codec. If I wanted to upload the same video to somewhere else, there's a chance it wont work for some stupid reason or another.

As for the Frame rate, not everyone has a super leet computer to even encode at a full 60FPS. I have a computer that has parts from roughly a year ago at most and I have to knock my graphics to Normal and my resolution to 1280x1024 just to get a good and stable speed out of it. (I can almost achieve 60FPS with this, but it sometimes jumps, so what is the point if I can just knock it down to something that creates a smaller and better size)

It's not impossible to play Encounter at 30 FPS. Infact it's fine.

I think people are missing the point when I say I tried to write this guide with everyone in mind. If someone finds something else that might suit some of the more willing members here then they should write a guide.