DankTurtle Rachmaninoff
Militaires-Sans-Frontieres
6
   |
Posted - 2012.12.02 09:26:00 -
[1] - Quote
There are 3 main methods of capturing live game footage, each with their own price, requirements, and limitations.
PCI HD Video Capture Card
I'll start with the highest quality option, which is most hardware, size (GBs), and cost intensive.
Requirements:
- PC with powerful CPU (middle grade quad core would be bare minimum)
- Sound card - for the optical in
- PCI HD Video Capture card
- Necessary Video / Audio Cables
- Plenty of room on your HDD
Quick Summary
Your ps3 is connected to the PCI capture card via HDMI or 10-in-1 Cable and sound (for best performance) is input through your sound card via optical cable. The PCI card feeds the raw video into your PC, which must be capable of receiving, decoding, recording, encoding, and outputting all that raw data simultaneously. If you have a beastly computer and the time to correctly configure everything, this method provides the highest quality raw gameplay, but is incredibly taxing to your system and thus the actual framerate of your game can be significantly affected.
Video Pass-through
The video pass-through provides low - medium quality (480p-720p/1080i) recording without hindering gameplay (the majority of the time). These tend to be pricey and are commonly unreliable.
Requirements:
Quick Summary
In a pass-through setup, the gameplay leaving your ps3 is intercepted by a device that sends video both your your TV and PC.The pass-through sends a feed to your PC allowing you to choose when and how much to record. Some devices even have a 'time-shift' function, allowing you to go back in time and record that shot you may have not saved the first time. The gameplay on your TV is limited by the capabilities of the device that you have purchased and if the device begins to have problems (overheating, locking up, skipping, etc), your gameplay will be affected. The most common (and affordable) devices use analog input and have a resolution cap, so you aren't going to get smooth beautiful gameplay unless your willing the pay for it.
Camcorder
Definitely the most common and affordable option, as many people have some form of recording device. You can expect low video quality and (without extra equipment) terrible sound quality.
Requirements:
- Video capturing device (Cell phone, camcorder, digital camera, webcam, etc)
- PC capable of editing and encoding video.
- Video editing software
- Lots of SD cards
Quick Summary
This one is a no-brainer, simply record your video with your device-of-choice, and upload it to your PC for editing. The Video quality is going to depend on the type of TV/Monitor you're using to play on and the device you're using to capture it. Save your viewers the annoyance of shaky cam and set or mount the recording device on something solid. Sound is going to be the biggest hassle with this method, as the transfer of sound waves from your speakers to the crappy mic on your cell-phone. Remedying this requires some confidence your technical abilities and slicing, splicing, and syncing sound with video from a separate source can be tedious. The easiest (and most affordable) method of doing this effectively that I've found is recording your sound via your PC/laptop using either RCA Female to male 3.5mm or an optical cable. Synching your sound to your video can be a hassle though, as generally you're not going to begin recording on 2 separate devices at exactly the same time, and gameplay will be captured at different speeds. Either way, it's still the cheapest way to go.
Hope this was helpful. I intend on adding examples of each method in the relatively near future.
-Dank |
DankTurtle Rachmaninoff
Militaires-Sans-Frontieres
6
|
Posted - 2012.12.02 20:38:00 -
[2] - Quote
Ha, I've been through my fair share of SF 312's, but that's neither here nor there. I intend on utilizing it for corp recruitment, 5400 RPM HDD vs SSD benchmarking of Dust, and tutorials (Flying for instance).
-After NDA expiry of course |