Originally Posted By: Ribbons
Originally Posted By: Wolfgang
Which program do you guys run to take videos. I have a beast machine that could handle just about anything.


I have a very modern PC and SSD harddrive which definitely helps recording in Fraps while still running GW2 at max settings.

I record at full resolution with Fraps and encode to XVID using Virtualdub, I am very new to this so I'm sure there are better options/codecs out there I haven't played with yet.


Ribbons' setup sounds great!

I *believe* the preferred codec for YouTube-aimed vids is still H.264...that being stated I much prefer .MKV, DivX & Xvid codecs. (Also note that Apple's version of H.264 is known to frequently have out of sync issues.)

Always start with the highest quality source file you can: .AVI or .MOV, with a high resolution/sampling rate, so long as your system can support/store it; that way you're starting with a non-compressed, high quality base to convert over. Then use a video editor to encode your source to something YouTube will like.

Ex. Source Sampling: 1080p/i, 720p etc. @ 48KHz or 44.1KHz (stereo), skip 96KHz unless you are really expecting audiophiles to be listening to your tracks.


I haven't converted anything specifically for YouTube use in a while, so feel free to browse their recommendations first:
YouTube - Encoding Tips
YouTube - Encoding: Advanced Specifications


As for Encoders...once again, my favs are:
Matroska (.MKV)
DivX (.DIVX)
Xvid (.XVID)


I generally use either Sony Vegas, or Adobe Premiere Pro, but there are some great free editors out there.

Some great, Free Video Editors/Encoders:
VirtualDub
NCH - VideoPad
Avidemux
AVI-Trimmer + MKV2

More advanced (due to primarily for 3D rendering) but also has great video editing = Blender


Hope this helps, or at least provides you with more options than you ever wanted to ponder. ;D


- Wildcard / Tiernan