Capturing movies in OS X

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Jeff
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Capturing movies in OS X

Post by Jeff » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:21 pm

What is the best app for making a movie of a video game in OS X? Free would be a plus. :)

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Post by zatoichi » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:27 pm

I've never found a good one.

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Cykelero
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Post by Cykelero » Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:28 am

I have Snapz X Pro, and I'm pretty satisfied. It is not very Mac-like and have some problem to record full-screen apps, but I like it nevertheless.

There's also iShowU, but even on a MacBook with 2Go RAM, it completely slows down OS X. I think a good graphical card is required.

And there's a free program, Jing. It is very slow on my MacBook however.

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Viking Zippy
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Post by Viking Zippy » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:59 am

I haven't tried any of the others, but I've been using Snapz Pro since the OS 9 days (about 8 years), it's an excellent program, I've had only two or three problems in all that time.

I use a Power Mac Quad 2.5, and when it comes to recording something like Halo at 1280x800, the FPS of the video in QuickTime (FPS, not playing FPS) is anywhere from 12 to 14, and 1024x640 is 17 to 18. As for Black Shades, I ran that at 1024x640, and it played at the promised 30 FPS I set in Snapz.

So basically, Snapz is really processor intensive, but if you've got a powerful computer and a well-coded-and-not-bloated program (such as Black Shades, I got FPS of 200 to 300 in-game) and don't go for too high a res (I just tried 1600x1000 in Halo and got a terrible 8 FPS, but that's asking an awful lot :P), you should be fine.

If you do decide to use Snapz, when it comes to video quality, remember to choose the right video compressor: I've used Sorenson Video 3 for years, and while the filesizes are massive (a 21:24 minute long Halo video was 1.09 gigs), the quality is amazing, though I doubt you'll need it for such long recording periods :P

Oddly enough, the Black Shades movies I made in 1024x640 weren't that bad: one of them was 15:36 minutes long and 448 megs, and another that was 15:35 minutes was 533.9, so I guess it depends on the program you'll be recording :?

However, if you are going to use Snapz for obscenely long recording sessions, make sure you have loads of hard drive space: when I was recording the 21:24 minute long Halo movie, it temporarily ate up about 25 gigs of space, so it'd be a good idea if you use a high-capacity hard drive.

Lastly, Ambrosia said themselves on their forum that they were going to be releasing a new version which would let you choose your scratch disk, which would be excellent, as I haven't yet heard of a terabyte drive internally :D

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Renegade_Turner
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Re: Capturing movies in OS X

Post by Renegade_Turner » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:17 pm

Jeff wrote:What is the best app for making a movie of a video game in OS X? Free would be a plus. :)
Is this a hint?
Am I now allowed to throw a nervous fit of excitement?
I generally hear a lot about the aforementioned "Snapz Pro", and while popularity does not equate quality, the former is usually a good indicator of the latter.
zatoichi wrote:I've never found a good one.
This is a rather unhelpful post as it wasn't even an answer to the question he asked. He asked which was the best.

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Re: Capturing movies in OS X

Post by zatoichi » Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:52 pm

Renegade_Turner wrote:
Jeff wrote:What is the best app for making a movie of a video game in OS X? Free would be a plus. :)
Is this a hint?
Am I now allowed to throw a nervous fit of excitement?
I generally hear a lot about the aforementioned "Snapz Pro", and while popularity does not equate quality, the former is usually a good indicator of the latter.
zatoichi wrote:I've never found a good one.
This is a rather unhelpful post as it wasn't even an answer to the question he asked. He asked which was the best.
This is a rather unhelpful post, as you are a jackass. No offense intended.

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Renegade_Turner
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Re: Capturing movies in OS X

Post by Renegade_Turner » Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:29 pm

zatoichi wrote:
Renegade_Turner wrote:
Jeff wrote:What is the best app for making a movie of a video game in OS X? Free would be a plus. :)
Is this a hint?
Am I now allowed to throw a nervous fit of excitement?
I generally hear a lot about the aforementioned "Snapz Pro", and while popularity does not equate quality, the former is usually a good indicator of the latter.
zatoichi wrote:I've never found a good one.
This is a rather unhelpful post as it wasn't even an answer to the question he asked. He asked which was the best.
This is a rather unhelpful post, as you are a jackass. No offense intended.
Yeah hey go fuck yourself you prick.

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Count Roland
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Post by Count Roland » Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:04 am

back on topic or something similar lol
I can't help at all though I can't help but wonder what you need it for... lol this was a useless topic as i am useless

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Makrond
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Post by Makrond » Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:00 pm

Hahaha...

I just checked the SnagIt website to see if they made a Mac version... turns out TechSmith (the makers of SnagIt) also make Jing.

So, you might want to try it - if it's anything like SnagIt it should be good enough for what you want. *Reads original post*

OMFGZ *spasms with excitement*

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Re: Capturing movies in OS X

Post by zatoichi » Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:10 pm

Renegade_Turner wrote:
zatoichi wrote:
Renegade_Turner wrote: Is this a hint?
Am I now allowed to throw a nervous fit of excitement?
I generally hear a lot about the aforementioned "Snapz Pro", and while popularity does not equate quality, the former is usually a good indicator of the latter.
This is a rather unhelpful post as it wasn't even an answer to the question he asked. He asked which was the best.
This is a rather unhelpful post, as you are a jackass. No offense intended.
Oh gramps, you always make me lol.
Yeah hey go fuck yourself you prick.

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