Thursday, September 10, 2015
By: Matthew Doucette
(To see how I record my old-school PC games , please see How I Record Old-School Low-Res Gameplay on PC.)
A short article about how I record my console gameplay footage. See Forza 6 Demo Gameplay for example footage.
How I Record Gameplay Footage:
(Updated 2019-FEB-25.)
Hardware Requirements:
- Gaming console (or PC).
- OLD: Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket: No delay pass through; Saves to USB or PC; No PC required; HDMI/Component supports retro consoles; 720p60fps or 1080p30fps.
- NEW: Hauppauge HD PVR 60 Gaming Edition: No delay pass through; Saves to PC only; HDMI only (does not support retro consoles); 1080p60fps.
Software Requirements:
- Hauppauge Capture: free.
Process:
- Install hardward and software listed above.
- Set up Hauppauge Capture:
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- Under "Capture", disable "SkipBack", unless you wish to use it.
- Under "Capture", set "Video Quality" to maximum value.
- Under "Capture", adjust volumes
-
- Note: I have had trouble making sure the volume is loud enough. The "Game" volume is sometimes disabled from being modified if you do not have a microphone connected. I did not fully solve this issue, even after speaking with Hauppauge tech support at length. Feel free to contact me and let me know if you run into the same issue and solve it.
- Under "Settings", set output folders
- Use Hauppauge HD PVR to capture a .MP4 (H.264 MPEG-4 AVC) video file onto my USB (only for Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket) or PC.
- Upload to YouTube.
- Done!
(P.S. For my professional trailer footage of my games, I use a more complicated and professional setup, using a Blackmagic Intensity Pro capture card.)
What If The Video Is Split Into 2GB File "Chunks"?
This is only for the Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket, as only it records to USB:
If you are getting 2GB files, then there are two things that cause this:
- Your USB drive is formated in FAT32; Reformat it in NTFS to allow files of greater than 2GB in size
- Your HD PVR Rocket needs a firmware update (to greater than 0.37); 0.43 is out now.
You must fix both!
P.S. The issue with 2GB files is 32-bit code. 32-bit pointers can only address up to 4GB of data. Not sure why the limit is 2GB filesize instead of 4GB. Likely the earlier firmware used 32-bit pointers for filewriting and FAT32 definitely did. I f you know more, please let me know.
2016-DEC-30 Update:
I now have a Hauppauge HD PVR 60 Gaming Edition, thanks to Jason Doucette who bought it for me as a Christmas gift. The benefites over the Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket is the ability to record 1080p60fps (rather than only 30fps). The con is that it only records HDMI, which prevents recording of retro consoles.
That is all!
Details will be added here as I know become aware of them.
About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.