Capturing VIDEO from computer - Is it possible?

Please Respond
Reeves
Posts: 257
Joined: Mon 08 May, 2006 19.59

Okay, you helped me capture sound from my PC, and I thank those who helped. However, now I'm trying to see if I can capture VIDEO this time, instead of filming my monitor with a camcorder. Is it possible?

Thanks
Reeves
Dr Lobster*
Posts: 2123
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2003 20.14

i'm not quite sure what you're asking:


do you want to capture video from an external source such as a video or sky box?

if so, you're going to need something "capture" the video with. you can get internal cards and external usb 2 "dongles". either are fairly inexpensive.

if you want to capture video from a camcorder, you can do this with a firewire connection. most modern pcs, laptops and cameras have one of these ports already, so all you need is a cable.

if, on the other hand you want to capture something that is happening on your pc screen and record it as a video file, you can do this with free software.

the windows media encoder http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... fault.mspx
can do this. it's fairly easy to use, can capture the whole screen, a region or the active window. it might not work with some types of applications and games which write directly to video memory and don't use the windows gdi.
User avatar
martindtanderson
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue 23 Dec, 2003 04.03
Location: London, UK
Contact:

google search camtasia
Image
johnnyboy
Posts: 838
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 14.57
Location: The Home of the Stottie

If, theoretically, someone wanted to capture a video from YouTube, how would one theoretically go about it?
James H
Posts: 1276
Joined: Tue 20 Jul, 2004 14.49
Location: In your endo

Are you using firefox, jb?
Reeves
Posts: 257
Joined: Mon 08 May, 2006 19.59

Dr Lob, like my last quetsion about recording sound form a PC, i am trying to capture video which is on my screen... i'm kind of in the situation that johnnyboy mentioned.

Thanks guys. I'll see what i can do.
johnnyboy
Posts: 838
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 14.57
Location: The Home of the Stottie

James H wrote:Are you using firefox, jb?
It just so happens that I am, James.

Could that present a theoretical solution?
James H
Posts: 1276
Joined: Tue 20 Jul, 2004 14.49
Location: In your endo

YES. It could.

This page gives you all the info you need to know on the VideoDownloader for Firefox - although it requires some Riva software installed as well. I use it quite a bit as it's all flash, goddammit.
johnnyboy
Posts: 838
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 14.57
Location: The Home of the Stottie

James H wrote:YES. It could.

This page gives you all the info you need to know on the VideoDownloader for Firefox - although it requires some Riva software installed as well. I use it quite a bit as it's all flash, goddammit.
I have downloaded that add-on, James, and restarted Firefox.

Theoretically, is there any particular bit of Riva software someone might need to take the process further on?
James H
Posts: 1276
Joined: Tue 20 Jul, 2004 14.49
Location: In your endo

Unless anything's changed, you'll need the Riva FLVPlayer, and the Riva FLV Encoder.

When saving videos from youtube, you need to follow the instructions from this flash tutorial:

http://videodownloader.net/help/vd04.htm
User avatar
Gavin Scott
Admin
Posts: 6442
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 13.16
Location: Edinburgh
Contact:

In my experience, the best way to capture video (or anything else) on your screen is to use a scan converter. This converts a VGA signal into an interlaced television signal which you can record like any other video signal. I use a DV recorder and a scan convertor together when I want to do this. Then I can capture the DV back to the pc in a format suitable for editing.

The benefit is the the pc only has to use the processor to play video, rather than playing and capturing at the same time.

I use a Coriogen scan converter, and it was worth every penny.
Please Respond