Best way to capture gameplay feed?

[g35er]

Has anyone worked on capturing console gameplay movies? Do you have a recommended setup, including whatever capture cards and connectors? I want to capture 360/PS3 gameplay footage to wmv or mgp movies. I can spend a few hundred on it if need be.

 

[Bohdy]

Probably a good idea to start off at the SDA Wiki: http://speeddemosarchive.com/kb/index.php/Main_Page

 

[g35er]

Probably a good idea to start off at the SDA Wiki: http://speeddemosarchive.com/kb/index.php/Main_Page

Thanks for the info. BTW, after reading that site, capturing Hi-def seems to be virtually impossible or cost prohibitive at the moment. Too bad.

 

[London Geezer]

If you want to capture at SD resolutions, lots of cheap video cards have Video In ports (usually S-Video).

HD... forget it...

 

["Nerve-Damage"]

Off-topic for a moment

PS3 HD capture to improve screenshots, in-game footage

Digital Foundry Ltd has announced an HDMI video capture product for PlayStation 3, to be used by developers, publishers and other businesses via service hire or product license.

"Digital Foundry's HD capture technology was built from the ground up to support both high-end analogue and pure digital sources," says Richard Leadbetter, company director. "PlayStation 3 is the first games console to be launched that allows for a straight digital transfer from the host machine, and the result is a level of visual fidelity we've only witnessed from ultra high-end PC video cards."

g35er if you had the cash....

 

[inefficient]

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/index.asp

Digital Video Input 1 x HDMI Input
Digital Video Output 1 x HDMI Output
Support HDMI formats 525 NTSC, 625 PAL, 720HD and 1080HD switchable
HDMI Audio Input 2 Channels
HDMI Audio Output 2 Channels

HD Format Support 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 720p50, 720p59.94
SD Format Support 625/25 PAL, 525/29.97 NTSC
HDMI Video Sampling 4:2:2
HDMI Color Precision 4:2:2
HDMI Color Space YUV 4:2:2
HDMI Audio Sampling Television standard sample rate of 48 kHz and 24 bit
Card type PCI Express 1 lane, compatible with 1,4,8,16 lane PCIe slots

The HDMI standard can include copy protected encryption, such as DVD players. The Intensity card therefore will NOT capture from copy protected HDMI sources. Always confirm copyright ownership before capture or distribution of content. Intensity media file formats are fully compatible with DeckLink and Multibridge capture cards.

Compatible with Microsoft Windows™ and Apple Intel based Mac Pro systems.
Apple Power PC systems not yet supported.

 

[Bohdy]

The HDMI standard can include copy protected encryption, such as DVD players. The Intensity card therefore will NOT capture from copy protected HDMI sources.

Well that makes it useless for PS3 capture then...

 

[inefficient]

Well that makes it useless for PS3 capture then...

No PS3 gameplay video out is not copy protected with encryption. It should work.

They have another model that accepts HD inputs via component but its nearly a grand.

 

[Bohdy]

No PS3 gameplay video out is not copy protected with encryption. It should work.

I've heard from various people on AVS that even game output over HDMI is using HDCP.

 

[inefficient]

I thought it would only require HDCP when playing back a movie. If it does not work the OP could buy the $995 model that accepts component inputs.

 

[Raze]

Here's a UK supplier for it: http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/public/view_item_cat.php?catalogue_number=blackmagic_intensity

Retailing at £172

If you get it (or settle with something else) please keep us updated on how you get on!

 

[Raze]

Just found it cheaper here: http://www.planetdv.net/Content/Video_Editing_Cards/Blackmagic_Design.asp

£163

 

[Huh?]

Digital VCR's have been capturing @ 1080i and displaying @ 1080i for years, and so have Mac's.

 

[grandmaster]

The Blackmagic cards will not work with PS3, even if you defeat HDCP.

They only capture YPrPb 4:2:2 HDMI output. The PS3 uses the 24-bit RGB protocol.

The retail PS3 has HDCP enabled at all times, even for gameplay. The debug unit has the facility to turn off HDCP (but has no Blu-ray movie playback).

Right now, the system mentioned earlier - Digital Foundry HD - is the only system that will capture directly from a debug PS3.

 

[Legend]

I don't know if it is good enough for you, but I'm a little guy and I use Fraps ( http://www.fraps.com/ ). don't laugh at me.

 

[grandmaster]

FRAPS is perfectly fine for capturing PC software, but you're not going to get very far trying to get gameplay footage of the PS3!

I should note that as well as Digital Foundry HD there is another way to capture - use a Gefen DVI to HD-SDI converter (cost: £3,000) and one of the Blackmagic or AJA cards that has an HD-SDI input. Couple that with an enormous RAID array and an extremely powerful PC and you're sorted.

I should declare my interest here and say that I am the developer of Digital Foundry HD, but my info on the alternatives (including Intensity being pretty much worthless) is fully on the level.

 

[Rolf N]

Has anyone worked on capturing console gameplay movies? Do you have a recommended setup, including whatever capture cards and connectors? I want to capture 360/PS3 gameplay footage to wmv or mgp movies. I can spend a few hundred on it if need be.

It's surprisingly hard.
Basically get a capture card (a graphics card with Vivo works, too) and Virtual Dub. The devil is in the details however. You should contemplate whether or not SD resolutions would be sufficient for your purposes. Most capture cards have composite and s-video inputs, so if you are willing to capture your console output from one of these connection types, things will get considerably more affordable.

I have opened another thread that's basically the same topic but with a focus on SD signals, still-screen capture and solving the interlacing problems.

I have ordered a card with a Bt878 chipset (Hauppauge Impact something) in an attempt to do better than my Radeon 9200 Vivo's capturing functionality. I can't say anything about its quality before having tested it, so this is explicitly not a recommendation. The purchase was totally a shot in the dark.

The point-camera-at-tv technique sometimes produces quite acceptable results though, and if you already have all the required parts (non-CRT display, digital camera and a stand), i'd encourage you to try. How about this:

(image chosen because it's a 60fps game in a 60Hz interlaced format, which is a PITA to capture correctly)
And I didn't try very hard there, as you see I didn't correct the perspective distortion. I just batch-cropped everything I shot and ended up "working" on that image for maybe 20 seconds. A good graphics wrangler could certainly do much better.

 

[grandmaster]

Digital Foundry HD captures:

Ridge Racer 7 (1080p):
Shot1
Shot2

Other Shots
Resistance (720p)
Lost Planet (720p)
Dead or Alive 4 (720p)

PS3 captures taken from HDMI, Xbox 360 from VGA.

 

[grandmaster]

Bah, can't edit posts here. The correct link for Shot2 of Ridge Racer 7 is here.

 

[JBark]

I suppose a combo like this might work:
VGA/Component to HDMI (up to 1080p) ($199)
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=3569

Then feed it into that blackmagic HDMI input card. ($249)
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/

Won't be able to capture 1080p with the Intensity card, but it will do up to 1080i

Only thing I'm not sure about that Gefen converter is that it mentions HDCP on the box itself, but there's nothing in the manual about it. I can't imagine they would actually add HDCP when converting analog to hdmi? That wouldn't make any sense.

Edit (for about the 10th time):
Hmm, maybe that won't work, the whole YUV vs RGB crap? Somebody who knows more than me will have to figure it out.