Recording Software

[SSG (Ret) McAllister]

I've decided I'm going to attempt to get into recording gameplay and operations and things and was wondering about what software I should use for recording video and audio as well as editing video.

For video I have shadowplay at the moment and it seems to work really well.  My main concern is keeping file sizes reasonable.  I plan on recording operations and cutting most of it down to 20-30 minute videos.  I want to be able to upload multiple videos a month without using a lot of bandwidth if I can help it.  So I'm looking for a compromise between video quality as well as size.  Raw video file size is not a problem, it's the final product that I will have to upload that I wish to be small.

For audio I'm wondering about finding a program that uses multiple push to talk buttons or something where I can control when it records my voice.  I'd like to be able to record my voice separately so that I can edit it if needed.  Right now I've done some tests with shadowplays ingame and microphone recording and it seems to work well, however if I needed to edit my own voice for any reason I don't think I can.

For editing purposes I have access to Windows Movie Maker.  I'm no stranger to editing software however I would not like to spend any money if possible.  Will WMM be fine for what I need or is there any suggestions for this?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

[M. Marshall]

Excuse me in advance if im missing anything major, please correct me but I am pretty sure this is some valuable info which I helped someone out with in the past:

There are multiple sorts of software, very diverse in their core actually, with of-course similar functions that work with the usual .avi/.mp4/.wmv file types that most editing software uses.
Most important however is the codec (which is recommended to be .h264, perhaps even .h265 shortly or Lossless), which is the one that makes the files big(ger) and smal(ler).

For example, if your using the same bit rate, 6 Target, 8 Max( referred to as sort of a Megabite per second ) for 2 of the same videos, but 1 of them uses the avi file type and the other .mp4 you would commonly find that .AVI creates much bigger file sizes from my own experience over the years.

Now lets assume you are recording and exporting in Coded h264 and file type .mp4:

Most commonly used recording software for gaming to my knowledge:
Note: As for which program is ''best'' I can only give my own opinion, cause theres so much different variables that may ultimately decide your personal choice.

Fraps (Supports Multi-Track, Performance Affecting, Watermark @ Trial)
Dxtory( Supports Multi-Track, Performance Affecting)
Shadowplay( Least performance affecting, Free, NO Multi-Track
Mirillis Action!( Supports Multi-Track, Minor Performance Affecting, Watermark @ trial)
Open Broadcast Software (For streaming & Recording, GPU heavy)
_{Credits to Egedi for OBS reminder}

As for Shadowplay and its missing Multi-Track option, I found a tutorial that creates this option, but its not as good as a integrated
one: Tutorial HERE.

Recording Software:

I have used many different editing suites in my time as a video/motion editor and these are the ones that are most easy to get into for gaming related content. Some of these have free trials, non-commercial licenses or are not free at all.

More Advanced:
Adobe Premiere Pro( works well with other Adobe applications )
Sony Vegas Pro ( Works well with all kinds of file types that other apps cant open )
Final Cut Pro ( comparable to Premiere Pro, mostly used by Apple users)


Basic software:
Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
iMovie(Apple)

I do NOT recommend any of the basic software, because as you mentioned, you are using multi tracks and codecs, and I think these two programs are shit with both of them. They function for the absolute basics, and I quickly find myself annoyed by their limited functionality.

_{Hope I helped}

[Egedi]

Try Open Broadcaster, easy to use, free. 

[TSgt Powers]

Shadow play works the best most of the time

[Parsons]

Also don't forget Audacity for Voice Recording.  Though many refer to it as crap, I have actually found many uses for it.  For example, its very easy to edit parts out where you have background noise and whatever, and just insert silence in its place.  You also have many options to add effects and other things to make your voice sound louder, more dynamic, as well as a variety of functions to take out other miscellaneous background noises.  Before I fixed my microphone, my voice on recordings always sounded very scratchy and full of static, but with a few of the effects in Audacity, I was able to take that out and actually edit the microphone settings to help it.  Just a thought.  I don't use it much now that I have a USB Preamp and actual mic, but it was useful for me for a time.

[SPC (Ret) Ciancio]

<a href="//www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVzycg3Q1Rc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVzycg3Q1Rc</a>

Do everything he says except using the video FX "levels" in sony vegas pro. It may work for other games but for arma is gets way too washed out. Sony vegas pro 12 is no good. But sony vegas pro 13 can easily be obtained.