Game recording and video encoding guides

Guides

• How Fraps works, and what it can still do

  Fraps shows a frame rate counter, logs benchmarks, takes screenshots and records video from DirectX and OpenGL games. What the free version limits, how registration works, and where it stops working.

  • 3 min read

• Fraps lag and fps drops while recording: causes and fixes

  Why recording with Fraps lowers the frame rate, how much disk speed it needs, and the settings that help: half-size, a lower movie frame rate, the frame rate lock and a separate drive.

  • 3 min read

• Fraps errors and crashes: error 8, DirectX errors and games it won't record

  What to try when Fraps shows error 8 or a DirectX error, crashes on start-up, ignores its hotkeys, shows its counter on recordings, or won't record a game.

  • 3 min read

• Reading Fraps benchmark files: fps, frametimes and minmaxavg

  What the three CSV files from a Fraps benchmark contain, how to turn frame times into stutter you can see, and the free FRAFS Bench Viewer that graphs them.

  • 2 min read

• Fraps download: the official installer, the free version and registering

  Where to download Fraps safely, what the free version records, what $37 registration adds, how to get the registered version from the members area, and which Windows versions Beepa lists.

  • 2 min read

• Why game recordings need encoding before you keep or upload them

  Game recorders write huge, lightly compressed files. What encoding does, how much it saves, and why the result plays better than the original.

  • 1 min read

• Fraps splits recordings at 4 GB: why, and how to join the files

  Why Fraps used to split recordings into 4 GB files, how to record one large file instead, and how to join split files with ffmpeg or VirtualDub without re-encoding.

  • 2 min read

• No sound, no microphone, or game too loud: fixing recording audio

  Why a game recording has no sound or no microphone, how to record game audio and your voice together, and why separate audio tracks fix a game that drowns out commentary.

  • 3 min read

• Recording the Windows desktop: why Fraps can't on Windows 8 and later

  Fraps records the desktop only on Vista and Windows 7 with Aero on. What to use instead on Windows 8, 10 and 11: Snipping Tool, OBS Studio and the Xbox Game Bar's limits.

  • 1 min read

• Fraps vs Dxtory, MSI Afterburner and OBS: which recorder to use now

  How Fraps compares with Dxtory, MSI Afterburner's RivaTuner capture and OBS Studio: codecs, separate audio tracks, file sizes and which ones are still updated.

  • 2 min read

• OBS recording settings for game footage

  The OBS Studio recording settings that matter for games: hardware encoder, quality-based rate control at 16 to 23, MKV or hybrid MP4, and separate audio tracks.

  • 1 min read

• VirtualDub guide: opening, cutting and saving game recordings

  How to use VirtualDub and VirtualDub2 with game recordings: opening Fraps AVIs, cutting, the four processing modes, lossless codecs, and when to use VirtualDub2 instead.

  • 1 min read

• VirtualDub to MP4 with x264: two ways

  Save an MP4 from VirtualDub: with VirtualDub2's built-in FFmpeg encoders, or by sending video from VirtualDub 1.10 to command-line x264 and an AAC encoder. Settings for game footage.

  • 2 min read

• Washed-out, dark or tinted video after encoding: fixing colour range

  Why encoded game footage looks faded, too dark or slightly off in colour: full versus limited range, and BT.601 versus BT.709. How to convert and flag the range with ffmpeg.

  • 2 min read

• YouTube upload settings for game footage

  YouTube's recommended upload encoding settings: MP4, H.264 High profile, 4:2:0, bitrates for 1080p, 1440p and 4K at 30 and 60 fps, AAC audio at 48 kHz, and what to do about quality loss.

  • 2 min read

• x264 vs x265: file size, quality and which CRF to use

  x265 (HEVC) gives about the same quality as x264 (H.264) in roughly half the file size, at the cost of encoding time and compatibility. How CRF works in each and which numbers match.

  • 2 min read

• Editing Fraps footage in Vegas, Premiere and Movie Maker

  Why video editors refuse or stutter on Fraps AVIs, how to convert them to a lossless or editing-friendly file first, and render settings for game videos.

  • 1 min read

• Compressing and cutting video with Avidemux

  Avidemux is a free editor for cutting, filtering and encoding. How to cut without re-encoding, why cuts should land on keyframes, and settings for compressing game footage to MP4.

  • 2 min read

• 30 fps or 29.97? Frame rates for game recordings

  Why 29.97 fps exists, when to use 30, 60, 25 or 50 fps for game footage, and why you should keep the recording's own frame rate when you encode and upload.

  • 1 min read

• Mixing commentary and game sound in Audacity

  How to balance voice and game audio for commentary videos in Audacity: noise reduction, compression, loudness normalization and exporting for YouTube.

  • 2 min read

• Adding subtitles to a video: SRT files, Subtitle Edit and ffmpeg

  How to make an SRT subtitle file, time it with Subtitle Edit, and either burn the subtitles into the picture or add them as a track that viewers can turn off.

  • 2 min read