[Devil Master]

FRAPS is the most famous screen capture program, but it has the "slight" flaw that in order to use it without limitations, you either need to buy it or warez it. I don't like either of those options, so I need to know: what is a free alternative to FRAPS, that performs sufficiently well to capture gameplay footage?

I don't like Hypercam, because it installs browser hijacking toolbars along with itself.
I tried the video capture option in VirtualDub, and, while it captures the screen correctly in Windows XP, it only captures the mouse pointer on a black background in Windows 7 (could it be because my Windows 7 computer outputs video to an HDMI display?)

[Bloodshot]

I hear good things about DxTory, though I've never tried it myself.

[Devil Master]

Bloodshot, on 15 April 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

I hear good things about DxTory, though I've never tried it myself.

Not good. In the words of someone who tried it:

Quote

I would like to use Dxtory, but unfortunately it puts this huge a$$ logo watermark over the outputted videos.

Indeed, the official site has a "buy" page. So? Any free (either in the sense of freeware or FOSS) software that captures gameplay videos, does not put watermarks anywhere and does not install malware?

[Radar]

You should try Bandicam. It's like Fraps, except it actually works with every program. Sure, it has the watermark and 10 minute limit, but it's so awesome it may just inspire you to pay a few bucks to get the real deal.

[Hank]

http://www.youtube.c...&v=S1jfLW4huHA#!
this video was made with http://www.ezvid.com/ , it's free if you can accept the intro.

Yet, as Speedy just wrote, Bandicam is very good.

[Spirrwell]

Hank, on 15 April 2013 - 03:51 PM, said:

http://www.youtube.c...&v=S1jfLW4huHA#!
this video was made with http://www.ezvid.com/ , it's free if you can accept the intro.

Yet, as Speedy just wrote, Bandicam is very good.

Doesn't ezvid also force you to have music (chosen from a list of their's) with your video? It also apparently has a "silent machine" sound which is about the same as putting a fan to a microphone. It's stupid. I also believe it forces you to upload directly to YouTube. Screen recording is a major pain in the ass. I know this doesn't really help answer the question, but at least it's pertaining to the topic.

[Hank]

^ I agree 200%, but he wants it free.

I searched through duckduckgo, have not tried it, but
http://camstudio.org/

[Kathy]

I use cam studio for desktop capture. I doubt it can capture 3d, though.

[Bloodshot]

Camstudio can work alright for recording games, but only if you find the right codec for it. When I tried it with FF7, from what I can remember it required me to look around and try several different ones before I got it to work right.

[Fox]

Devil Master, on 15 April 2013 - 01:21 PM, said:

I don't like Hypercam, because it installs browser hijacking toolbars along with itself.

Why, are you using Internet Explorer?

[Person of Color]

Stop being a pussy and torrent it.

[High Treason]

MSI Afterburner has a video capture option, I used it once and it seemed to work just fine. Keep in mind the intended purpose of the program is for monitoring and overclocking your graphics card, so the first thing you'll get is a bunch of sliders and graphs, you might find them useful but if not, ignore them and move on to the video capture options.

[Devil Master]

Fox, on 15 April 2013 - 08:02 PM, said:

Why, are you using Internet Explorer?

No, I use Opera. But what browser I use makes no difference on whether it installs them or not.

[Fox]

I use Firefox and it seems that random programs have no power over it.

[Devil Master]

486DX2, on 15 April 2013 - 08:44 PM, said:

Stop being a pussy and torrent it.

You know what? I did. And got the proof of what I had already heard: FRAPS is a shitload of fuck. Not because of the interface (it's user-friendly), not because of compatibility (it captures Direct3D video), but because it makes games so jerky it makes you want to punch the screen. A 60 fps game runs at 15 fps when FRAPS is recording at 30 fps!

[Bloodshot]

Save it to a different HDD. That's what happens when you don't have a fast enough drive and you use the same one that you install and play stuff from

[Mikko]

High Treason, on 15 April 2013 - 11:07 PM, said:

MSI Afterburner has a video capture option, I used it once and it seemed to work just fine. Keep in mind the intended purpose of the program is for monitoring and overclocking your graphics card, so the first thing you'll get is a bunch of sliders and graphs, you might find them useful but if not, ignore them and move on to the video capture options.

Yeah, I've recorded BF3 videos with it and it works better than Fraps.

[Hank]

Devil Master, on 15 April 2013 - 01:21 PM, said:

I don't like Hypercam, because it installs browser hijacking toolbars along with itself.

I checked out this Hypercam (web site), and sure enough I get a build in adwarez, as per by my beloved Bitdefender. No matter which browser you use, you get nailed.
I said this many times before, but I learn so much from this forum, it's, well, no clue what it is, but certainly very good for me.

[Sangman]

Fraps is still the best one I used. Requires a LOT of HDD space though seeing as it's all uncompressed footage.

[uraganotkirki]

I have some decent experience with screen capturing and I do it almost every day, I've gone up to the point where I decided to buy a dedicated capture card to save me some trouble but that opened up a whole 'nother can of worms. So. Long-story short:

- free DirectX and OpenGL screen capturing

MSI Afterburner and Open Broadcaster Software are the most viable options

While free and functional, the downside is you have to spend a lot of time choosing the right codecs and making them work properly.
Fine-tuning quality VS performance by hand requires some in-depth knowledge about video codecs which I don't posses.

- non-free (Bandicam, FRAPS, Action!, dxtory and PlayClaw)


Top pick: Mirillis Action! It has minimum performance loss and keeps the filesize small as hell. Quality is stunning. It's definitely worth the asking price.

DXTORY and PLAYCLAW never worked properly for me, not as much as Action! did out of the box. Bandicam was decent.

I think these are the main software solutions to OpenGL and DirectX (basically game recording) available. Most of them can record the Windows Aero desktop as well. Pick your favorite acquisition method and find what works the best for you. :3

[Gamers]

Devil Master, on 15 April 2013 - 01:21 PM, said:

FRAPS is the most famous screen capture program, but it has the "slight" flaw that in order to use it without limitations, you either need to buy it or warez it. I don't like either of those options, so I need to know: what is a free alternative to FRAPS, that performs sufficiently well to capture gameplay footage?

I don't like Hypercam, because it installs browser hijacking toolbars along with itself.
I tried the video capture option in VirtualDub, and, while it captures the screen correctly in Windows XP, it only captures the mouse pointer on a black background in Windows 7 (could it be because my Windows 7 computer outputs video to an HDMI display?)

I used to have the same thoughts with you, after searching and searching and searching, I found it is a waste of time, there's no real free game video capture software available, so I chose a relatively cheap one SmartPixel, It costs me $6.9, so far I'm satisfied. You may take a look via http://www.smartpixel.com.

[Adam846]

Here's few free alternatives to Fraps
Fraps4alternatives