How to Make FLV videos of UO for Youtube (For $0!)

[the bazookas]

My investigation into this topic (and this post) was prompted by
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=34698
which you should DEFINITELY check out so you know the context of what I post in this guide:

Thought I'd post an update on what I've found out regarding the best combination FREE screen recording / editing software that I've found. There's a lot of crap out there, and I've tried it... and it tastes TERRIBLE... but here's what I learned (aside from "don't eat crap"):

As I've previously described, BB FlashBack Express--which you can get at:
http://download.cnet.com/BB-FlashBack-E ... 65043.html
appears to be the best free screen recording software that I found (I've only messed with CamStudio briefly, and was not impressed--the SWF output seems totally bugged out (it seems to do fine with AVI, but when I've uploaded AVI video to Youtube, it seems to make smaller text much more difficult to read in comparison to FLV's I've uploaded)--although anybody who has seen good results in using CamStudio with the end result being quality youtube videos INCLUDING small text, let me know). All of the other free screen recording software I've tried was either inoperational, did not support FLV output, did not give you much control over how you want the video (fps, etc), or totally screwed up the video colors and stuff. Again, if you use this software, be sure to go and change to MPEG if you are recording a game like UO as described in a previous reply I made to the original thread (above), otherwise it will not work well at all (NOTE that this is, IN FACT, a feature, because the default recording mode is a lossless "GDI mode" for recording "normal applications" where there is little motion. This means it replicates exactly what you see on your screen... which is feasible (even with small file size) if things aren't changing very much... however, you try to do that with a moving game like UO, and it will be pretty terrible--so switch over to MPEG mode, where it compresses the images such that you lose some quality, but the file size is still reasonable and your processor can handle the recording process without tons of overhead).

The only "editing" you can do of your video with BB FlashBack Express (the free version, that is) is deciding which frames you export to FLV (i.e. trimming the beginning or end).

I've tried several free video editing programs, in an attempt to find a direct FLV editor (honestly, I was only looking for cutting out frames, joining different FLV clips together, and possibly adding a different sound track). Almost all of those that I found either added watermarks, didn't work with FLV's, or appeared (on the surface) to be EXACTLY what I was looking for... except the output FLV's sound seemed like it was put through a digital blender or the FLV itself was corrupted in some way (although the video was in tact for a couple of these programs)...
The only one that I've found that appears to work for all of those tasks is Moyea FLV Editor Lite
http://download.cnet.com/Moyea-FLV-Edit ... 12717.html
The user reviews made it sound pretty bad, but the bad reviews seem quite unfounded after having tried it--maybe it was a different version they were reviewing? The fact that you can add mp3 audio files is pretty cool. It's a little difficult to cut the clip up and drag peices around, but it... well.. it actually works, so that's a big plus.

In summary, BB Flashback Express in combination with Moyea FLV Editor Lite (and Audacity--a free open source sound editing program--if you want to do some real audio editing) seems like your best choice for 100% free screen capture and simple editing. If I were really serious with making video tutorials and what-not, I might just go for the $199 BB Flashback Professional edition, since it seems to combine all three of these programs into one... For now, however, I'm going to use these three free programs combined.

Hope this is helpful to everybody interested in this type of thing.

I want to see some great UOSA youtube videos!

[the bazookas]

I thought I'd add this (probably) final note... I thought I'd let you know what to expect as far as Youtube Uploading and FLV file sizes:

• I had a 37 minute video that was 228MB
• I had a 48 minute video that was 160MB (I may have changed the "quality" parameter between videos, but I don't remember. I'm certain, however the file size depends not only on the length of the video, but how much motion /
  change there is in the video).
• These videos were 800 x 640 (EDIT: This is NOT an optimal size--See section below for Optimal screen resolutions... and also, don't use Windowed resolution, use Region and set the resolution specifically that way), If you took a "Windowed" video of your UO window while Razor has the "Force game size" to some large number (which lets you see more), the file size will be quite a bit larger... In fact, it might be best (assuming you don't miss out on what's going on) to "Force game size" to something like 640 x 480 for the purposes of recording a packet video playback... i haven't tried that, but if the files are too big for you to to reasonably upload, it might be worth looking into.
• Youtube limit is currently 2GB per video (I believe).
• Youtube has a 15-minute time limit on a clip UNLESS you specifically register to add longer videos. You must provide a cell phone number so they can text you a confirmation code in order to do this (I think this is to get a real life connection to you in case you upload Movies and what-not). IF you upload a video that is longer than 15 minutes BEFORE you register to add longer ones, you WILL have to upload it again (it doesn't store it).

===============================
How long does it take to upload such a video?

Uploading a video to Youtube takes quite some time, especially if you have a connection with a slow upload speed (upload speeds are generally slower than download speeds for most residential connections... e.g. the fastest DSL connection available in my area is 6Mbps download and 512kbps upload). You might leave it running all night since, at least in my experience, it eats up all my bandwidth such that doing other things while uploading on my connection is impossible (I have DSL with the smallest bandwidth possible).

The youtube uploading page is friendly-looking enough, but be aware that (in my experience) the upload bar will either

• Quickly get to 100% uploaded even though I know that's impossible... then it will (predictably) sit there for a long long time while it REALLY uploads 100% of the file.
• Get stuck at some random number (either in the "Uploading" or "Processing" phase) like 37% or something.

When it gets "stuck", it's actually still working, so don't close it down. Remember, it takes a long time...

As an example, and since you all probably don't do enough math:

If your upload speed is 512kpbs (which is the fastest residential DSL that AT&T offers)...
(512 kbit / second) / (8 kbits / kByte) = 64 kBytes / second upload

Uploading a 228MB video ~ 228,000 kB (note that there are actually 1024kB in a MB... figure that one out)
=>228,000 kB / (64 kB / second) = 3563 seconds (or ~ 1 hour)

That's with the fastest DSL connection I can get and assuming that I maintain my maximum upload speed.

===============================
NEW EDIT: Frames per second (fps), Optimal resolution, and FLV "Quality"
Frames per second:
After playing with the fps during recording, I've decided you should record (and export to FLV, of course) with at LEAST 10fps (8fps is definitely choppy). 12fps looks good too. The difference in file sizes b/w 10 and 12? It actually wasn't a huge difference (which makes sense because a lot of frames are repeats, and where there is no motion, video compression works great)--if I remember correctly, it was something like the difference between 25MB and 20MB for a 2 minute video b/w 10fps and 12fps.

Optimal Resolution:
Youtube recommends that you upload your files in one of the following resolutions (which is based on the size of their video players--a 16x9 aspect ratio):
640 x 360 (small video player)
854 x 480 (large video player)
1280 x 720 (HD setting... improves)

Obviously you want to replicate these as closely as possible so Youtube doesn't squash your video in any direction...
HOWEVER I have discovered that BB Flashback screen recording software limits your FLV export to resolutions that are multiples of 16, which means the best resolutions to RECORD your video at (select the "Region" recording option instead of "Window" or "Full Screen" and set the resolution... also you can "Force Game Size" in Razor to these resolutions) is
640 x 352
848 x 480
1280 x 720 (spot on for this resolution)
Youtube automatically adds in the missing rows with black, so it still looks pretty good (see example #4 below)... These resolutions I recommend are slightly lower in one dimension, because I think it's definitely best that Youtube does not have to squash your video in ANY direction for it to fit in the video player (you lose quality any time you have to do that).

I recorded the Mikel123's ancient wyrm rpv (from viewtopic.php?f=25&t=15253) last night using screen capture (at different game window sizes) and then exported it using a variety of quality settings. For demonstration purposes, I've posted them on Youtube as "unlisted" which means you can find it only if you know the URL (I'll make a final video to post as "public").

ALL of these videos were recorded with BB Flashback in MPEG mode (not GDI mode) with 100% quality as I described (THEN, I changed the quality when I exported the FLVs to see what difference it makes). Youtube recommends that you upload the highest quality possible, and then Youtube compresses it to a set quality when you upload it (which you cannot control). HOWEVER, it significantly decreases the file size to export the FLV to, say, 50% or 70% Quality (it is HALF as big even at 70%) so your uploads take less time. What difference does it make in image quality? I took this picture to demonstrate.

Really it doesn't appear to make a huge difference b/w 50% and 100% after Youtube has had its way with your video (since it obviously compresses it to a lower quality anyway). However, it appears that the uploaded 100% quality video has better texture detail still (particularly if the screen has stopped any motion for a moment). So, if bandwidth isn't an issue for you, choose the 100% FLV export quality.
The 0% quality FLV exports are definitely a lot worse than the 50% or 100%, so don't choose that.... you'll embarrass yourself and UO.

Example Videos (all recorded at 10fps)
#1: RECORDED AT 640x360 (NOTE: I didn't notice it in BB Flashback's FLV export window when I exported this, but it automatically changed it to 640 x 368, adding white bars on the bottom AND THEN Youtube added the black bars on each side because it had to squash the video's width to keep the aspect ratio while fitting the extra 8 vertical pixels... this is why you should record AND export at 640x352 if that's your desired resolution--SEE EXAMPLE#4...)

• 100% FLV Quality (28MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T0EAUll0p8
• 70% FLV Quality (13.5MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5WZd9obC5Q
• 50% FLV Quality (10MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykrHxC5uo20
• 0% FLV Quality (6.5MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9NwBunBqUM

#2: RECORDED AT 853x480 (NOTE: As above, BB Flashback changed it to 864 x 480, adding white bars on both sides... you should record AND export at 848x480)

• 100% FLV Quality (30MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rGJgWmsQ70
• 50% FLV Quality (11MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IevNqH6mHSI
• 0% FLV Quality (7MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyViuQkIE48

#3: RECORDED AT 1280x720 (You will notice there is no black or white added b/c this is a resolution that BB Flashback exports matches the Youtube 1280x720... HOWEVER, for my 2 year old fairly low-end Dell laptop, recording at this resolution led to some jumpy behavior... if you have a higher-end PC, you might be able to get away with it)

• 100% FLV Quality (42MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CfC8eeG2BM
• 50% FLV Quality (15MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWHP_eMs0Mo
• 0% FLV Quality (9MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzZjwsr1EzY

#4 RECORDED AT 640x352 (You will notice a small black line--this was added by Youtube automatically as previously described--but it definitely beats the video recorded at 640x360, which BB Flashback exported to 640x368 with a white edge).

• 100% FLV Quality (this is a SHORTENED version: 8MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBeqCmdMQVQ
• 50% FLV Quality (this is a SHORTENED version: 2.6MB) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q470qw_yN_g

[son]

so you got any videos for us???

[Roser]

1337

[the bazookas]

so you got any videos for us???

All in good time I'm not sure that what I have done so far is worth watching--mostly just figuring things out. There are some .rpv's I'm going to try to record real soon, though. They should be pretty good

[son]

I wana see some killer snipes

[the bazookas]

Edited my (not so) "final" note (second post above) and added some VERY important details regarding fps, resolution, and FLV quality. This should save you quite a few headaches if you are trying to make videos for Youtube using the method I described in this guide (and there are some good examples and explanations posted for you to see some possible results).

[Sandro]

I can possibly come up with some pvp videos if they'll actually be used.

[the bazookas]

I can possibly come up with some pvp videos if they'll actually be used.

Some pvp videos would be cool... but I'm somewhat confused regarding what you mean by "if they'll actually be used". Are you asking whether people would be interested in such a video?

[Light Shade]

I need to start tinkering around with this stuff if I find the time.

As far as Sandro saying if they'd be used, perhaps he meant someone putting them together for an advertisement video on YouTube for the shard? I think if we got a lot of people submitting videos and someone spliced them together with some music it'd be pretty sweet.

-L/S

[Sandro]

As far as Sandro saying if they'd be used, perhaps he meant someone putting them together for an advertisement video on YouTube for the shard?

That is what I meant.

Putting them on the forums here, or whatever, doesn't really help advertise any as its still only the people who already know about the site/server who are going to see them.

[son]

Great job