[OS X] Recording the Mac game I am playing using my Mac.

JI7 · Nov 22, 2012, 07:07 PM

I'm trying to record gameplay of Halo CE universal binary using iShow U HD. I have noticed that all the videos I have recorded so far are quite jittery. The game settings allow me to turn vsync on which I have done so I don't think its a frame rate issue. In any case, the game is not jittery whilst playing it. It is only the output, the video that is. Is this because the mac is having to run the video game software at the same time it is running iShow U to record the screen? Is it simply a matter of too much going on for my 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual Core processors? If not, what can I do to ensure smooth video playback? Any suggestions would be welcome.

ChrisMan287 · Nov 22, 2012, 07:13 PM

Same thing happens on my G4 using Screenflow

cluthz · Nov 23, 2012, 04:44 AM

It might be settings.

Remember videos for youtube is 30 fps, so set 30 fps in app and try lock the game to 30 fps if possible.

antonis · Nov 23, 2012, 05:53 AM

I hope I'm wrong but I don't think you can do much. I've tried several utilities myself in order to record gameplay, but I find the hard disk speed to be the real bottleneck for the job.

I don't think that a modern cpu would have any problems to encode the video while you play, but the amount of data the disk has to write constantly, is the real reason for the jittering.

Perhaps things would be better if a SSD was used. You could also try and lowering the resolution (or play in windowed mode smaller than the screen) in order to reduce the megabytes per second that need to be written. Locking to 30 fps as suggested above might also help a bit.

MacGamerHQ · Nov 23, 2012, 06:05 AM

Hey,

I too have been looking for the best solution to record gameplay.

I have used iShowU Pro, ScreenFlow and Mactasia.

My initial thoughts:
- ScreenFlow seems to perform "slightly" better
- The resolution makes a huge difference, for youtube for example, 720p is good enough
- You will never have the same performance between playing while recording and just playing.

Cheers

JI7 · Nov 23, 2012, 11:19 AM

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will try a few things and if I still have no success then I will be resigned to use them as they are. Cheers.

Nov 22, 2012, 07:07 PM	#1
JI7 macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2008	Recording the Mac game I am playing using my Mac. I'm trying to record gameplay of Halo CE universal binary using iShow U HD. I have noticed that all the videos I have recorded so far are quite jittery. The game settings allow me to turn vsync on which I have done so I don't think its a frame rate issue. In any case, the game is not jittery whilst playing it. It is only the output, the video that is. Is this because the mac is having to run the video game software at the same time it is running iShow U to record the screen? Is it simply a matter of too much going on for my 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual Core processors? If not, what can I do to ensure smooth video playback? Any suggestions would be welcome.
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Nov 22, 2012, 07:13 PM	#2
ChrisMan287 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NY.	Same thing happens on my G4 using Screenflow __________________ 15" PowerBook G4, 1.67GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HD ; 16GB iPad2.
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Nov 23, 2012, 04:44 AM	#3
cluthz macrumors 68030 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Norway	It might be settings. Remember videos for youtube is 30 fps, so set 30 fps in app and try lock the game to 30 fps if possible. __________________ -tb MacBook Air 13" i5 osx10.7.5 HackPro 4.3GHz, 16GB RAM, GTX660OC, 2x OCZ Vertex 3, win7+osx10.8.3
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Nov 23, 2012, 06:05 AM	#5
MacGamerHQ macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Lyon, France	Hey, I too have been looking for the best solution to record gameplay. I have used iShowU Pro, ScreenFlow and Mactasia. My initial thoughts: - ScreenFlow seems to perform "slightly" better - The resolution makes a huge difference, for youtube for example, 720p is good enough - You will never have the same performance between playing while recording and just playing. Cheers __________________ MacGamerHQ.com: Mac games lastest news and reviews Follow Mac Gamer HQ @MacGamerHQ
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Nov 23, 2012, 05:53 AM	#4
antonis macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2011	I hope I'm wrong but I don't think you can do much. I've tried several utilities myself in order to record gameplay, but I find the hard disk speed to be the real bottleneck for the job. I don't think that a modern cpu would have any problems to encode the video while you play, but the amount of data the disk has to write constantly, is the real reason for the jittering. Perhaps things would be better if a SSD was used. You could also try and lowering the resolution (or play in windowed mode smaller than the screen) in order to reduce the megabytes per second that need to be written. Locking to 30 fps as suggested above might also help a bit.
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 11:19 AM	#6
JI7 Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2008	Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will try a few things and if I still have no success then I will be resigned to use them as they are. Cheers.
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