thegreatkazoo
Smash Master
As a newcomer onto the Smash community, I thought my first meaningful post would be on a subject we all deem useful: Recording your matches. While a good number of matches I have watched are easy on the eyes (and the ears), some are best described as train wrecks: Audio sync issues, interlacing out the @$$, and so forth. Hopefully, with this guide, the Smash community will make the transition to the newest (& best) capture device on the market: The Hauppauge HD Personal Video Recorder (hereinafter the Hauppauge HD PVR). The best news is the guide can also be applied to all next Gen systems, so you can record your matches in full HD anytime you want!
Here are some basics on the PVR:
• Costs around $200-250 as of 7/14/2009 (EBay may have it for less, be sure to check regularly for updates)
• The Current Model Number is 1212 (be sure to check on Hauppauge for the latest model number)
• Built-in hardware H.264 high definition encoder, for high performance, high quality TV recordings
• Component video input from most high definition cable TV and satellite TV receivers. Optical or stereo audio inputs.
• Record high definition video at up to 1080i resolution, 720p or VGA/D1
• Record at datarates from 1Mbs to 13.5Mbs, constant and Variable Bit Rate
• Make Blu-ray format AVCHD recordings, so you can burn your TV recordings onto a standard DVD disk (up to 2 hours of video at 5MBits/sec) and playback on Blu-ray DVD players
• Includes HD software video player, so you can playback recordings to your PC screen
• Audio / Video component video loop through to allow HD recording and viewing at the same time
• High Performance Noise Reduction Function
• NTSC,PAL and SECAM Support
• IR receiver for remote control
• IR Blaster to change the TV channels in your set top box
The PVR saves to three files, .ts, .m2ts, and .mp4. The .ts and .m2ts files can be burned to a Blu-ray disk (a Blu-ray disk can store approximately 2hours of 5 MBits/sec video). For the purposes of this guide, I will stick with the .mp4 files.
In order to record your matches in 720p, you will need:
1. A Wii or a Gamecube
2. A Set of Component Wii and/or Gamecube Component Cables (pictured Below)
3. The HD PVR
4. A Computer with @ least a dual core processor (as this comes to press, this includes the Athlon 64 family, Operon, Phenom, Sempron, Turion 64 X2, Celeron Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, Core 2, Core 2 Quad, Core i7, Itanium 2, Pentium D, Pentium Dual Core, Xeon. There are more, but chances are I probably listed yours here).
5. A Graphics Card with 256MB of video memory (& it has to be dedicated)
6. A USB 2.0 connection
After you have all your materials, make sure you have all the parts for the HD PVR (which are listed in its instructions. Install the drivers & software and be sure to go to the Hauppauge website for updates (which is available here: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hdpvr.html). Connect it as so:
Use the supplied component cables and hook them to the input row (the top row) of the HD PVR, and connect your gaming device to the bottom (output) component row. If you have a Surround Sound System, you can connect Digital Optical Cable as well, but that will be omitted. The USB Connection is for the PC. Once the connection is hooked up, the HD PVR must be turned on to play your games, as it is a passthrough device.
Once the connection is set and the PVR is on, go to your Desktop and open up Arcsoft Total Media Extreme. Highlight the first button on the left and double click on it, as this is where you will be doing your recording.
You will get a screen that looks like this:
N.B. On the last current update, three options have been added on the lower left hand corner: Playstation3, XBOX360, and AVCHD. Be sure to select the XBOX 360 option.
Make your device settings match those as seen below:
And make your format settings match these (the most important one is the Average bit rate: Make sure that it is set to 10Mbps):
After that, you’re all set! Best part is that you don’t have to edit these settings again.
Once you’re done recording your files, you will need to edit them to get them in HD. While there is a lot of software is available, I will be using Sony Vegas Pro. For this guide, all versions @ or above 8.0c are considered. For more information on how to obtain Vegas, go to the official Vegas website http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro.
Open up Vegas Pro and find and drag your file to the timeline. Allow a few moments for the peaks to match and you will see a screen that looks like the following.
The first step is to match the media settings for the highest quality available. Hold the Alt key and press enter to open up the video properties. Match the media settings by clicking the folder button and finding your file that you put onto the timeline.
Now you’re ready to render the file. Go to File-->Render As to render. You will get the following screen
Select Main Concept AVC/ AAC (*.mp4) as the file type. Click Custom, and match the settings that appear below (and save the template as well):
Click OK and the Save. Your video file will begin to render. After that, you may want to grab a cup of coffee or read a paper
. For my setup (A HP Pavilion dv7-2000 series laptop with an Intel T6400 Dual Core 2 Duo Processor, 512MB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4530 card, and 4GB of RAM) I render about one minute of video every 10 minutes. So, for the average Smash match, your video is done around in a half hour. But all the hard work does pay off. Here is a sample of what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZseznGvq3CQ.
And that’s it! I may add a tutorial for editing in Pinnacle Studio if I get enough requests, but feel free to message me or reply if you have any more questions. Cheers.
EVEN MORE RECORDING OPTIONS:
S-Video jacks are a little more ubiquitous on the TVs used to play Smash, so here is an option on how to record with them.
Thanks to Epsilon933 for the add!
Here are some basics on the PVR:
• Costs around $200-250 as of 7/14/2009 (EBay may have it for less, be sure to check regularly for updates)
• The Current Model Number is 1212 (be sure to check on Hauppauge for the latest model number)
• Built-in hardware H.264 high definition encoder, for high performance, high quality TV recordings
• Component video input from most high definition cable TV and satellite TV receivers. Optical or stereo audio inputs.
• Record high definition video at up to 1080i resolution, 720p or VGA/D1
• Record at datarates from 1Mbs to 13.5Mbs, constant and Variable Bit Rate
• Make Blu-ray format AVCHD recordings, so you can burn your TV recordings onto a standard DVD disk (up to 2 hours of video at 5MBits/sec) and playback on Blu-ray DVD players
• Includes HD software video player, so you can playback recordings to your PC screen
• Audio / Video component video loop through to allow HD recording and viewing at the same time
• High Performance Noise Reduction Function
• NTSC,PAL and SECAM Support
• IR receiver for remote control
• IR Blaster to change the TV channels in your set top box
The PVR saves to three files, .ts, .m2ts, and .mp4. The .ts and .m2ts files can be burned to a Blu-ray disk (a Blu-ray disk can store approximately 2hours of 5 MBits/sec video). For the purposes of this guide, I will stick with the .mp4 files.
In order to record your matches in 720p, you will need:
1. A Wii or a Gamecube
2. A Set of Component Wii and/or Gamecube Component Cables (pictured Below)
3. The HD PVR
4. A Computer with @ least a dual core processor (as this comes to press, this includes the Athlon 64 family, Operon, Phenom, Sempron, Turion 64 X2, Celeron Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, Core 2, Core 2 Quad, Core i7, Itanium 2, Pentium D, Pentium Dual Core, Xeon. There are more, but chances are I probably listed yours here).
5. A Graphics Card with 256MB of video memory (& it has to be dedicated)
6. A USB 2.0 connection
After you have all your materials, make sure you have all the parts for the HD PVR (which are listed in its instructions. Install the drivers & software and be sure to go to the Hauppauge website for updates (which is available here: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hdpvr.html). Connect it as so:
Use the supplied component cables and hook them to the input row (the top row) of the HD PVR, and connect your gaming device to the bottom (output) component row. If you have a Surround Sound System, you can connect Digital Optical Cable as well, but that will be omitted. The USB Connection is for the PC. Once the connection is hooked up, the HD PVR must be turned on to play your games, as it is a passthrough device.
Once the connection is set and the PVR is on, go to your Desktop and open up Arcsoft Total Media Extreme. Highlight the first button on the left and double click on it, as this is where you will be doing your recording.
You will get a screen that looks like this:
N.B. On the last current update, three options have been added on the lower left hand corner: Playstation3, XBOX360, and AVCHD. Be sure to select the XBOX 360 option.
Make your device settings match those as seen below:
And make your format settings match these (the most important one is the Average bit rate: Make sure that it is set to 10Mbps):
After that, you’re all set! Best part is that you don’t have to edit these settings again.
Once you’re done recording your files, you will need to edit them to get them in HD. While there is a lot of software is available, I will be using Sony Vegas Pro. For this guide, all versions @ or above 8.0c are considered. For more information on how to obtain Vegas, go to the official Vegas website http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro.
Open up Vegas Pro and find and drag your file to the timeline. Allow a few moments for the peaks to match and you will see a screen that looks like the following.
The first step is to match the media settings for the highest quality available. Hold the Alt key and press enter to open up the video properties. Match the media settings by clicking the folder button and finding your file that you put onto the timeline.
Now you’re ready to render the file. Go to File-->Render As to render. You will get the following screen
Select Main Concept AVC/ AAC (*.mp4) as the file type. Click Custom, and match the settings that appear below (and save the template as well):
Click OK and the Save. Your video file will begin to render. After that, you may want to grab a cup of coffee or read a paper
. For my setup (A HP Pavilion dv7-2000 series laptop with an Intel T6400 Dual Core 2 Duo Processor, 512MB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4530 card, and 4GB of RAM) I render about one minute of video every 10 minutes. So, for the average Smash match, your video is done around in a half hour. But all the hard work does pay off. Here is a sample of what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZseznGvq3CQ. And that’s it! I may add a tutorial for editing in Pinnacle Studio if I get enough requests, but feel free to message me or reply if you have any more questions. Cheers.
EVEN MORE RECORDING OPTIONS:
S-Video jacks are a little more ubiquitous on the TVs used to play Smash, so here is an option on how to record with them.
Thanks to Epsilon933 for the add!
