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I know that there are a lot of people who ask about the Dazzle and the settings which are preferred for optimal quality. This guide should apply to all Dazzle models that are 100+, although it is very specified for the DVC 170 (because it's the one I own). Unfortunately, the models I just described cannot record in any program other than the one it came bundled with, which is studio 10. This guide will cover what you'll need, how to set things up, how to record and settings for the encoding process.
||_What You'll Need_||
||_Hooking Up the Dazzle_||
If your TV has an A/V out port:
You will be needing a Male to Male Composite A/V cable. Just plug in each end of the cables to the corresponding colours of the Dazzle Capture Card and your TV's A/V Out port.
If your TV does not have an A/V out port:
You will be needing 3 RCA splitters, all with 2 male and 1 female ports. They may also be known as 'y-adaptors'.
Now watch this: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rAUdxytNn6A
I know it's for xbox, but you can still figure it out - just replace the xbox cables with the wii cables.
||_Capturing the Video_||
Open up studio 10.
Click the 'Capture' tab, and then click 'settings'.
A window should come up.
There are a bunch of tabs up the top of this window. Make sure you're on the 'Capture Source' tab. I will now list the specified tab and the settings to use.
Capture Source:
Video - Dazzle DVC 170 (or whichever Dazzle you're using)
Audio - Dazzle DVC 170 (if you want in-game audio)
TV Standard - NTSC
Capture Preview - checked (if you want to see what you're recording)
No Auto Scene Detection -- press space bar to create new scene
Capture Format:
Presets - Mpeg 1/2, custom
Video Settings - MPEG2, 720x480 resolution, 8000 Kbits/sec (Data Rate)
Audio Settings - Sample rate 48kHz
I'm pretty sure you can leave the next 2 tabs, but have a look at them anyway and decide on the settings yourself since these ones are just personal preference.
Click OK.
Now when you go back to the main tab, be sure to click the custom settings button (the line) underneath where it says mpeg capture. Now click the little video camera icon to the left of this 'panel'. It should come up with some levels that can be adjusted, as well as an option for composite or s-video cables. Make sure you select composite (or s-video if you're using those). Now you'll have to play around a bit with these 'gauges'. Mouse over the icon above the adjuster for each aspect to see what it is. Different TV's will most likely need different settings, so do some experimenting with this. The only ones you will probably want to change are brightness, Hue and the one on the far right (cant remember the name of it ). There's nothing worse than blinding yourself watching a very bright video.
Once you've got that sorted, click 'start capture'. A box will appear, and will ask you to type in your desired title for the video. You can also choose where to save the video. Once you've done that, click 'start capture'.
When you want to stop, click 'stop capture' to end the recording process.
Make sure you remember where you recorded the videos to.
||_Compressing_||
Download and install virtualdub if you haven't already. The link is at the top of the guide.
Now since Virtualdub does not open Mpeg videos by default, you'll need a plugin. Go here to download a zip file with the plugin. Make sure you follow the readme instructions inside that zip file to get the mpeg plugin working.
Now load Virtualdub. Go File > Open Video File. Choose the video that you want to compress. Now hit Open, and you'll see it in Virtualdub.
Go Video > Full Processing Mode
Go Audio > Full Processing Mode
Go Video > Filters. Now hit "Add" and choose "deinterlace". Click OK and then on the left choose the option to "blend fields". You can leave the Field Order. Click OK.
Go Video > Compression. Choose the 'DivX Codec' (version might vary depending on when you downloaded the CCCP). Hit OK.
Note: If the DivX codec does not appear, it is almost certainly because you have not installed the Combined Community Codec Pack. The download link can be found at the top of this guide.
Go Audio > Compression. On the left choose 'Lame MP3' and on the right choose '48000 Hz, 128 kbps CBR, Stereo 16KB/s'. If you can't find it make sure the 'Show All Formats' box is ticked.
Now go Video > Direct Stream Copy and Audio > Direct Stream Copy
On the timeline, find the start of the match and hit the home button. After that, go to the end of the match and hit the end button. This helps keep the filesize smaller by trimming out unnecessary parts of the video. It's also very useful if you just recorded a whole set as one file, because you can repeat the process for each match in the file very easily without having to change the settings after encoding the first match.
Now go File > Save as AVI. Choose where you want to save it, then hit Save. The video will now be compressing which takes varying times depending on how long the match is.
Repeat everything from the yellow text onwards if you have multiple matches in the video file you opened to begin with.
||_Uploading to Youtube_||
It's no good recording a video if the world can't see it. If you haven't already, make a youtube account.
When you're logged in, click the little arrow next to 'upload' in the top right, then click video file.
Now 'Try their Bulk Upload-Plugin' - even if you're only uploading 1 video. This is better since it has a progress meter.
Click 'Add Videos to the List'. It may prompt you to install Gears. When it comes up with the box, click 'Install Gears' in the bottom left of the window. Oh and you can only use this plugin with IE or firefox, so for opera users (like me) you'll have to use a different browser for uploading your videos efficiently at the moment (they may release gears for opera and other browsers).
Now click 'Add Videos to the List'. Choose the videos, add a title and description for the video and then hit upload. Once it's uploaded, you'll have to wait a few minutes so youtube can process the video. When that is finished, feel free to link it to SWF in an appropriate section
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
||_Closing Comments_||
Hope I helped
For all questions, please post here. I might be adding a FAQ's section to this guide if I feel the need to.
Please feel free to rate, comment, and make corrections for this guide (I MIGHT have made a mistake or two )
Otherwise, embrace the fact that we can now view your smash videos!
||_What You'll Need_||
- Your Dazzle Capture Card (Model 100 +) as well as studio 10 which is the software that comes bundled with the device.
- A computer, preferably running windows xp with a usb 2.0 port.
- The appropriate cables to hook up your Dazzle to the TV, depending on whether the TV has A/V out ports. I'll go into more details about these later in the guide.
- A program to encode/compress your recorded videos. I will suggest virtualdub (which can be downloaded here).
This software is great and does pretty much everything you need when it comes to encoding. There are other programs which you may prefer however, such as sony vegas, but I will be explaining how to use virtualdub just for simplicity. - The Combined Community Codec Pack which can be downloaded here. Install this before installing Virtualdub.
||_Hooking Up the Dazzle_||
If your TV has an A/V out port:
You will be needing a Male to Male Composite A/V cable. Just plug in each end of the cables to the corresponding colours of the Dazzle Capture Card and your TV's A/V Out port.
If your TV does not have an A/V out port:
You will be needing 3 RCA splitters, all with 2 male and 1 female ports. They may also be known as 'y-adaptors'.
Now watch this: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rAUdxytNn6A
I know it's for xbox, but you can still figure it out - just replace the xbox cables with the wii cables.
||_Capturing the Video_||
Open up studio 10.
Click the 'Capture' tab, and then click 'settings'.
A window should come up.
There are a bunch of tabs up the top of this window. Make sure you're on the 'Capture Source' tab. I will now list the specified tab and the settings to use.
Capture Source:
Video - Dazzle DVC 170 (or whichever Dazzle you're using)
Audio - Dazzle DVC 170 (if you want in-game audio)
TV Standard - NTSC
Capture Preview - checked (if you want to see what you're recording)
No Auto Scene Detection -- press space bar to create new scene
Capture Format:
Presets - Mpeg 1/2, custom
Video Settings - MPEG2, 720x480 resolution, 8000 Kbits/sec (Data Rate)
Audio Settings - Sample rate 48kHz
I'm pretty sure you can leave the next 2 tabs, but have a look at them anyway and decide on the settings yourself since these ones are just personal preference.
Click OK.
Now when you go back to the main tab, be sure to click the custom settings button (the line) underneath where it says mpeg capture. Now click the little video camera icon to the left of this 'panel'. It should come up with some levels that can be adjusted, as well as an option for composite or s-video cables. Make sure you select composite (or s-video if you're using those). Now you'll have to play around a bit with these 'gauges'. Mouse over the icon above the adjuster for each aspect to see what it is. Different TV's will most likely need different settings, so do some experimenting with this. The only ones you will probably want to change are brightness, Hue and the one on the far right (cant remember the name of it ). There's nothing worse than blinding yourself watching a very bright video.
Once you've got that sorted, click 'start capture'. A box will appear, and will ask you to type in your desired title for the video. You can also choose where to save the video. Once you've done that, click 'start capture'.
When you want to stop, click 'stop capture' to end the recording process.
Make sure you remember where you recorded the videos to.
||_Compressing_||
Download and install virtualdub if you haven't already. The link is at the top of the guide.
Now since Virtualdub does not open Mpeg videos by default, you'll need a plugin. Go here to download a zip file with the plugin. Make sure you follow the readme instructions inside that zip file to get the mpeg plugin working.
Now load Virtualdub. Go File > Open Video File. Choose the video that you want to compress. Now hit Open, and you'll see it in Virtualdub.
Go Video > Full Processing Mode
Go Audio > Full Processing Mode
Go Video > Filters. Now hit "Add" and choose "deinterlace". Click OK and then on the left choose the option to "blend fields". You can leave the Field Order. Click OK.
Go Video > Compression. Choose the 'DivX Codec' (version might vary depending on when you downloaded the CCCP). Hit OK.
Note: If the DivX codec does not appear, it is almost certainly because you have not installed the Combined Community Codec Pack. The download link can be found at the top of this guide.
Go Audio > Compression. On the left choose 'Lame MP3' and on the right choose '48000 Hz, 128 kbps CBR, Stereo 16KB/s'. If you can't find it make sure the 'Show All Formats' box is ticked.
Now go Video > Direct Stream Copy and Audio > Direct Stream Copy
On the timeline, find the start of the match and hit the home button. After that, go to the end of the match and hit the end button. This helps keep the filesize smaller by trimming out unnecessary parts of the video. It's also very useful if you just recorded a whole set as one file, because you can repeat the process for each match in the file very easily without having to change the settings after encoding the first match.
Now go File > Save as AVI. Choose where you want to save it, then hit Save. The video will now be compressing which takes varying times depending on how long the match is.
Repeat everything from the yellow text onwards if you have multiple matches in the video file you opened to begin with.
||_Uploading to Youtube_||
It's no good recording a video if the world can't see it. If you haven't already, make a youtube account.
When you're logged in, click the little arrow next to 'upload' in the top right, then click video file.
Now 'Try their Bulk Upload-Plugin' - even if you're only uploading 1 video. This is better since it has a progress meter.
Click 'Add Videos to the List'. It may prompt you to install Gears. When it comes up with the box, click 'Install Gears' in the bottom left of the window. Oh and you can only use this plugin with IE or firefox, so for opera users (like me) you'll have to use a different browser for uploading your videos efficiently at the moment (they may release gears for opera and other browsers).
Now click 'Add Videos to the List'. Choose the videos, add a title and description for the video and then hit upload. Once it's uploaded, you'll have to wait a few minutes so youtube can process the video. When that is finished, feel free to link it to SWF in an appropriate section
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
||_Closing Comments_||
Hope I helped
For all questions, please post here. I might be adding a FAQ's section to this guide if I feel the need to.
Please feel free to rate, comment, and make corrections for this guide (I MIGHT have made a mistake or two )
Otherwise, embrace the fact that we can now view your smash videos!