How to Use the x264vfw External Codec

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oCam supports external codecs (VFW), and here we will look at how to use the x264 codec.


You can download the x264 codec from the site below.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/


Go to the site and click the Download button.



 

The download will start automatically.



On the installation screens, just keep clicking Next.


Accept the license agreement.

 

Specify the installation path. 


The installation is complete.


Click Finish.


After installing the codec, you must restart oCam before it will appear in the external codec list.

After restarting oCam, click the Codec button in the oCam main window, then click the External Codec menu.


Select the Use External Codec checkbox.


From the list, select x264vfw - H264/MPEG-4 AVC codec.


Then click the Settings button to view the detailed codec settings.


The codec settings window will appear as shown below. Since we need to record the screen in real time rather than perform normal video encoding, select Ultrafast in Preset and check the Zero Latency checkbox so that encoding is performed as quickly as possible, then click the OK button.

( This setting method is useful for real-time recording, and you can adjust it as needed depending on your situation. )


After configuring it this way, your recording will use the x264 codec.


* For game recording, if the game you want to record is 64-bit, you must also install the 64-bit version when installing x264vfw ( by default, it is installed automatically unless you change the installation options ). Then run x264vfw - Configure x264vfw64 from the Start menu and configure it the same way as described above.


* The x264vfw settings Keep/Accept only YUV 4:2:0, Keep/Accept only YUV 4:2:2, and Keep/Accept only YUV 4:4:4 are not supported, and recording will fail if you use those settings.

Another helpful tip

oCam Quick Overview of Key Features

oCam (oCam) Key Features Overview

You can see the following screen when you run the program.

Select one of the top tabs to choose the recording type first: Screen Recording, Game Recording, or Sound Recording, and then start.



 

This is a brief explanation of the buttons for each function.


Record - Pressing this button starts recording immediately. The recorded video can be viewed by pressing the Open button.


Capture - Captures the screen.


 

Open - Opens the folder containing recorded videos, recorded audio, and captured images in Windows Explorer.


 

Codec - Sets the codec to use when pressing the record button in oCam.


By default, you can use oCam's built-in codec, hardware codecs such as NVIDIA NVENC, and VFW (external codec).

You can also select GIF recording.

Sound - For screen recording and sound-only recording, you can set whether to record only system sound, record both system sound and microphone, or not record sound.

Game Recording - To record a game, click the Game Recording button. When the Game Recording button is activated, activate the game window and then press the recording hotkey to start recording.

In addition, you can configure many detailed program features in Menu -> Options.


Recording Area - There is a large rectangle, several small square boxes, and a drag-shaped icon in the center.


The large rectangle is the recording or capture area.

The small squares can be dragged to adjust the size of the recording or capture area.

The drag icon in the center can move the recording or capture area.

You can also move it more precisely by using the arrow keys together with Ctrl and Shift.