Recommended
How to Record Losslessly Using x264vfw
Using oCam at work or school? A license is required, and it removes all ads, including this window. See the paid version →
Before getting started, you must install the x264 codec in advance. If you do not know how to install it, please refer to the Help section.
Click the Codec menu in oCam, then click the External Codec menu item.
Select Use External Codec, choose the x264vfw codec, and then click the Settings button.
Using the default x264vfw settings as a base, change the parts highlighted in the yellow box in the image below as shown.
The following settings need to be changed.
Preset - Ultrafast ( Set this to improve encoding speed. The file size may become larger, but if you choose other options, significant lag may occur. )
Profile - High 4:4:4 ( The default profile may cause quality loss, so change it to High 4:4:4 for lossless encoding. )
Keep input colorspace - Keeps the color space of the internally received input buffer. ( If you use other options, encoding may fail. )
Rate control - Single pass - lossless - Change this for lossless encoding.
Click the OK button to apply the settings.
When recording 64-bit games, the settings are applied to x264vfw64 for 64-bit, so run x264vfw - Configure x264vfw64 from the Start menu and configure it in the same way as shown above.
If you record with the above settings, the video will be recorded losslessly. One important point is that if you want to play back the lossless video without quality loss, you must change the settings in your video player.
Below is how to check a lossless video using PotPlayer.
Run PotPlayer, then click Preferences ( F5 ).
In the Preferences window,
click Video - Color Space/Attributes on the left, then in the Color Space group box on the right, select Convert manually if possible - Default output color space. ( If you do not configure this, even if the recording is lossless, the screen colors may still be altered during playback. )
Click OK, then play the video recorded losslessly.
At this point, press Ctrl + F1 in PotPlayer. As shown below, the output format of the video codec must be displayed as RGB(32 Bits).
Also, in the playback information under the File Information tab, the following properties must match as shown below.
Format profile : High 4:4:4 Predictive@L3
Color space : RGB
Color range : Full
Matrix coefficients : RGB
Please note that Windows Media Player does not play this properly, and preview thumbnails will not be displayed in Windows Explorer.
Programs
Another helpful tip
What Are Codecs and Digital Container Formats?
When using oCam normally, you do not need an in-depth understanding of codecs and digital container formats. However, if you want to use oCam's extended features or optimize your recording settings, it is useful to understand these two terms. Below is an easy explanation of codecs and digital container formats, focused on how they relate to oCam.
* What is a digital container format?
A digital container format refers to familiar file extensions such as AVI, MP4, MOV, and FLV. It is a meta file format that defines the structure for storing video, audio, and metadata (for example, subtitles and time information) together in a single file. Simply put, you can think of a container format as the framework of a file structure that determines how video and audio data are stored.
For more information, see Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_format
For example, if a file is an AVI file, the container format is AVI, and the video and audio data inside that file are stored according to the structure defined by AVI. A container format acts like a "container" that holds the data, while the actual method used to encode the data is determined by the codec.
* What is a codec?
A codec is hardware or software that performs encoding and decoding. It includes algorithms for compressing data, decompressing it, or converting it into another format. In oCam, codecs are used to convert screen video data into a video file and to generate audio data. The generated data is then saved according to the digital container format selected by the user.
For more information about codecs, see Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CodecSimply put, a codec is a tool that compresses and converts video or audio data so it can be stored or played back efficiently. Common codecs used in oCam include XVID, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and H.264, while common audio codecs include MP3 and PCM.
* Codecs and container formats in oCam
In oCam, a codec is used to encode video and audio data in order to convert screen recording data into a video file. This encoded data is then saved as a file in the digital container format selected by the user, such as AVI or MP4. For example:
- If the file extension is AVI, the container format is AVI, and the video data inside may be encoded with H.264 or MPEG-4. The audio data may be saved as MP3 or PCM.
- In the case of an MP4 file, the container format is MP4, and it may similarly contain video encoded with H.264 and audio encoded with MP3.
* Summary
In oCam, the digital container format is the framework that defines the file structure, such as AVI or MP4, while the codec is the method used to compress and convert the video and audio data inside it, such as H.264 or MP3. oCam's default settings are enough for high-quality recording, but depending on your specific purpose, such as optimizing file size or improving editing compatibility, adjusting the codec and container format can make your workflow more efficient. If needed, try selecting the codec and format you want in oCam's codec settings menu.