Playing video games on PC is also an opportunity to make video captures of your performances. If some solutions are very well known, others are less so, but are nevertheless efficient. Here’s a quick overview of the software you need to know to start capturing your best games on video.
1. Shadowplay
Since late 2013, Nvidia has offered Shadowplay within its Nvidia GeForce Experience solution. Intended to compete with software that was previously obvious to PC gamers, such as Fraps, Shadowplay allows you to capture game sequences in 1080p in particular, and this without suffering any slowdown within the games. However, you will need at least a Kepler architecture graphics card to use it.
With each version of Nvidia GeForce Experience, Shadowplay has been improved. The tool allows you to choose the recording definition (1080p, 720p), the framerate (60 fps, 30 fps), the bitrate… Using it is very simple: just press the keyboard shortcut you have chosen and the software will record the last 20 minutes of the game on the hard disk, which means that you can record a video game exploit after you have played it! A manual mode allows you to record your games without interruption and without time limit, until the hard disk is full, of course.
2. Fraps
Fraps is undoubtedly the most famous video capture software, but also screenshots, for PC users. However, it is far from being the most up-to-date, since the latest version, 3.5.99, dates from February 2013! In fact, the software is presented as compatible up to Windows 7. It also works on Windows 8.1, but on Windows 10, the situation varies depending on the user.
To get all the features of Fraps, you have to pay 35$. A price that allows you to save screenshots in JPG, PNG and TGA, and make full screen video captures without watermarks. It is highly recommended to use the trial version to make sure that the software works well on your machine, especially if you are using Windows 10.
Fraps offers many features and is easy to use. But it has two drawbacks: it is greedy in system resources and disk space. It is able to capture videos up to 7680 x 4800 pixels with a framerate ranging from 1 to 120 fps. But it is better to have a competitive configuration and a lot of space on your hard drives to hope to get the full potential!
3. Bandicam
Bandicam is a capture software from South Korea, but available in English. Aesthetically pure – even less than Fraps! -It allows you to record not only your game sessions, but also your desktop screen and many programs.
To get all the features, you have to pay 33$. For this price, you will be able to make videos going beyond 24 hours – provided you have the necessary space on the disks – up to a definition of 3840 x 2160 pixels. The files are cut by 3.9 GB of data, just like Fraps.
However, because Bandicam encodes videos more efficiently, they last longer before reaching the allowed limit. Many codecs are available to users, both for video and audio. As far as sound is concerned, it is possible to record two separate sources at the same time.
Among the useful features for Youtubers is the ability to automatically affix a logo within the recorded video and send it directly to YouTube, without prior conversion, in 1080 or 720p. Bandicam’s updates are frequent, making it a good investment for video capture and screenshot enthusiasts.
4. Movavi Game Capture
Movavi may have been on the market for many years, but it is far from being the best known. However, this game capture software offers a wide range of settings.
It is capable of recording at up to 60 fps: once the settings have been chosen, all you have to do is launch the capture during a game by pressing F10. As with any other software, the length of the recordable video depends on the storage capacity of the hard disk.
By default, the recording is done in AVI format, but you can choose a multitude of codecs (MP4, FLV, MKV…) as well as numerous presets to optimize viewing on mobile devices. The same goes for sound, since Game Capture supports a large number of formats (MP3, MWA, WAV, FLAC…).
Movavi Game Capture costs 30$, but you can try it for a week before paying.
5. Dxtory
Efficient, cheap and regularly updated, Dxtory is an interesting alternative to other more known clients dedicated to ingame captures. The license is paid in yen for the equivalent of 25 euros. For this price, it is possible to access a lot of features, through an ergonomics that is not particularly accessible to beginners, we must admit. Fortunately, there are many tutorials on the Internet to help you understand the subtleties of Dxtory.
One of the interesting features of the program is that it can handle any codec installed on the machine: even the Fraps codec if it is present! And it doesn’t stop at video: the same proposal is made for sound. Note that it is possible to record up to eight audio tracks separately. The most recent software update ensures compatibility with DirectX 12 and Windows 10: another argument to drop Fraps in favor of the cheaper and more efficient competition!
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