Jack's Vlog (HD): How to capture from a PS3 in HD
2 years ago
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13. Jack's Vlog (HD): How to capture from a PS3 in HD
2 years ago
An attempt at a DIY video to instruct people on how to capture HD video from a PlayStation 3.
This video is jittery on this page and in the encoded download. There's nothing I can do to fix this since it always reverts to the jittery version even if the file is replaced. For the 30p version, go to my Viddler page.
This was made when I was on a Intel E2180 and nForce 630i. I am now on a Intel Q6700 @ 3.2Ghz (320x10) and a Intel G33+ICH9 and a dedicated SATA capture drive so I don't get any dropped frames.
Note: The Vimeo staff said this can stay, and will not be deleted on Sept 1st, 2008.
But, if you do get it working, please do NOT post your results here at Vimeo due to the new rule. A alternative site to host your encoded files is Viddler.
This video is jittery on this page and in the encoded download. There's nothing I can do to fix this since it always reverts to the jittery version even if the file is replaced. For the 30p version, go to my Viddler page.
This was made when I was on a Intel E2180 and nForce 630i. I am now on a Intel Q6700 @ 3.2Ghz (320x10) and a Intel G33+ICH9 and a dedicated SATA capture drive so I don't get any dropped frames.
Note: The Vimeo staff said this can stay, and will not be deleted on Sept 1st, 2008.
But, if you do get it working, please do NOT post your results here at Vimeo due to the new rule. A alternative site to host your encoded files is Viddler.
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Well, again, thank you very much.
Also mind you, the only workable capturer is Blackmagic Media Express, you can't get it to work on VLC or any other capturer (unless Premiere Pro has MJPG capture) properly. After capture, you can convert it to x264.
You need a fast video card too, a Nvidia GeForce 9600GT non-overclocked probably would do. It runs at 650mhz and is a DX10 card.
And about capturing, yes, I'm planing on using the software that comes with the card, then, get the captured (and if possible, uncompressed) stuff and edit it, using Sony vegas or other editor, render it uncompressed again, and just then use Megui's X264 3-pass encoder to make the final web version.
Ah, and I need a fast video card too? Is it really necessary? I thought I could use a cheaper card, just to display the video on my lcd, because all the processing during capture is done by the card and the cpu, right? Or there's need for some sort of directx acceleration?
Well, again, thank you VERY much for the advices. It helped me a lot. And sorry for my bad english. I hope you can understand it.
You'll need a ton of disk space for uncompressed. But from Sony Vegas, there is a built in .mp4 encoder that can encode all the way up to 720p30. It's what I used to encode this video. It even supports one pass VBR.
A faster card makes it more optimum for capture, you don't want to capture and have a delay between the game control and your display.
In regards to the GPU, I would recommend a relatively fast GPU; at least if you plan on capturing 60fps.
2 7200 RPM drives in RAID0 will probably allow you to skate by with uncompressed video, but I would recommend 3 in a RAID0. An alternative option is to get the CineForm Neo HDV codec for $250. It is by and far the best quality solution for single 7200 RPM drives. The quality blows the BlackMagic MJPEG capture codec out of the water. There's a free 15 day fully functional trial on their site, if you want to try it out. The capturing software is also much better, with way more options.
2 GB RAM is the bare minimum. I'm currently using 8 GB DDR2 1066.
Oh, and don't forget that the Intensity Pro also has a built in Component passthrough, so you can play on your HD display while capturing on your PC with no input lag.
Hope this helps.
Yes, if you know what you are doing, Overclocking improves performance. But the risk of crashing is still there, it's just higher when it's overclocked.
Andwine, I didn't know that you could pass through the HD signal... But what about 720p signals in and 1080i out? I noticed an option for that.
I plan to upgrade my Compaq SR5448F (can't overclock) to these specs:
Q6600 Quad core processor
Nvidia Geforce 9600GT (non-overclocked)
What's your specs? If I upgrade to the specs above will I no longer get dropped frames?
As far as your setup, the Q6600 is great, but I do believe the Q6700 just had a significant price drop, so you might want to look into that.
I checked the specs of your Compaq, and there are plenty of reasons why you would be getting dropped frames. Your CPU is pretty weak, and has only a 1 MB L2 cache. Your RAM should be faster, and it has integrated video, which can cause problems since you're sharing resources.
Upgrading your CPU and GPU should fix whatever performance bottlenecks you're experiencing, but I would also look into adding 2 GB of RAM.
My current setup is:
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L motherboard
Intel Xeon E3110. This is a rebranded E8400, meaning it's a Core 2 Duo E8400, but it's server class, so it can withstand slightly higher temperatures under load. Stock speed is 3.0 Ghz, but I'm running it at 4.2 Ghz with an Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro heatsink.
8 GB Kingston DDR2 RAM at 1066 Mhz.
nVidia GeForce 8800GTX video card with a Thermalright HR-03 heatsink applied. I also have a Tornado fan that can move up to 103 cubic feet of air per minute. It gets pretty noisy running at full speed, though, so I have a fan controller set up to keep it at a lower voltage.
And a BlackMagic Intensity Pro. I'm currently using the CineForm Neo HDV codec with the HDLink capture software. I edit through Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0. I might upgrade to CS3 in the near future.
My PS3 outputs component to my Intensity Pro, and I passthrough to my HDTV. When I want to watch a Blu-Ray or play in a resolution above 720p, I switch my video output to HDMI, which is connected directly to my TV. My audio goes through the PS3's optical out to my 5.1 system. I don't capture with audio, either.
Edit: Problem. My included memory is the fastest it can support... I think. Am I screwed or would more memory solve it? Or would just upgrading the CPU and GPU be fine?
Also, Would upgrading the FSB speed (going from a 800Mhz CPU to a 1066Mhz CPU) mean it can support faster memory?
Now I also see other nForce 630i motherboards supporting PC2-8500 memory, and my motherboard model differs from the motherboard specified on the HP site, it is a MCP73M02H1. No info exists on the exact specs of this one.
Sorry if I seem very confused, most of it has been resolved but this new memory fiasco is now so baffling.
Edit 2: I just found out that the passthrough doesn't process the video at all. This is bad since I'm using a legacy 1080i only HDTV (remember that disgusting 480p bug in R:FoM? Still stinks but it was fixed in RCF). I need to capture in native 720p but want a processed image to my HDTV, and this doesn't offer it for live feeds, only timeline outputs.
Edit 3: I don't capture audio cause dropped frames cause the uncaptured gapped audio to stitch together throwing off the sync and making the audio shorter than the video.
Boosting your board's FSB will make your RAM run faster, sometimes faster than it can handle, causing crashes. This is where the delicate balance (art) of overclocking comes in. Each CPU overclocks differently, so it requires a lot of trial and error, and heavy stress testing to find a happy medium.
If you're using the updated firmware for the Intensity Pro, and you go to Control Panel -> Intensity, you'll be able to set the Input and Output processing. What I would do is leave the input processing, and have your PS3 output to 720p. Change the output processing to 720p HD to 1080i HD, and you should get a 1080i display on your television. I'm not sure how much lag this will induce, though.
I am uncertain whether that is for the live signal or a output signal from a video editor, Haven't tried on a 1080i TV but I did try a HD to SD downconversion and it didn't work.
Edit: I found that DDR2 1066Mhz can only be achieved by overclocking at this link: foxconnchannel.com/en%2Dus/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-gb0000251
Therefore, I'm not bothering to change the RAM. But it's latency is high at 6-6-6-12 according to the sticker and 5-6-6-18 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS) according to CPU-Z. It's also at 1.8V.
I'm now stress testing again with 4 climateprediction.net workunits for as long as possible.
Edit (July 20): It looks like a successful overclock, unfortunately my motherboard does not have built-in RAID... still need to resolve that issue.
I got the Q6700 and 9600GT and I STILL drop frames...
Any suggestions? It always does it around 13-20 seconds in.
It's viddler.com
The Hava Wireless external transcoder, which accepts any HD source from Component cables and records in High Quality SD. Not quite the HD alternative in terms of size, but very high in quality from what I've heard. It only costs around $169, compared to this setup's $250+.
It works for compressed workflows, however, you're still compressing a lot more than MJPEG and it's still 4:2:0. You still also need a really fast computer to edit it.
Edit: And the drivers and software are not rock solid reliable for this thing. I'm on 2.1 software and an old board revision of the Intensity Pro and has had no problems whatsoever (And yes, I don't need to reboot when switching between HDMI and Component on the 2.1 software and old board revision)
To make matters worse I had gotten it to work a few times through all my frustrations. It just seamed that it wanted to work only when it wanted to.
I don't know if this is a Vista only problem, but after switching your Intensity Pro's input device to "Y, R-Y, B-Y Video & Analog RCA Audio" YOU MUST REBOOT! I even like to set my resolution and frame rate in Media Express as well then reboot for good measure.
Hopefully this will help out others that are beating their heads into the wall.
If you have this problem, do not turn UAC off or leave UAC in quiet mode via TweakUAC. Also, follow the procedures to fix it from the link I just posted.
And a more simple solution is to check that the AV MULTI OUT is connected firmly to the PS3, loose connections there could result in no picture or no sound.
i try to catch what you connect with intersity pro
cuz im deaf.. i cant hear you saying. i only catch you show color of plug ps3 to connect to pro
do i have to plug ps3 connect to 8 y in , 7 r-y in , 9b-y in
right?
im not expert on this..
i bought it at craiglist its cheap..
Also, check your AV Multi out to see if its firmly in place and the cables to see if they've been connected correctly to the breakout cable. You could have easily mistaken right audio for Y-R (red video signal).
You should also check with other devices to see if you even get a signal. If your software doesn't display anything, it might be an OS problem.
You could also upgrade drivers to solve everything...
I'm not sure why but I can verify it's not a UAC problem as Jack Zhang experience as I even rolled back to XP and experienced the same behavior.
I have since installed Vista, and Windows 7 for other reasons and reliably got my Intensity Pro to pick up my PS3 by shutting down my computer and restarting after applying all my desired settings.
Hope this helps others out there.
I only updated the firmware on my card once, and never did so again. (updating firmware and upgrading software are different, firmware upgrades actually change the files on the card, not your OS)
Also, this brings one thing up: If it works, don't upgrade until it doesn't work.
Is this problem locked to software version 3.0? I'm on 2.1 right now FYI. If this only happens on 3.0, then that's the problem. If it happens on all software versions, it's a board revision problem.
Here's exactly what I did this first time:
1. I connected my PS3 with the component cables to my HDTV in another room. With the PS3 still in sleep mode, I held down the power button while turning it on to force the PS3 to recognize the component cables, and then I actually scrolled to Display Settings to set it to 16:9 and 720p. I then put the PS3 back into Sleep Mode and hit the power switch in the back.
2. I moved the PS3 to my room, connected the component cables, hit the power switch in the back of the PS3, and then tapped the power button in the front. I waited a few seconds and turned on my PC.
3. I went to the Blackmagic Control Panel first to check if the settings were what I wanted, and they already were. Then I opened Blackmagic Media Express and I actually saw a picture for the first time, running in 720p. Going to Edit & Preferences, I saw the Video format was actually set to "NTSC" so I switched to "HD 720p 59.94". No difference in picture, though.
Now that I know my card works, I am thrilled. I got nothing but black screens and I was wondering if it was because my card was defective or because my PC was seriously underpowered (which I only realized *after* I bought the card, read the hard-to-find documentation on Blackmagic's site, and read the comments here). I'm on Vista and I only have 2 GB of RAM, my graphics card is NOT top-of-the-line (I have trouble just *playing* some 1080p videos), and I certainly do not have a quad core. Maybe I'll just get the extra 2 GB of RAM first...?
I'm glad to see everyone got it to work, but everyone should realize that later revisions of the card behave differently than older ones. I own an older card and 2.1 software so I'm immune to the restart procedure. But people who just bought the card must go through the restart procedure.
All this time I was trying to switch from an HDMI connection to component by holding the power button down when turning on the PS3, and watching through Media Express. That never worked.
I now have 4 GB of RAM and I'll get a quad core in a week or two. But I tried recording anyway and I run into a few more (small) problems.
The sound works, but when I record, the sound goes away! The video I play back does have sound, though. Nothing deal-breaking, but I guess I'll need some funky workaround if I want to get sound while recording. Help?
And just how *do* I adjust the recording volume, anyway?
The actual videos, though recorded at 59.94 fps, seem to only play 29.97 fps at double the speed (confirmed in VirtualDub by changing the fps). But I guess I'll wait until I fully upgrade my PC before I start worrying.
The frame rate issue means VirtualDub is not fully supported by the codec. Supported Video Editors are Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere, and Final Cut Pro (Mac).
By the way, do we need a solid graphic card or/and fast DDR to make things run smoothly?
Fast memory is not a must, but would be useful. But a fast Hard Drive is a must for Uncompressed or High data rate video.
Tanks a lot!
I play platformers so there's no need for a splitter as I just play the game on the capture screen. And all my multiplayer FPS games all use the Source Engine (And I play it on the PC) and everyone knows there's a built-in recorder for that.
I was wondering if a GeForce 9800 GTX would do. I got my quad core now so I'm hoping this would be the last thing I need for honest-to-goodness, no-kidding-around, high-quality 60fps HD capture (short of a RAID, that is).
You have to capture at 59.94 in 720p since it's the only compatible format to capture to. Can't capture any lower than that framerate in 720p.
I have limited space and would consider this setup to just replace my HDTV. I already use tv tuners to watch tv on my pc. This looks like a solution for HD gaming.
It also isn't the best quality when you use the Media Express software. You can use a HDMI-DVI cable to turn any computer monitor that is 22'' and above and supports HDCP into your replacement HDTV. (Although you still need speakers to connect to) This is what I recommend if you don't need to record.