Testing The Program (Kinda Lengthy)

[HonorThyGamer]

Not really sure where to post this kind of topic, but I'll give this place a shot.

I have a small channel on youtube that is devoted to uploading gameplay videos in the best quality possible. As such I'm always on the lookout for software that records gameplay. If it exists, I've used it at one point or another so I can give a fair assessment on Action. I inevitably settled on FRAPS, but I'm always willing to check out other software if its a promising alternative.

I've recorded anywhere between five to six hours of gameplay videos and have done extensive comparisons between FRAPS and Action that I would like to make clear.

First off, and this is the thing that people usually want to know the most, is how much of a resource hog Action is in comparison with FRAPS. After a lot of testing I can say that Action has FRAPS beat in thet department.

In DC Universe Online, I tried recording some gameplay with FRAPS first. It just wasn't doable. For some reason FRAPS was making the game chug along at an unplayable pace. DCUO isn't an ugly game, but it isn't spectacular either. There's no reason it should have so many problems recording the game. I switched over to Action and had no problems recording the game at all. I have a recording of it using Action on my channel.

I've had similar experiences with a lot of other games, where FRAPS would kill the framerate and Action wouldn't. This is a big deal to a lot of gamers, and Action wins this one.



The second most important thing is how big the uncompressed video is. The proper way to record a gameplay video is in an uncompressed format, then compress it later, but this also makes the initial video HUGE. We're talking like 20-100gb per video. So having enough HDD space is important for those long recordings.

Once again, Action beats FRAPS by a sizable margin in this department. Tests have shown me that Action recordings can be anywhere between 30-60% smaller than the FRAPS recordings. Mind you, I tested this on high definition videos up to 1920x1080.

This is important to people with small HDD's who don't have all of that space.


Now here's something that always seems to make or break recording software when it comes to competition with FRAPS. FRAPS eats resources like a fat kid eats a twinkie, but the videos it produces are at great quality. Having a good base like that makes it a lot easier to compress it and make it look just as good.

I've tried just about everything out there, and they always disappoint me here. As you can guess, because my channel is all about video quality, this is the most important part to me so I'm a little critical about it.

FRAPS video quality is better than Action...but not by a whole lot. I've done a lot of comparisons between the two and I can certainly see the difference, BUT it's not a big one.

The main problem with Action recordings is that the colors feel a bit washed out. This could actually be worked around if Action did some kind of video darkening. Anyone can fix this themselves with five seconds spent in video editing software, but it would make a difference if it just happened automatically. FRAPS seems to do that and it's a welcome addition.

In that regard, FRAPS wins, but most people could easily look past this problem. Hell, people who aren't as critical as I am about it probably won't even notice.


Before we get started, I would like to point out that I didn't use the encoding software that came with Action past my tests. I have a free, separate piece of software that I use for encoding videos.

Unlike FRAPS, Action comes with the ability to encode its own videos. It's very simple and easy to use. The resulting quality of the finished video is good and if that's all you care about then stop here...but if you want to know more then continue on.

As I mentioned, the video quality is good, but when I did a comparison between Action's finished video, and the finished video of the other software I use, there were noticeable differences. First off the Action video was almost twice as big but had less quality than the other. That's why I hardly use it.

However, it's incredibly easy to use. For people who want an uncomplicated way to encode their videos, then Action streamlines the process.


That's my whole opinion on the software. I haven't tested any of the other stuff because I don't have a use for it. Gamers who want a more complete package for recording their gameplay really can't go wrong with Action. You can record gameplay and commentary all in one spot and with one button. It records smoothly, the video quality is great, and the uncompressed videos are more reasonably sized.

Good job to the team working on this. I can honestly say that it's the best competitor to FRAPS out of all the programs out there that try to do the same. That's saying a lot.

Gameplay Videos Using Action:
DCUO: http://youtu.be/bvPII0X7Cdc
Torchlight 2: http://youtu.be/3GMJ3ASIOHU
SWTOR: http://youtu.be/NhtWrTZuuUs
Warhammer 40k SM: http://youtu.be/oQkAHKv0JFE

[radi]

Wow, that's was like reading a great article. Thanks for all the good words. About the video quality. I assume you used raw files for video editing.

The main problem with Action recordings is that the colors feel a bit washed out. This could actually be worked around if Action did some kind of video darkening. Anyone can fix this themselves with five seconds spent in video editing software, but it would make a difference if it just happened automatically. FRAPS seems to do that and it's a welcome addition.

You said that the video colors feel a bit washed up and it could be worked around if Action! did some kind of video darkening. Have you tried using different Input range (Video Recording settings)? 16-235 instead of 0-255?

[RuskiRozpierdalacz]

Yes Fraps will give better quality, but only a bit, but it use much more cpu and disk. If you use for Youtube it compress to low bitrate at older x264 codec. Again Mirillis please add more advanced options to quality, because I have the same problem. PS. Nice new feature will be added on 1.11.0.

[HonorThyGamer]

Wow, that's was like reading a great article. Thanks for all the good words. About the video quality. I assume you used raw files for video editing.

The main problem with Action recordings is that the colors feel a bit washed out. This could actually be worked around if Action did some kind of video darkening. Anyone can fix this themselves with five seconds spent in video editing software, but it would make a difference if it just happened automatically. FRAPS seems to do that and it's a welcome addition.

You said that the video colors feel a bit washed up and it could be worked around if Action! did some kind of video darkening. Have you tried using different Input range (Video Recording settings)? 16-235 instead of 0-255?

I gave your suggestion a quick test and I did indeed notice the colors being less washed out, but I'll need to do some more extensive testing before I find out just how much. Thanks for the tip though.

Edit: After further testing I can confirm that one option change provides enough darkening to make the colors feel less washed out.