AC nVidia Shadowplay Recording

Discussion in 'Game Discussion' started by DoogleDave, Sep 6, 2014.

  1. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    I managed to have a bit of a play around with the Shadowplay feature of the new nVidia GPU (I'm using the GTX750 Ti Superclocked) and WOW, it is SO easy to use/record.

    Setup where you want the files to save to and then either in-game or during playback of replay you press Alt+F9 to start manaully recording and then press the same again to stop recording and the MP4 file is automatically saved into your chosen directory.

    Be aware that the files it creates can be very large (on High/full settings, approx 360Mb per minute of recording)
    It saves as a MP4 file, 1920 x 1080 60 fps @ 50 Mbps (YES you read that correctly - 50 Mbps) :eek:
    In the options you can choose:
    FPS: 30 or 60
    Presets: Low, Medium, High, Custom
    In custom you get to choose fps via a slider along with resolution of file (1080p, 720p etc)

    I recorded a one lap replay both from track-view and then again from in-car camera (using the High setting) then imported both files into Sony Vegas and produced a one-lap video.
    To save space I decided to save the file at 1280 x 720 30 fps @ 4Mbps (which dropped the video from 730Mb down to 62Mb)
    Quality is still pretty good but obviously not quite as good as the original.

    Here is the test video I've uploaded onto Youtube.
    It's a pity we can't use this on GT6, the news reports would take on a whole new dimension.


    Looking forward to playing with this a bit more. What a great feature and so very easy to use - and it runs/records with almost no overheads.
    Next time I will use a custom setup to produce smaller original files.

    Dave
  2. AJ.Scott

    AJ.Scott Team Driver

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    Great stuff Dave and even though as you say the quality has suffered somewhat from the original, it's still good for free software, and nVidia will no doubt improve on things......... hopefully :).
    Will have a tinker later.

    Cheers
  3. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    Very true.
    Actually the quality from Shadowplay is fantastic - but on the high setting is too large to upload onto the internet.
    Its only because I dropped the bitrate that the quality suffered - and then when you upload to Youtube it re-compresses again losing more quality....but the original file itself looks just like it does when playing AC. Very impressive!
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  4. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    Had another play around with Shadowplay again.
    This time I set the recording to 720p @ 10Mbps.
    Much smaller files and still great quality. This video was edited in Sony Vegas then rendered.
    Unfortunately Youtube adds more compression than I'd like but the video still looks fairly decent at 720p setting.

    See the RaceOnOz BMW tackle the Brands Hatch circuit (as if we haven't had enough of Brands Hatch ;))

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  5. Kart-No-1

    Kart-No-1 Professional

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    Awesome slide throughout turn 1 Dave, I love it.
  6. AJ.Scott

    AJ.Scott Team Driver

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    Cool vid Dave, love the Rooz skin too, looks hot mate nice job.
    I'll have to get my young bloke out to help me with the vid from last night, I have no idea what im doing:whistling:

    Cheers
  7. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    Thanks guys, the BMW loves to let loose a bit around that turn - its great fun!

    @AJ.Scott if you look in the Shadowplay options it will show you where it is saving the recordings.
    From the Options you will also be to adjust the recording settings (resolution and bitrate), as well as change the save location if you're not happy with the default location.

    Then all you need to do is go to that save location in Windows Explorer and your .mp4 videos will be there.

    If you have a video editing program you can import them in there and edit to your liking, otherwise you should be able to just upload them to Youtube and they will be compressed accordingly.
    Youtube even have a video editor online you can use - not sure what its like as I've never used it, but I'm sure it would be fine for basic editing purposes (if you dont have a vid editing app).

    Looking forward to seeing some of your vids :)
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  8. Kart-No-1

    Kart-No-1 Professional

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    Is it just me or is that track very wide compared to the gt6 version with an MX5 running around on it.
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2014
  9. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    @Clevohead , I recorded this just for you :thumbsup:
    A lap around Bathurst in the Escort MK2.....what a blast!
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  10. Clevohead

    Clevohead Taswegian Ambassador Team Raceonoz

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    I really want this now, you guys are just dragging me in more and more :devilish:
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  11. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    What....us.........never :devilish:

    Admittedly AC is still in Alpha stage so its not a finished/polished product (though you could argue the same thing about GT6 o_O).

    You could also use the PC to play Proj Cars once it is released (which I am really looking forward to).
    And if you have the inclination (and the money) you could also get into iRacing, not to mention the other various PC driving games out there.

    Then there's the Shadowplay recording (if you buy a current model Nvidia GPU) which is so easy to use (and then share).

    For some a console is just easier and cheaper but the downside is that you seem to get more "locked in" on a console where the PC realm seems to be full of mods, some of which are so-so but others are fantastic. And with what looks to be wider wheel/pedal support on the PC you may have to start adding the cost of a new console + compatible wheelset together, which then shortens the gap between that and a gaming PC build.

    Pros and cons for both really. All comes down to what you want and what you can afford.
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  12. AJ.Scott

    AJ.Scott Team Driver

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    Hey @DoogleDave mate how do you go from in car to external view in you're vids? I can't work it out and only seem to have cockpit view available.............Help I'm blonde :roflmao::laugh::whistling:
  13. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    LOL, You can do it one of two ways (one will look better than the other).

    1)
    During recording you can change between camera views from the replay menu at the bottom of the screen.
    By doing this you will see the replay menu and mouse pointer appear on-screen (doesn't look as "neat")

    2) My preferred method
    Make two different recordings of the same replay.
    1 from the external track camera view
    1 from the cockpit view

    From there I import both into a video editing program (I use Sony Vegas) and then can cut between the two so it looks like you go back and forth - just like on TV.

    A bit more time consuming but the end result looks much nicer.

    Obviously this is easy to do for a one lap recording but for a 10+ lap race it would be a bit more involved - but still easily achievable. I haven't tested as yet but you should also be able to change between cars when using a replay of a race with multiple cars on-track, but to do properly you would need to record the same replay several times from different cars and cameras to then put all together...unless you just used method one and swap between them all in real time as you record the replay...but you'd either need to edit out the times you access the menu (and lose footage ) or keep all the footage in and put up with the menu appearing in the recording.
  14. AJ.Scott

    AJ.Scott Team Driver

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    Ahhh cool :D, thanks Dave :thumbsup:, you make it sound so simple, but I'm sure I will get my Mankini :cautious: in a twist at some point :laugh: so I will probably be picking your brain occasionally, in fact, is there a way to overlay one vid on another and have it so you could see both cars? or are you best doing 2 vids and have them side by side? or, is it a case of both methods are possible but overlay is more complicated?, thinking of doing a vid of the GTE cars.
    Anyway, probably best I just tinker with Method 2 for now, see what I can come up with..........good luck me!! :roflmao:

    Cheers
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2014
  15. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    No probs at all, happy to help where I can.

    Overlaying two into one is possible (called compositing) but to be done properly would require alot of time, patience and the right apps/tools.

    Using an app like Vegas or Movie Studio or whatever it is fairly straightforward to use two (or more) videos and then cut sections out that you don't want to use.

    As an example imagine the below image is the timeline of two video recordings imported into your editing app.
    [​IMG]

    The one on top is what will always show onscreen so wherever you want to cut to the video underneath you just cut out the section of video (and audio) from the top file (for completeness I always do the same for the lower video where the footage is not needed - which also removes the unwanted audio section as well).
    As a result you will see something like this:
    [​IMG]

    Now when you play the project (as per the example above) it will play the sections as displayed, giving the illusion of cutting back and forth between the two.

    Lastly you may need to tweak the audio between the two files as the volume between the two may be different (unless you want to keep this difference in your video)

    Hope this makes sense??
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  16. AJ.Scott

    AJ.Scott Team Driver

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    Yep, makes perfect sense thanks Dave, will get to tinkering :D
  17. DoogleDave

    DoogleDave Team Driver

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    @AJ.Scott , I am just about to make your day!

    I found a way you can toggle between onboard cockpit view and trackside camera view DURING playback/recording of a replay.

    F1 button toggles through all the onboard camera modes (if you keep pressing it), but if you only press it once then it returns to the last used.

    F3 button goes to trackside camera view.

    So when recording/playing the replay back you can press F1 then F3, then F1 etc to toggle back and forth and the recording captures whatever is onscreen at the time.

    MUCH easier than editing it all together afterwards.

    Here is a quick video showing the various camera views available:


    Give it a go.....you're gonna LOVE IT :D
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2014
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