Low File FPS Dxtory

[chain220]

I'm trying to record FIFA gameplay with Dxtory using Lagarith's. The normal problem would be it causes FPS drops, but it doesn't. I'm running at 70+ FPS constantly while recording, trying to record at 60 FPS. The file FPS usually sits around 45 FPS. I don't have this problem in any other game with the same settings, and I ran the built in write speed test on my drive (120gb ssd) and got 150+ MB/s. Read somewhere to try setting the write speed to 60MB/s, to no avail. Exact same results.

Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: After some more reading, it clicked in my head that 1MB/s doesn't necessarily translate to 1 FPS. (Each frame might be bigger than 1 MB) Which I fixed by scaling to 720p. The cause of this would be my drive not writing fast enough, even though it's writing at 150 MB/s.. any simple solutions other than a new drive? The drive is where my OS is, but the game is not installed on it.

 

[Frag Maniac]

There are a couple ways to try to boost performance in DxTory while recording.

One is using a real fast drive to do the capture, like an SSD with over 500 Mb/s write speed.

The other involves using two or more drives simultaneously via RawCap vs AVI output, which you later convert to AVI via the built-in RawCap Convert tool. This requires you to use the DxTory codec though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0KqsTa_HpM

 

[chain220]

Perfect solution, thank you! I had no idea about RawCap. Couple questions, though. It seems like I can use as many storage devices to record to as I want, correct? There would just be another part of the video on each drive? and how much of a performance hit is recording to the drive A. the game is on and B. the OS is on? Would it be worth adding these types of drives?

 

[Frag Maniac]

It seems like I can use as many storage devices to record to as I want, correct? There would just be another part of the video on each drive? and how much of a performance hit is recording to the drive A. the game is on and B. the OS is on? Would it be worth adding these types of drives?

I can show you samples of my having used just two HDDs that averaged only 69 Mb/s write speed between them, which were also used for OS and game as they were the only ones in my sys at the time, and with just a GTS 250 I was able to record Metro 2033 (original, not optimized Redux version) in 720p with very playable frame rates.

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UdrcqEIayU"][/video]

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l84RxdXY8LQ"][/video]

Dead Island playing at 100-120 FPS while DxTory captures at 30 FPS
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIrxaZNZXHs"][/video]

Just adding another HDD, even if both are mediocre write speed and have OS and game on them, makes a big difference. There's no way I could get those results in original Metro on a GTS 250 with Fraps, I know because I tried that first.

That said, you want to give yourself the best chance you can for optimized performance, so if you have one or more OS/Game free drives to do the writing, that helps. Also, HDDs are faster on the edge of the platter, because it moves at faster speed than the center. This is a big part of why HDDs bench slower and slower as they get filled up.

However, you CAN make a partition large enough for your RawClip files on the platter edge of each HDD you designate for capture. This is more easily done with a partition tool that has a slider for positioning the partition. I did this with my latest WD Black 1TB and I it benches at 180Mb/s on the edge of the platter, vs 120 Mb/s or less elsewhere once it starts filling up. DxTory has a built-in drive benching tool right on the page where you designate capture clip folders btw.

You can also make more efficient use of space by setting RawCap Convert to automatically delete the RawCap files after it's converted them to AVI, and use another drive for the AVI file. This way you can also keep using that fast part of the drive for the capture files.

One last thing. The DxTory codec is pretty decent as far as visual quality, but it has one tradeoff, the files it writes are pretty large. Since you're likely compressing afterward anyway, you really don't need to capture uncompressed, which makes ridiculously large files.

Try Medium or even Low quality. Low is easily as good as ShadowPlay at max setting.

 

[chain220]

Yeah, those videos came out pretty decently considering those write speeds. The major difference is I'm trying to record at 60 FPS, which obviously doubles the need for write speeds. I've been deleting the RawCap files immediately after converting and have also used the lowest possible setting for the Dxtory default codec.

I also benchmarked my drives (all 3), and came out with my SSD at 160 (which contains my OS and some games) and one hard drive at 96 and another at 70.

Here is the video I came out with thanks to using RawCap. The previous recordings were of the same game with the same settings, but only produced around 40-45 FPS, and a very inconsistent framerate in the videos.

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdkfXpFQbTE"][/video]

 

[Frag Maniac]

The major difference is I'm trying to record at 60 FPS, which obviously doubles the need for write speeds.

Of course, but then I was using a mere GTS250, which is massively weaker than today's cards. I DID however recommend the partitioning. Edge of platter makes a difference, esp with a fast HDD like WD Black 1TB. You'd get faster than your SSD is benching at.

Are you able to get a steady 60 FPS now? The video looked fairly good, save for slight pixelation on the grass textures, but that may be the level of graphics in the game, or your compression method.

I've read that some prefer to use one USB 3 external HDD instead for the capture files. Apparently even with a 5400 RPM drive speed the fast transfer time of USB 3 allows lag free performance. I've also seen WD My Passport Ultra 1TB USB3 drives for as little as $54 on sale recently.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=WD+Passport+Ultra+1TB&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
(^Very good place to buy from. I actually prefer them to Newegg.)

 

[chain220]

Yes, I got a completely steady 60 FPS. My compression method did cause the pixelation. Any suggestions there? I use Handbrake CRF 18 on the slower x264 preset with extra options "bframes=2:keyint=30". I'm new to the whole video scene, so I'm not sure what these mean. I just read they were good for YouTube.

For the HDD's, I've got one 500GB WD Blue (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769) and one 1TB WD Green (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317).

The 500GB drive has 248 GB free, and the 1TB has 247 GB free. Could I still partition them for the beginning/outer of the drive like you're talking about, without having to clear the drives?

 

[Frag Maniac]

My compression method did cause the pixelation. Any suggestions there?

I mostly use VirtualDub with the VFW x264 and LAME codecs for video and audio compression. Video bitrate depends on what the output res is and whether you want to do single pass or take the time for multi pass. For 1080p single pass it can take as much as 10,000 bitrate. You may be able to use 5000 with 60 FPS though.

Note however that if your videos after compression look good fullscreen on say a 32" TV, but pixelated on YouTube, it's because YouTube converts to HTML 5 (similar to Flash) and uses a fairly low bitrate to do so. One thing you can do is to trick YouTube into using a higher bitrate by compressing to a slightly higher res. The next one up from 1080p is 2048x1152.

Resizing 1920x1080 to a little bigger res will slightly blur the video, but the higher bitrate YouTube uses more than makes up for it. You can also add a Sharpen filter in VirtualDub to compensate for the slight blur. It only takes a pinch.

Here's a guide on how to set VirtualDub up for capture with VFW and LAME.
http://www.wcreplays.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113891&pagenumber=&113891-Guide-How-to-encode-using-VirtualDub-and-x264-and-Lame-mp3=

Note that VirtualDub is a small and streamlined tool and thus can compress with good speed, but it will play extremely large file videos with lag. So when you edit frames before compression try to do it via the FF controls (arrow keys) and the mouse on the time bar. Shorter videos can play OK, but longer huge files ones, not so much.

Could I still partition them for the beginning/outer of the drive like you're talking about, without having to clear the drives?

Yes, a good partition tool can, but it's always best to do it with non OS drives, as moving system files can have adverse effects.

Quite frankly a USB 3 drive at $54 is a wise investment if you plan to do a lot of capture.