How do you shoot computer screens? at DVinfo.net

Adam Bray · June 14th, 2006, 03:30 AM

How do you shoot video of computer screens? Like you see on the internet for software tutorials or if you were going to do a "computer professor" type video and that type of stuff? Is that some kind of software or what?

Warren Ix · June 14th, 2006, 05:16 AM

I can think of two (make that three) ways off the top of my head:

1. You have a camera that has syncro scan, which lets you match the shutter speed of the camera to the refresh rate of the monitor. On some of the more pro cams, you can select this feature and change the shutter speed in small steps measured in Mhz to eliminate the crawling effect.

2. You shoot an LCD display instead of a CRT. LCD monitors do not have a scan frequency, as the pixels are individually refreshed.

3. You use a scan converter to convert the RGB monitor output from the computer to a video signal that can be recorded with a vcr or the camera in vcr mode.

This last method has the potential to be quite blurry, depending on the display resolution and quality of the scan converter.

Jonathan Jones · June 14th, 2006, 10:48 AM

Using the syncro scan feature of your camera (as earlier mentioned) works great for CRT monitors, if your camera is equipped with such a feature - you match your scan to the scan rate of the monitor and it avoids the distracting scrolling you see in footage that has not used it - if footage is shot using a CRT - and syncro scan was not used, then the CRT monitor tends to be the most distracting thing in the footage - I recently watched an interview shot by another videographer, and the interviewee was sitting in an office with a CRT screen in the background....it was so annoying and distracting, I found it hard to pay attention to the interview.

As far as you proposed purpose, however, (such as computer professor type stuff), I would recommend a screen capture type of program. This would be an application that "virtually" records the action on the screen and saves it to a video stream (such as a quicktime movie file) which can be dropped into your NLE and played with. On the Mac, I think Snapz Pro X is the app of choice. On the PC, I am sure there are lots of options. You may want to google it

Hope this helps.
-Jon

Christopher Lefchik · June 14th, 2006, 11:02 AM

Windows Media Encoder can record screen captures. It can capture full screen or a specific window or region of the screen. You're not limited to saving the capture as a Windows Media file, as the encoder can save the video as uncompressed and the audio as PCM.

Windows Media Encoder 9 is available as a free download from the Microsoft Web site.

Ervin Farkas · June 14th, 2006, 11:06 AM

If you're on a PC, Adam, use the free Windows Media Encoder from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...isplaylang=en). I am using it for live streaming and other than the usual Microsoft nuissances, it works...

Edited: OOPS Christopher, we were both posting at the same time...

June 14th, 2006, 03:30 AM	#1
Adam Bray Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Houston/Austin Posts: 394	How do you shoot computer screens? How do you shoot video of computer screens? Like you see on the internet for software tutorials or if you were going to do a "computer professor" type video and that type of stuff? Is that some kind of software or what?

June 14th, 2006, 10:48 AM	#3
Jonathan Jones Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Healdsburg, California Posts: 1,138	Using the syncro scan feature of your camera (as earlier mentioned) works great for CRT monitors, if your camera is equipped with such a feature - you match your scan to the scan rate of the monitor and it avoids the distracting scrolling you see in footage that has not used it - if footage is shot using a CRT - and syncro scan was not used, then the CRT monitor tends to be the most distracting thing in the footage - I recently watched an interview shot by another videographer, and the interviewee was sitting in an office with a CRT screen in the background....it was so annoying and distracting, I found it hard to pay attention to the interview. As far as you proposed purpose, however, (such as computer professor type stuff), I would recommend a screen capture type of program. This would be an application that "virtually" records the action on the screen and saves it to a video stream (such as a quicktime movie file) which can be dropped into your NLE and played with. On the Mac, I think Snapz Pro X is the app of choice. On the PC, I am sure there are lots of options. You may want to google it Hope this helps. -Jon __________________ "Are we to go on record, sir, with our assertion that the 'pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers' are, in point of fact', magically delicious?" - Walter Hollarhan before the House Subcommittee on Integrity in Advertising - May, 1974

June 14th, 2006, 11:06 AM	#5
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	If you're on a PC, Adam, use the free Windows Media Encoder from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...isplaylang=en). I am using it for live streaming and other than the usual Microsoft nuissances, it works... Edited: OOPS Christopher, we were both posting at the same time... __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

June 14th, 2006, 05:16 AM	#2
Warren Ix New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 8	I can think of two (make that three) ways off the top of my head: 1. You have a camera that has syncro scan, which lets you match the shutter speed of the camera to the refresh rate of the monitor. On some of the more pro cams, you can select this feature and change the shutter speed in small steps measured in Mhz to eliminate the crawling effect. 2. You shoot an LCD display instead of a CRT. LCD monitors do not have a scan frequency, as the pixels are individually refreshed. 3. You use a scan converter to convert the RGB monitor output from the computer to a video signal that can be recorded with a vcr or the camera in vcr mode. This last method has the potential to be quite blurry, depending on the display resolution and quality of the scan converter.

June 14th, 2006, 11:02 AM	#4
Christopher Lefchik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: US Posts: 1,152	Windows Media Encoder can record screen captures. It can capture full screen or a specific window or region of the screen. You're not limited to saving the capture as a Windows Media file, as the encoder can save the video as uncompressed and the audio as PCM. Windows Media Encoder 9 is available as a free download from the Microsoft Web site.