# Making videos of whats on the screen **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043 "2005-03-24T15:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043/1 "2005-03-24T15:20:27Z")
Here’s the problem: I need to make a video of a flight in Flight Simulator. On the recommendation of some “friends,” I bought Pinnacle Studio 9 to capture the video and edit it for further consumption. Two problems have since arisen. The first is that I can’t seem to get Studio to record off of anything but a digital video camera. I’m thinking this is because I bought the wrong program, not getting the correct one to grab video off of the screen. Would another program be able to do this, or am I using my current one incorrectly? How does one go about recording what is currently on-screen? What is that feature even called in videoeditingspeak? The other problem (and this one is more of a rant), is that I can’t seem to find anything close to an answer of what I’m looking for elsewhere on the 'net. Maybe technology is finally surpassing me, but I just can’t seem to get a hold of any sites, forums, or phone numbers to figure this out. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043/2 "2005-03-24T15:54:03Z")
I have and use Pinnacle. I don’t believe you can do any computer screen captures (moving images) with it. I can capture in “real time” what’s coming from my camcorder but not what’s going on in Windows. Unless FS can make in-game movies, you’re better off making a video using an external camcorder. I don’t know if what you’re looking for exists. Also, if it does, it’s going to take a lot of CPU power to capture something like that. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043/3 "2005-03-24T16:29:24Z")
What you’re trying to do is commonly called “screen capturing.” You can achieve your goal a bunch of ways, ranging in price from expensive to super cheap. For non-IT people, the most intuitive way is to physically connect your computer to a recording device, generally a VCR or DVD recorder. This requires a “TV tuner,” though, in the form of a video card or as an external device that plugs into your computer’s USB port. Tuners come with a standard screw-on CoAx connection, digital video and audio ports, or both. This is the expensive solution. Less intuitive, but free of charge, is a program called Windows Media Encoder 9. I use it to capture what’s happening on my screen so I can make tech support tutorials for my friends and family. It’s simple, powerful, and you can download it [here](http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp). Click the top drop-down box and select Windows Media Encoder. The help/readme is extensive and it’s fairly tech-heavy, but you should be able to get it to work. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043/4 "2005-03-24T16:35:44Z")
There are several utilities available for making video captures of games in general and FS2004 in particular. [Fraps](http://www.fraps.com) is probably the best of them. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043/5 "2005-03-24T18:42:51Z")
Outstanding! Fraps was exactly what I was looking for. Three days of fighting with Pinnacle and you folks solve my problems in less than 2 hours. I love this place… ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-videos-of-whats-on-the-screen/296043/6 "2005-03-24T18:54:07Z")
Outstanding! Fraps was exactly what I was looking for. Three days of fighting with Pinnacle and you folks solve my problems in less than 2 hours. I love this place…