Leadingspartan
Well-Known Member
Ok, So I've had a lot of people messaging me and asking me in general all about capturing halo 3 saved films. So I'm going to help you do it for around thirty dollars. I think this is the best way to make sure that everyone gets a chance at posting some of their favorite videos on Youtube.
Now the first thing you will need is a capture card. What this does in lay mens terms is put AV ports on the back of your computer. (Ex. The ports on the back of your tv that you plug your xbox into). But before you can install it you will have to buy a capture card. Now, You can get any capture card you want varying from a regular card to an High-Definition card but I'm assuming that most people reading this are eager to post their videos using as little money as possible.
**Important Reminder** Quality is important when it comes to your video. But something you have to remember is if your posting to sites such as Youtube they are automatically going to significantly lower the quality of your video. So the deference between capture cards isn't going to be really noticeable on these sites.
Where to get a capture card?
Alright this is the site that i got mine from. Tiger Direct. They have a Capture card under the Video capture menu located on the side of the site for under 20 Dollars. Now if you see the capture card you are going to notice it doesn't have a spot for the Red and White audio in plugs. For most people this is fine for one reason, they are making montages and putting music over them anyway.
But what if i want to include sound?
So say you want to include sound. Don't worry it's not hard at all. You'll need a connector device that turns your Red and White AV cables into a 3.5 mm jack. You can pick these up at any RadioShack. Here is an example of what you will need. Example. You will simply take the Red and White jacks and plug them into their respective sockets and then plug the opposite end into the Audio in Socket found on the back of your card.
How about installing it?
Now, this is going to be different on every computer. My best suggestion for this is to read the instruction manual carefully and don't just do something because it seems right.If you are unsure about what you are doing ill be happy to show you the correct way to insert your card for your type of computer. Just message me or post in this thread.
Its in now what?
Install the disk of drivers that came with it. Its most likely going to be on a C.D. that comes with the card. If not, Putting your cards model and brand name into google accompanied by the word Driver will often bring up a list of download for your card. If you really still can't find it I will be more then happy to help you find your drivers.
Ok, i have the drivers and windows recognizes it...what's next?
Most of the time your capture card will come with programs for video capture.This program will act as a digital VCR. But for some unforeseen reason you didn't get one or you don't like the one you got i would suggest WinAvi. On that link its the last one that states download full version for free. This is legal because the maker has released it for free. Another one you can also try is Blaze Media Pro. Its free for a limited time but offers a heck of a lot more features. The choice is up to you.
Awesome i have all of that, Ive capture my video...now how do i make it look good?
The wonderful thing about having a PC or a Mac is they both come with video editing software built in. For PC it is Windows Movie Maker, and for Mac it is Imovie. Both these programs are great for basic editing such as: Adding titles, Editing clip length, Adding transitions in between clips, Adding music, Slowing down, Speeding up, And a couple more video effects. Most of this stuff is all you will need for montage making/editing.
Yeah, those programs are great, but what if i want to do something more advanced such as split screen with two different points of view?
Unfortunitly both of these programs don't have this feature. Your going to have to shell out so major bucks for a super editing program. Sony Vegas or Final Cut Pro 6 are two program with very powerful editing abilities. If your looking to do something a little more then i would suggest one of these programs.
Sorry if i missed anything...If i did Post or message me and ill be sure to add it.
Thanks for reading guys and Happy montaging!
Update: If you are intrested in different types of Capture devices that are over 20.00 dollars check this list out:
1. USB 2.0 Video Capture
2. USB 2.0 Capture Box
3. PCI gold Video Capture plus software
4. Magician TV Tuner
5. Dazzle Video Creator
6. Canopus Advanced Digital
**EDIT NUMBER 2: If you have a laptop a capture card will not work for you. You will need a USB 2.0 Video capture Device. The first two i have listed are good inexpensive options.
**EDIT NUMBER 3: *****I think most of you are confused on what an actual capture card does....here is my explanation:
Ill put another update in because i think most of you are confused as to what capturing is. Basically what happens is the capture card basically turns your computer into a TV. Your card will have a Yellow video in jack just like on the back of your TV. You will take your Yellow xbox 360 video in and plug it into the Yellow video in socket on your capture card. No actual capturing or saving is taking place on the card. Your actually not saving to the card itself. When you Open your program such as WinAVI it will open a window Which will act as a mini TV. You will be able to see what you are doing on your xbox on this window. Now, you will go into your saved films and bring up the clip you want.Hit the giant record button in WinAVI and tell your clip to play. Once its done click stop and it will automatically save your clip to any folder you choose.
**Edit Number 3: Here are a list of Video editing programs you can purchase. If you have a PC or a MAC it is important for you to know that you do NOT need any of these programs, because your computer comes pre-installed with either Windows movie maker or Imovie. This is a list compiled strictly for people who want more advanced editing.
1.Sony Vegas
2.Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 11
3.Pinnacle Studio Plus 9
4.Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus
5.Final Cut Studio 2 MAC ONLY
Complete list of ALL Video Editing software is located here: http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,1874,4835,00.asp Credits go to http://www.pcmag.com for the complete list.
**UPDATE 4:
I've had a a lot of people saying they need extra space for their archived video clips. Here is a link to some cheap external Hard Drives
**UPDATE 5: If you are currently running a MAC make sure that your MAC is compatable with the card you are buying. How do you do this? Check in the system Requirements in the description and it should say if MAC is supported. If you see nothing you like try here.
Also check this out: http://www.welovemacs.com/vicacrforg4m.html
**UPDATE 6: ********Free video editing software.********
Ok, So alot of you have been asking for some good LEGAL free video editing software. So here is the link to Free Software for the following systems:
Windows
OS X
Linux
**UPDATE 7 MORE DETAILED INSTALL INFORMATION******
If you have an actual capture card check out this Information about installing it into your computer here
Now the first thing you will need is a capture card. What this does in lay mens terms is put AV ports on the back of your computer. (Ex. The ports on the back of your tv that you plug your xbox into). But before you can install it you will have to buy a capture card. Now, You can get any capture card you want varying from a regular card to an High-Definition card but I'm assuming that most people reading this are eager to post their videos using as little money as possible.
**Important Reminder** Quality is important when it comes to your video. But something you have to remember is if your posting to sites such as Youtube they are automatically going to significantly lower the quality of your video. So the deference between capture cards isn't going to be really noticeable on these sites.
Where to get a capture card?
Alright this is the site that i got mine from. Tiger Direct. They have a Capture card under the Video capture menu located on the side of the site for under 20 Dollars. Now if you see the capture card you are going to notice it doesn't have a spot for the Red and White audio in plugs. For most people this is fine for one reason, they are making montages and putting music over them anyway.
But what if i want to include sound?
So say you want to include sound. Don't worry it's not hard at all. You'll need a connector device that turns your Red and White AV cables into a 3.5 mm jack. You can pick these up at any RadioShack. Here is an example of what you will need. Example. You will simply take the Red and White jacks and plug them into their respective sockets and then plug the opposite end into the Audio in Socket found on the back of your card.
How about installing it?
Now, this is going to be different on every computer. My best suggestion for this is to read the instruction manual carefully and don't just do something because it seems right.If you are unsure about what you are doing ill be happy to show you the correct way to insert your card for your type of computer. Just message me or post in this thread.
Its in now what?
Install the disk of drivers that came with it. Its most likely going to be on a C.D. that comes with the card. If not, Putting your cards model and brand name into google accompanied by the word Driver will often bring up a list of download for your card. If you really still can't find it I will be more then happy to help you find your drivers.
Ok, i have the drivers and windows recognizes it...what's next?
Most of the time your capture card will come with programs for video capture.This program will act as a digital VCR. But for some unforeseen reason you didn't get one or you don't like the one you got i would suggest WinAvi. On that link its the last one that states download full version for free. This is legal because the maker has released it for free. Another one you can also try is Blaze Media Pro. Its free for a limited time but offers a heck of a lot more features. The choice is up to you.
Awesome i have all of that, Ive capture my video...now how do i make it look good?
The wonderful thing about having a PC or a Mac is they both come with video editing software built in. For PC it is Windows Movie Maker, and for Mac it is Imovie. Both these programs are great for basic editing such as: Adding titles, Editing clip length, Adding transitions in between clips, Adding music, Slowing down, Speeding up, And a couple more video effects. Most of this stuff is all you will need for montage making/editing.
Yeah, those programs are great, but what if i want to do something more advanced such as split screen with two different points of view?
Unfortunitly both of these programs don't have this feature. Your going to have to shell out so major bucks for a super editing program. Sony Vegas or Final Cut Pro 6 are two program with very powerful editing abilities. If your looking to do something a little more then i would suggest one of these programs.
Sorry if i missed anything...If i did Post or message me and ill be sure to add it.
Thanks for reading guys and Happy montaging!
Update: If you are intrested in different types of Capture devices that are over 20.00 dollars check this list out:
1. USB 2.0 Video Capture
2. USB 2.0 Capture Box
3. PCI gold Video Capture plus software
4. Magician TV Tuner
5. Dazzle Video Creator
6. Canopus Advanced Digital
**EDIT NUMBER 2: If you have a laptop a capture card will not work for you. You will need a USB 2.0 Video capture Device. The first two i have listed are good inexpensive options.
**EDIT NUMBER 3: *****I think most of you are confused on what an actual capture card does....here is my explanation:
Ill put another update in because i think most of you are confused as to what capturing is. Basically what happens is the capture card basically turns your computer into a TV. Your card will have a Yellow video in jack just like on the back of your TV. You will take your Yellow xbox 360 video in and plug it into the Yellow video in socket on your capture card. No actual capturing or saving is taking place on the card. Your actually not saving to the card itself. When you Open your program such as WinAVI it will open a window Which will act as a mini TV. You will be able to see what you are doing on your xbox on this window. Now, you will go into your saved films and bring up the clip you want.Hit the giant record button in WinAVI and tell your clip to play. Once its done click stop and it will automatically save your clip to any folder you choose.
**Edit Number 3: Here are a list of Video editing programs you can purchase. If you have a PC or a MAC it is important for you to know that you do NOT need any of these programs, because your computer comes pre-installed with either Windows movie maker or Imovie. This is a list compiled strictly for people who want more advanced editing.
1.Sony Vegas
2.Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 11
3.Pinnacle Studio Plus 9
4.Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus
5.Final Cut Studio 2 MAC ONLY
Complete list of ALL Video Editing software is located here: http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,1874,4835,00.asp Credits go to http://www.pcmag.com for the complete list.
**UPDATE 4:
I've had a a lot of people saying they need extra space for their archived video clips. Here is a link to some cheap external Hard Drives
**UPDATE 5: If you are currently running a MAC make sure that your MAC is compatable with the card you are buying. How do you do this? Check in the system Requirements in the description and it should say if MAC is supported. If you see nothing you like try here.
Also check this out: http://www.welovemacs.com/vicacrforg4m.html
**UPDATE 6: ********Free video editing software.********
Ok, So alot of you have been asking for some good LEGAL free video editing software. So here is the link to Free Software for the following systems:
Windows
OS X
Linux
**UPDATE 7 MORE DETAILED INSTALL INFORMATION******
If you have an actual capture card check out this Information about installing it into your computer here