Videogame Video Reviews

It's been at least a year or two since I've written a review here on RomU, and to be quite frank, I don't feel like getting back into that whole writing walls and walls of text thing and only having a few people actually read it. I hardly read reviews anymore, and it's extremely boring compared to watching them.I've decided to do video reviews instead of writing them. It takes a lot more effort and time, but I find it well worth it. I've seen a few people on youtube and here that have done some nice video reviews, although I'm wondering how people got really nice footage on a DS...even with an emulator, you can tell the difference between being played from a DS and from an emulator.My stupid capture card (Dazzle DVC100) seems to have out of sync audio but it won't happen until about 10-30 seconds in, but sometimes there won't be any audio issues even on a 3 minute clip. I theoretically should have that fixed now. I disabled Automatic Defragmentation and Intelliwrite on Diskeeper and ended COMODO Internet Security, but I haven't tested recording new footage yet.My setup for recording is this:
Dazzle DVC100 ($50-$60 with tax)
3 Y cables (1 female, 2 male) ($2 each)
RCA cable (came with whatever console)
TV or in my case, 17" computer LCD screen with VGA box and $10 computer speakers (or that really old ass TV that I mentioned in another thread that doesn't have the stock remote and the screen is super dark. If you see me running around aimlessly or running into walls and crap, I'm playing on the dark screen)
Alienware Aurora m9700 (and somehow I'm still getting dropped frames)It's summertime now so I basically have to take my entire setup to the basement where I can record without my laptop overheating in a 90 degree room, lagging and dropping frames.Here's my first take on video capturing. I'm still messing with settings on the consoles and Pinnacle Studio 14. It is just the opening sequence that I will put at the beginning of every review. I haven't done any reviewing yet. I'm still gathering footage, which takes a long time because I might have to put in 5 hours of gameplay (ahem, RPGs) just to get 5 minutes of raw footage, and then cut out 4.5 minutes of it, only using about 30 seconds. If the review is 9 minutes of edited footage not counting the opening sequence, that's still a lot of raw footage.Yes, I'm still trying to figure out how to make the videos not so damn blurry. My capture card can only use the RCA cables so 480i is the best you're going to get. I think it's because I have my consoles' settings to 16:9, captured in 4:3 (which I forgot to set to 16:9), and then set to 16:9 through the project menu, and then stretched to get rid of the black bars. Meh, I'll probably have to redo a lot of the footage and just keep everything in 4:3 until the very last step, or just keep it in 4:3 (which I don't really want to do), and use a smaller format (not a 720p profile).What you'll expect to see from me:
-Wii reviews (easiest to do because they don't look like total crap when recorded. And I have 60+ games for it, but only 6 are actually decent --> good)
-select Gamecube games (same reason as above)
-select N64 games (just for a nostalgia kick)
-select SNES games (same reason as above)
-select GBA games (hail PS3 CFW)
-select Dreamcast games (just because. I need to justify $50 spent on a console I hardly played)
-PS3 (depends on the quality of the footage. I'm seriously spoiled to hell with 1080p HDMI and the footage I have seems to be worse than the Wii footage. It is probably because the games are designed to run in HD where Wii games are designed to run in 480i. I have 46 games sitting on a HDD, with at least 5 I've never booted up)
-select PS2 games (FFX, Dark Cloud, whatever else I have lying around)
-select PSX games (depends if I can get PS3SX working or not)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xs5REZLcOAOh, and if you find the video to be removed, one of two things happened:
1. Youtube removed it due to some sort of copyright.
2. I didn't like it (probably because it isn't finished; I haven't added text overlays yet) and I decided to remove it.I'm still deciding on a youtube user name, one solely for videogame reviews. I need to find something neutral and without numbers.

the dropped frames is probably because the dazzle device isn't up to the job. I have the same problem with my pinnacle moviebox (works fine for half an hour then overheats and starts dropping frames like crazy). It's nothing to do with the PC in that case.

Replying to #2

I seem to have fixed it by doing what I mentioned, although, I'm still not running clips past 2 minutes. Most of my footage so far can only be obtained once per playthrough so I'd rather just have a bunch of 30 second clips instead of one big one and having out of sync audio. I've already had to redo the footage once.I've got about 8 GB of raw footage right now and I'm in the process of editing it down.Edit:
Looks like I'll be doing my editing and voiceovers in Sony Vegas (or Windows Movie Maker and then added later in Sony Vegas), since Pinnacle Studios 12 and 14 won't detect my mic, but Windows Movie Maker and any other program detects it just fine.It's sad because of this little snag that I have to use 3 programs in total.

First review is up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzk4ciD79Mo
And it only took me 7 days to do it.My thoughts so far:
I need a better mic than what I have. Even on the good takes, it only picked up parts of my voice.
I think I found a solution as to why the video looks so crappy. I didn't have SLI enabled on my graphics card(s). This might explain the out of sync crap I mentioned earlier.I might take it down and redo it (again).As of right now, I'm going to hold off on PS3 reviews until I can get enough money to buy a HD PVR ($200), and hopefully it will function on a laptop that is 5, almost 6 years old. I saw the same game I reviewed on youtube but with HD footage and that's how all PS3 games are supposed to look.I'm most likely going to keep posting on here on my progress, much like a journal or log.

consider getting a plantronics mic, they're supposed to be one of the best brands. im considering getting a bluetooth one for use with dictation software.Pinnacle studio sucks and I only use it when I have no choice (i.e because im capturing with the moviebox). I have better capture hardware that I use in preference whenever possible, ironically including a no-name PCMCIA TV/radio/capture device that I got free with a laptop, that can run for hours without a single dropped frame, unlike the moviebox I paid £99 for.

Liked it. I am your first subscriber.

I hope PS3SX will be working on 3.55 before long...I found one that somebody claimed to have got working on 3.55, but most games didn't work at all and the ones that did were buggy as hell. It'll be awesome if somebody got Wii, Gamecube, or even N64 (at least) working on PS3.

Loonylion · #2the dropped frames is probably because the dazzle device isn't up to the job. I have the same problem with my pinnacle moviebox (works fine for half an hour then overheats and starts dropping frames like crazy). It's nothing to do with the PC in that case.

Dazzle is actually a fairly good type of capture card for cheap (well, $80 USD, but that may be the HD Dazzle). Many people that record Call of Duty game play that can't afford the $180 or so for an HD PVR will use a Dazzle, or even an Easycap (about $12 USD). If you have the correct settings and the right recording software, you'll never have a hiccup. You also have to watch render settings carefully though. One screw up anywhere, and generally, the audio will be off in some way.I'm unsure of the age of the Dazzle at hand, but if it was made within the last three years or so, it should be up to par for recording, especially last gen and back.Also, remember, if your capture card doesn't record in HD, don't leave your system playing in HD settings. Does not work.

BigGangstaKillaC93 · #7I hope PS3SX will be working on 3.55 before long...I found one that somebody claimed to have got working on 3.55, but most games didn't work at all and the ones that did were buggy as hell. It'll be awesome if somebody got Wii, Gamecube, or even N64 (at least) working on PS3.

I seriously can't wait for a working PS3SX. I have tons of burned PSX games lying around. If you see my video montage, you'll see that I have SNES9x and VBA (PS3 versions) on there.I can't even get PS3SX to boot. Comes up with some stupid error...
For now, I got my two emulators, and my Dreamcast with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Grandia II, and any other gem for the Dreamcast. And the Dreamcast footage looks amazing.I've got enough games for the Gamecube, PS2, Wii, Dreamcast, N64, SNES, and GBA that will last me until I can prepare a new HD setup for PS3 reviews. If I'm reviewing a PS3 game, it will most likely be a game that doesn't emphasize graphics. Don't expect GTAIV, L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redemption, GT5, FFXIII or Uncharted or anything like that. Those are meant to be played in HD. That basically leaves me with Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) games like Trinity Universe and Cross Edge.

Replying to #8

I seriously just bought the Dazzle 10 days ago. I'm sure the hiccups will go away now that I have SLI enabled. A little google search on my m9700 Aurora told me that I have two graphics cards on my machine, and SLI enables both of them to work in tandem sort of like a dual-core processor does. I had this disabled for a game (Battlefront 2?) and forgot to re-enable it. Hopefully, the picture will turn out better. It won't capture in HD and I'm glad it doesn't, because I'd have even more hiccups than I do now. I rendered my stuff in 720p because youtube adds in black bars on the sides of anything not 720p or better. Why can't youtube just resize the player to the media size? Don't watch the stuff in 720p, just watch it in 360p or 480p.And I realize that my voice over sucks. I cannot read scripts for the life of me, and I might be able to do a sentence or two, but if I take a gamble, and try to do a whole paragraph, I stumble on a word and I have to redo it. I got to the point that it was Take 30 (seriously, I sounded like a drunk on some of them) on a particular paragraph and said screw it and kept the best take with really poor inflection. Even reading line-by-line, stopping the recording after every sentence, even if it's just three words sounded very scripted. I'll have to work on that. And then there's parts where my voice gets too low and the mic doesn't pick up on it.And Loony, if there's another third party program that detects the Dazzle for video recording, let me know. I have Sony Vegas 7.0a, but unfortunately, it only edits and renders, and doesn't record raw footage.I'm going to try and add some comedy to the reviews whenever possible. The whole reason I got into this was because of professional reviewers that just blab on and on with no real input on the game that they're reviewing. Even semi-pro reviewers like those on CGR Undertow just don't have an opinion on the game. I remember seeing one for FF6 and the guy seriously didn't have a single detail to the game, just basically how nostalgic it was, and how you should play the game if you haven't already, and that was the end of the review. Nothing actually said about the game. WTF...And sadly, I just pulled the same stunt by not really having anything fun to say in the video, just a long, detailed script.Other reviewers I watch are Frequenczy, Wiiviewr, Storm Dain, and Knightwing01 (Kwing). The problem is that most of them don't review games anymore other than FreQ and Wiiviewr.I also watched TheShockSuspect's (TheNintendoCritic) stuff as well since he started right on this forum, but he hasn't posted any new reviews in awhile, and I wish he would since his were great.

Vegas will capture, but I think only from firewire sources not from analogue capture cards. Since you mentioned using pinnacle studio, I'm assuming the dazzle is made by pinnacle, in which case if it is anything like my moviebox it will only work in pinnacle studio and there is no way that I have found to make it work in anything else. It makes sense though because that is absolutely the only reason anybody would use that piece of shit software.Dont script your reviews, just talk about the game naturally

Replying to #10

The problem with doing the voiceovers without a script is that I draw complete blanks as soon as the record button is hit.I ran into a few snags with the script in that the vocabulary was too complex to speak it naturally. That, and the fact that I suck at enunciation. I tend to mumble and only half pronounce a word, even though in my mind, I pronounced the whole thing.

Replying to #11

You'll get over it. it just takes some getting used to.

Your intro is far too long. i will sub and i can see that you will progress easily. Just try shorten it and keep it too key factors such as.Gameplay
Graphics
Replay ability
Story.
ETC ETC

Replying to #13

For a game so heavily based on the story aspect, I was pretty much obligated to make that the focus of the review.For games like Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and similar titles with virtually no story, I'll get to the nitty gritty.And I just got some new footage. Now that I have SLI enabled, there are zero slowdowns or out of sync moments. I can't believe I disabled that feature in the first place...it's like running at half speed or turning off one of your processors.Next review won't be so heavy on the story...because there isn't one!AWWWW YEAHHHHHHHHH!
Say goodbye to Pinnacle Studio!
VirtualDub is my new favorite capturing program. No lag, huge preview screen. And THE QUALITY IS AWESOME! Seriously, what garbage, Pinnacle.I googled "Dazzle DVC 100 text" and it seems that other people were having issues with the text looking all crappy (as well as the rest of the video). Just goes to show you that Pinnacle Studios blows.Edit 6-11-2011:
I've decided to hold off on reviews for a week until I get the optimal settings down. For now, I've got a quality test video up.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6y3oGWWeVQIt is WAY BETTER than what I had. I have to reshoot everything, and render that so it will be awhile until I have footage I can work with.Rendering sucks balls.

Two new videos are up.
They're both quality tests.
Comment on here or on the videos for constructive criticism.Advance Wars Tutorial Mission 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRVTLPF4cjwPartial Dark Cloud Intro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6y3oGWWeVQThey use the same exact editing and rendering methods, although, I think the Dark Cloud video is a little too dark.I want to get everything right as far as video quality goes so I don't have to recapture all of the footage for the 4th time...I am now able to record PSP gameplay.
Add that to the list.

Second review is up. It's MUCH shorter this time around.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Review

so virtualdub works with the dazzle device?

Replying to #17

Yes, which I'm so glad it does. I was getting sick of getting dropped frames. If the Dazzle only worked with Pinnacle Studios, I would have returned it by now. The device is good, the software that comes with it is crap.