Is reencoding a recording of a game game related enough?

badp

22:00

@GraceNote In a way, those questions are like the health questions.

The driving question really wasn't about playing games.

However, it failed to start a 6 hour discussion.

Who knows, maybe there's more to gaming than playing games!

There's the whole social aspect!

Grace Note

@badp Those questions are like the "pre-conditions", which I mentioned before once. Things being related to gaming is something we look at before we measure topicality

badp

Including but not limited to showing others how they game.

I'll need to leave in 15 minutes for a while.

TomWij

2. I don't see how your question generally covers "PC video gaming" more than "Computer software".

Grace Note

1. Is this a question gamers have? Yes, pirating is done by a lot of gamers.
2. Is there value for Gaming to have this question on site? Yes, because it would help expose more games to more people and thus allow more people to participate.
3. Is this question objectively answerable? Yes, I asked it.

TomWij

3. That question is irrelevant to this discussion.

Grace Note

22:02

I don't want to rag on you, @badp, but those really are just the start of qualification. Not the entirety of it. Otherwise, there's a lot you can open up with it

badp

@GraceNote 4. Do the terms of the site allow this question? No.

@GraceNote I wasn't attempting to be exhaustive.

but I was trying to show very good points about why this question deserves to exist on gaming.

Grace Note

Those weren't good points, especially since "Is this useful to the site: yes" is not really a good point to answer "Is this useful to the site"

TomWij

@badp: But you don't answer your "pre-conditions" right, see 1 2 3.

Arda Xi

@GraceNote Am I just really tired or does that not make sense.

badp

@TomWij I really didn't think you were trying to reply, @Tom. There's so much disconnect between the questions and the answers I don't know where to begin.

Grace Note

22:06

@ArdaXi Well, if that's the case then this will throw you for a loop: us being a community of Gamers is secondary to our mission as a site dedicated to Gamers.

badp

1. "Is this a questions gamers have?" "Your question is not about recording." Okay, so let's only have recording questions!
2. "Is there value for Gaming to have this question on site?" "I don't see how your question generally covers "PC video gaming" more than "Computer software"." General computer software isn't recorded by FRAPS, unless by a side effect of desktop compositing (FRAPS doesn't do this by default).
3. "Is this question objectively answerable?" " That question is irrelevant to this discussion." ← not an answer

Arda Xi

@badp 1. Recording would be relevant because it related to the game itself.

Grace Note

@ArdaXi But what you do with the recording is not related to the game~

Arda Xi

2. Any DirectX or OpenGL software is, like the desktop for Aero.

TomWij

"Okay, so let's only have recording questions!" --> But your question is not about recording.

Arda Xi

22:08

@GraceNote That's my point.

badp

@ArdaXi So it's fine to ask how to record, but you can't ask how to turn the recording into something useful?

Arda Xi

@badp Yes. On here, anyway.

TomWij

"General computer software isn't recorded by FRAPS, unless by a side effect of desktop compositing (FRAPS doesn't do this by default). " --> But your question is not about recording.

Grace Note

@badp Honestly? Yes.

Think of it this way: We can tell people how to take screenshots

But we really aren't where you should ask "Where can I upload screenshots online?"

Arda Xi

It already is something useful anyway, you can even have YouTube transcode it.

badp

22:09

@GraceNote Bad example, I'm not asking for a youtube alternative.

TomWij

"not an answer" --> How can that not be an answer, read the whole line again. The question posed by you in 3 is irrelevant to the discussion we are having here...

Arda Xi

@badp It's doing something useful with the recorded object. Good example.

Grace Note

@badp No, you're asking what to do with the byproduct of a recording

badp

A better example would have been asking how I could've turned the BMP into a better format. JPG or PNG, what should I use?

Grace Note

Much in the same vein that uploading a screenshot is something to do with the byproduct of taking a screenshot

TomWij

22:10

And you are again changing subject, as it's not... about... recording.

badp

"It's gaming, so it's not a photo. Use PNG."

↑ domain specific knowledge.

Arda Xi

@badp You can use JPG in certain cases.

badp

@TomWij I'm following along @Grace's example.

Arda Xi

It all depends on the context.

Your question has no context, so I don't see how it's relevant.

badp

@ArdaXi I included additional information, like the fact the game is Minecraft.

So I did give the additional context.

Arda Xi

22:12

No you didn't.

4

Q: What is the simplest way to re-encode Fraps recordings to something more sensible?

I took a quick FRAPS recording showing this clever answer at work. The output was a 54 seconds long 424×240 video for a mere 138 MBs, or 45 minutes of upload on my link. Now, as long as the video takes a reasonable amount of time to upload, I'm fine with just getting the process done in backgro...

Chrome claims the word Minecraft isn't in there anywhere.

badp

@ArdaXi Have you tried clicking on "this clever answer"?

Grace Note

@ArdaXi Minecraft is technically in the link "this clever answer"

StrixVaria

@Arda He did it stealthily through the link.

badp

It couldn't be more specific than that.

I explained exactly what the video contained.

Arda Xi

Sure you could. A minecraft tag for example.

StrixVaria

22:12

@badp Yes it could. You could state it directly.

badp

It's additional context. It's not vital to the answer.

Arda Xi

@badp You claim it is!

badp

Not in my opinion when I asked it anyway.

Arda Xi

That's your entire argument!

TomWij

@badp: While a question about Keyboard might be fine in the context of Gaming, I don't see how the software Texter relevant to the Keyboard but not relevant to the context of Gaming would be fine.

badp

22:13

@ArdaXi I claim it's vital that is a recording of a game, not of Minecraft.

But even then I've gone the extra mile and told you it was Minecraft

Arda Xi

And that it is therefore vital to state which game

badp

and it was me going underwater to build blocks.

Arda Xi

Since Minecraft settings would be different from Crysis settings

badp

26 secs ago, by badp

But even then I've gone the extra mile and told you it was Minecraft

Arda Xi

You didn't tell me. You gave me a link.

You never stated the question was about Minecraft directly.

I don't follow every link on a page.

badp

22:14

@ArdaXi Would you expect an expert in encoding to know what Minecraft is?

TomWij

@badp You claim. But why?

badp

Why did I even ask on Gaming, then?

StrixVaria

@badp Good question.

Arda Xi

Thank you.

No further questions, your honour.

badp

I asked on Gaming because it's a question about a recording of Gaming.

TomWij

22:15

@badp Ask yourself the same question for a completely off-topic question. Now what you just said doesn't make any sense...

badp

and the extra mile information can only be correctly parsed by gamers.

StrixVaria

And because you had a misconception that that mattered.

badp

@StrixVaria My misconception is yet undefeated

It would make a good answer however.

Arda Xi

@badp You could just have said that it was about Minecraft.

Again, I don't think it's relevant, you do.

badp

@ArdaXi It isn't as much about Minecraft as it is about gaming.

Please don't say I think what I state I don't think.

Arda Xi

22:16

@badp Your argument that it's about gaming makes it about Minecraft.

I say what you said you think.

TomWij

@badp Woohoo, I can repeat myself: It's not... about... recording.

Arda Xi

If you're misrepresenting your opinion this discussion is rather useless.

badp

3 mins ago, by badp

@ArdaXi I claim it's vital that is a recording of a game, not of Minecraft.

↑ What I think

If it differs from that it's not what I think?

Arda Xi

46 secs ago, by Arda Xi

@badp Your argument that it's about gaming makes it about Minecraft.

badp

Is it difficult?

TomWij

22:17

@badp Why can the extra mile information only be parsed by gamers?

badp

@TomWij I've ignored you because you're stuck 10 minutes ago

Arda Xi

You said it's about gaming because settings differ for games. They also differ per game.

TomWij

Yes, because you are constantly changing topic.

badp

3 mins ago, by badp

@ArdaXi Would you expect an expert in encoding to know what Minecraft is?

Grace Note

Wasn't the extra mile information entirely debunked by the point that FRAPS encoding is actually irrelevant?

badp

22:18

@GraceNote FRAPS encoding is relevant in the answering of my question.

Grace Note

Since apparently, the codec doesn't particularly matter as long as you have the codec installed?

TomWij

@badp How?!?!

badp

Now, the 15 mins are over. Later.

StrixVaria

@Grace yes.

Arda Xi

2 mins ago, by Arda Xi

Again, I don't think it's relevant, you do.

@GraceNote No, @badp claimed that the quality settings you use in transcoding differ because it's a game.

Like, you would want more compression on a game than a normal screen recording

TomWij

22:20

@GraceNote Basically, you are going from FRAPS Format --> FRAPS Decoder --> Raw Format --> Other Encoder --> Other Format

Going from the near lossless FRAPS Format to the lossless Raw Format doesn't involve any settings.

The only part where settings are involved is from going from the Raw Format to the Other Format.

Arda Xi

I do think FRAPS' format is lossless, just compressed.

StrixVaria

@TomWij That is a perfectly concise explanation. Thank you.

TomWij

And that's the only part where you would be losing information.

So, if I fill in a video from a camera recorded instead, you see that the video would still display the same in the Original Format and the Raw Format.

Here, it would display the same in the FRAPS Format and the Raw Format, no loss of quality.

So, I fail to see how FRAPS encoding is relevant.

The only thing that would be relevant is the need of having the codec to decode it.

Arda Xi

Which is installed with Fraps

TomWij

If I used a hardware device that takes my HDMI output (on which you see a game) and save it into an AVI file, but I rather would like to have it in 3GP. It wouldn't make the question any different...

badp

22:59

> A conversation can only have up to 400 messages.

:(

Grace Note

Welcome back, @badp

badp

I'm migrating the whole stuff to its own chatroom

Grace Note

Later, @TomWij

Arda Xi

It's back! Er, I mean.. hi!

badp

although it may actually encourage having more of this discussion

TomWij

23:00

@StrixVaria Well, I would say we did, but badp seems to disagree.

Does migrating break bookmarks?

@badp: See also:

While FRAPS is a tool for gamers, it doesn't matter in this Transcoding question.

40 mins ago, 6 minutes total – 13 messages, 4 users, 0 stars

Bookmarked 28 mins ago by TomWij

badp

room mode changed to Gallery: anyone may enter, but only approved users can talk

@TomWij yes

TomWij

@StrixVaria I guess we did come to a consensus, unless someone comes up with a legitimate argument to counter that explanation.

badp

← 884 messages moved from Bridge

room mode changed to Public: anyone may enter and talk

@TomWij Yes, because the following steps are still left for a gamer to figure out all on his own.

I hoped asking this question would have changed this.

Grace Note

@badp We're here to answer questions about gaming, not serve gamers.

badp

Is there really a difference?

Grace Note

23:11

Yes. To point, there are a lot of questions that gamers have which we don't handle

badp

Gaming-related questions?

Grace Note

Shopping for games, producing writing about games, how to answer questions about games...

badp

Really? The first is [game-rec] :D

Grace Note

I mean, "Where can I find a local shop for this game"

Opposition to game-rec is on a completely different level having to do with our engine and utility rather than the relation and usefulness to gamers.

badp

I know.

Grace Note

23:17

Who is asking the question doesn't matter for the topicality. No one disagrees with this being a question a gamer may have. But the fact remains, the heart of the question is one about transcoding video formats. And as has been repeatedly stated, the fact it was a game, and the fact it was originally encoded through FRAPS, are actually irrelevant to the answer.

I don't think it really needed a whole 7 hours of angry lashing to handle this, though

Let me re-examine what comments are on the actual question

badp

The best part is that 7 hours of angry lashing only brought two close votes and six upvotes (and 3 useless answers.)

Grace Note

@badp Technically, I could cast the final vote

badp

@GraceNote I know you're probably going to.

So far, only Ivo has sided with me.

Grace Note

I sided with you at first

Back when I thought FRAPS encoding mattered

badp

@GraceNote see, that's a problem however. How is a gamer to know that FRAPS encoding matters (or not)?

Grace Note

23:23

@badp Strix's first comment explains that

badp

Why couldn't they simply answer "Hey, buddy, it doesn't matter that it's FRAPS, just use this program with this and this settings and you're done."

Upvote, checkmark, reputation. Everybody's happier.

Grace Note

They tried that. But it inexplicably didn't work for you.

badp

It's correct that it shouldn't matter what encoding/program was originally used (except it does, see Handbrake)

Grace Note

According to Arda, he used Handbrake successfully, and his step process seemed to be identical to yours.

Which was "Take FRAPS encoding, feed it to Handbrake, transcode into video". He might be against the question, but he isn't likely to skip steps just to make a point.

badp

Speaking of which, I'll try again after installing this codec pack. Who knows...

Grace Note

23:29

One can picture the larger image as "If someone was mistaken into thinking something was Gaming related, should it be left open as if it was?"

badp

@GraceNote He does encoding regularly. It may very well be that he's done a necessary setup step I haven't.

@GraceNote Wait, the answers may not be gaming related. The question still is.

Grace Note

@badp Phrasing and motivation alone do not a question's relation make

@Arda Let's put aside the whole on-topic and off-topic bit for one moment

Arda Xi

The only step necessary is installing fraps.

That installs the codec you need.

Grace Note

If you don't mind, can you walk @badp through the transcoding with Handbrake, in case he missed a step?

badp

@ArdaXi I have it.

Arda Xi

23:32

I would, but I can't right now because I'm on my notebook with no access to my desktop, which has fraps on it.

badp

aaand my third attempt with Handbrake is now complete.

Grace Note

Ah, thanks anyway, then, @Arda

badp

dl.dropbox.com/u/1164414/SO/Handbrake.m4v

Arda Xi

Well, it's a valid m4a I suppose.

While FRAPS is a tool for gamers, it doesn't matter in this Transcoding question.

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Is reencoding a recording of a game g…