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Can I convert css demos to wma?and how?


Laz.e.rus

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Title says it all. Id like to convert some demo files to wma's to preserve their longevity once they cannot be viewed thru css and to make them "portable".

Any ideas how?

A direct conversion would be great..ie: not watch them with fraps running (for 30 seconds) then convert the fraps etc.

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the css 'startmovie' command Does indeed work.

Ive been messing with it some this morning

syntax:

startmovie MyFirstMovieName avi

***adding the avi tag on the end instead of 'raw' will make it do its own compression into a codec you choose. 'raw' will dump a zillion tga's and a sound file that you will need a sep program to compress (IE virtual dub or Sony Vegas etc).***

 

After typing the command it will give a small popup to select your codec ( If you dont see it, Alt-Tab then come back-itll be there)

Ive been doing some experimenting....so far only with the Microsoft Video 1 Codec. Changing various settings has allowed me to record +/- 20 second clip into an .avi file anywhere from 35MB to 400MB (yikes!)

 

I'll do some more experimenting and post what I can find on that. (For Ex: recording to the Xvid codec gives you a butttload of options that I dont know what 90% of even are- but I bet itll help in the smaller conversion once I do)

 

Important notes/how to use

 

in console:

1-demoui

2-host_framerate 30 -default is 0

**** ( this sets the recording to 30 FPS... and syncs up your sound. Ive succesfully recorded with syncd sound from 10fps-30. Going higher is not only a waste of FPS, but delays your sound, and gives you like 400MB for 20 seconds at 90FPS)****

3- load and play your demo to the point where you want the movie to start then pause.

4- startmovie MovieNameToRecHere avi

5- select codec (dont forget maybe alt-tab) - and options like quality (50 looks like original doom, 100 looks pretty but 400MB)

6-It wont record until you close console. Oddly, so far it seems I need to press resume and close console as close to the Exact same time as I can or it un-syncs the sound. Need to experiment more to be sure...for now I hit both at same time.

7- When done, pause demo and in console: endmovie

 

Forgot to mention- you wont hear sound while its doing its thing, but its recording it.

The avi file will be in your SteamApps/YourName/counterstrikesource/ Directory - play with Media player or whatever :)

 

Ill post up when I find a better way to make it smaller and prettier.

This would make some UGLY uploads/downloads.

 

BUT - In the Mean Time- for your own use...you can convert them over and they will always be playable no matter how many times CSS gets changed and your demos no longer work....

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Update so far:

1- I forgot to mention I havent messed with lowering the resolution yet- Im playing back and recording at the native res of 1280x1024....Im sure thats a BIGGY! Ill change that later :)

 

2- Ive been messing with the Indeo 5.10 codec. So far, at Quality 40, for 20 seconds Im at 28MB with a GREAT looking picture.

** But, theres a really weird catch. When I play it back with WMP, its PINK!! So I tried to open it with Quicktime...got the sound but no image at all. Huh... so I went back to WMP- now it looks great! No Pink! I tried this with every indeo 5.10 version I tried....all pink at first. Then load thru QT. Re-play with WMP- looks fantastic. Anyone have any idea why this is? I dont even have to play thru with QT..jsut load it in real quick-cant even see it..then it looks fine from then on with WMP(ver11)

 

More to come.......but if anyone answers that it would be awesome. Also, does that apply to others as well? IF I upload it normal, would they have to play it thru QT first too? OR if I play it thru QT then upload it, could someone else see it in WMP. With dial up, it wouldnt make sense to just "try it out" :(

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if you're looking for a project..

 

i have dozens of xt and gc cevo team demos from matches you can use

 

Well, thats kind of why Im doing this. I have old match and scrim demos that cant be played anymore. Like the old xt vs. Eh? match...cant watch it.

 

... and....

more updating ...

I dropped the res to 800x600 ...it cut a 30MB movie to 16MB for 20 secs. So..once i get this tweaked out, playing with lowered res or in a window etc will make the big drop in filesize.

 

I tried using the Viewport 256x256 option in Indeo 5.10 codecs to see what it would do. It made No diff in the filesize or image at all, except it wasnt pink....shrug

 

When I did it again in deffault ....My movie was pink. WHile it was paused in WMP, I open it up an QT real quick. The image instantly changed to normal in my Media player in the background ...and now whenever I load it..its no longer pink. Does this make sense to anyone?

 

These file sizes are still huge... but at this point they still look good even when playing in full screen. Lots of room to work still.

More later.....

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This is now relevant to my interests...

lol

 

More updating ( Ill have to summarize all this junk in an end post at some point I guess)

Selecting Indeo 5.10 codec with Viewport size of 64x, 128x, or 256x doesnt seem to effect the filesize or quality as compared to the same codec with default....OTHER than you can watch it in WMP and its not pink...dont understand but good enough for me. :D

 

I ran Quality setting 40, and played the demo at 640x480 windowed. This yielded a 20 sec avi movie at 10.0 MB that was good enough quality to watch in fullscreen mode and its fairly clear. ( unlike those that are 2 inches wide and making them bigger makes them unviewable)

 

Since we DONT have to watch these full screened, Im now moving on to lower Quality settings to see how much more shrinking I can do.....

 

jsut to check it, I .RaR'd it and got that good quality clip to 8.6MB uploadable.

 

Off I go...

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So far:

My best for 20sec clip using startmovie cmd is 8.4MB (6.65 Rar'd)

This is with quality good enough to watch at 100% size (640x480). Fullscreen looks like garbage.

 

I tried using the xvid codecs, but it constantly crashed my css. Used sev diff settings. Maybe it doesnt work, maybe Im doing something wrong, maybe it is fixed for you guys but I dont know it since I havent updated source in like 4 months...

 

I might upload the Rard version tonight...not right now tho as itll take me an hour to upload and I gotta run for a bit...

 

The microsoft video 1 codec looks real good with a high qual setting, but the files sizes are stoopid...35MB-400MB for 20 secs rofl.

 

.243 and .241 codecs dont record for me ...I get a 0 byte file recorded.

 

More experimenting later. Has promise tho...

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I tried using the xvid codecs, but it constantly crashed my css. Used sev diff settings. Maybe it doesnt work, maybe Im doing something wrong, maybe it is fixed for you guys but I dont know it since I havent updated source in like 4 months...

Try running windowed if you aren't already. Try updating XviD if your codec is old (google "koepi" to find an installer).

 

When I did it again in deffault ....My movie was pink. WHile it was paused in WMP, I open it up an QT real quick. The image instantly changed to normal in my Media player in the background ...and now whenever I load it..its no longer pink. Does this make sense to anyone?

That's WMP being flaky. Indeo is a pretty uncommon standard.

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