Recording videos in the Atari800Win PLus emulator
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We only found two reasons to use theversion 4.0of the Atari800Win PLus emulator. One of them is that it allows us to record videos (in AVI format) of our games.
To start recording, go toMenutop and we successively select the optionsView -> Save video -> With sound
Next, the emulator will show uswill warnthat this mode can createvery large files. For now, let's not worry about that, because I will teach youa couple of tricksforreduce your videosto acceptable levels - so that they can evenupload them to YouTube
Once we click on the buttonOk, the emulator will ask us for aname for the fileto record. We can, by the way,change locationwhere the video will be recorded - which by default is recorded in the folderMy Documents.
Once our video has been named and the place where we will record it has been selected, the emulator launches aasksomewhat technical:With which video compressorAre we going to record it? We are shown alistwhere the default option isFull paintings(uncompressed).
As you can imagine, recording videos in this way will cause our files to weigh hundreds of MBs for just a few minutes of recording. Therefore, we have no choice but to try out the codecs (compressors) available on our PC.
From experience, what appears in the list is not necessarily installed on your machine. Therefore, I suggest you download some free codec pack such asK-Lite Codec Pack. This includes theffshow Video Codec, which I have verified allows us to record with acceptable image quality and with files of manageable size: one minute of video recording for about 8 Mb of file size.
Note.-Installing codecs is beyond the scope of this guide. We suggestPlease consult this page beforeto venture to place these programs on your machine.
Aftermake your choice, those users who know something about codecs canoptionallyclick on the buttonSet up. In the next window, some codec details are displayed that we can adjust: as shown in the image, I suggest using the MPEG-4 Encoder, with a bitrate of 250 and a maximum frame interval of 125. Note.- For those who did not understand the above and do not want to get into trouble, simply press the buttonCancel.
Once we have made (or not made) the adjustments, we press the buttonAccept. At that time, the emulatorwill start recordingwhatever happensinside the screenIn this example, we briefly get hooked on a game ofLos Angeles S.W.A.T.(Mastertronic, 1986).
Forstop recording, we just have todouble tapon the icon shaped likecamerawhich appears in the bottom right corner of the emulator.
To finish this part, we close the emulator window.
Now, how do we go about reducing our newly recorded videos? To do this, we will use the helpful - and also underrated - video editorWindows Movie Maker (WMM), which comes with the Operating System (unless you use Windows Falcor or similar).
First of all,we will dragOur video recorded atWMM
Once opened in the WMM, we will move it to thebottom bar, where the videos go. As simple as it may seem, this step is extremely important, otherwise the programNouswill let you record it in WMV format-much higher compression than AVI.
We verify that the video is in the bottom bar and now, to record it: In theMenutop, we activate the routeFile -> Save Movie file
It will be activatedRecording AssistantSave movie wizard). Here, the program asks usso thatwe want to save the file. We will choose the first alternative:My computer(My computer). Note: This is the correct option even if what we will ultimately do is upload the video to the Internet.
We press the buttonNext. Now, you have to put anameto the file to record and definewhereThe file will be saved. At this point, the default name is Movie and the location is on the Desktop.
We pressNext. We are then asked about thequalitywith which we want to record the video. By default, we see the option checkedBest quality for playback on my computer(Better quality for playback on my computer). Here we must click on the link that appears immediately below, where it readsShow more choices(Show more options).
Of the two new options that appear, we will choose thesecondBest fit to file size(Best fit to file size). By default, the program places theapproximate lower valueto sizeMy dearrecording and that we can see at the bottom of that same window, under the titleEstimated space required(Estimated space required.) Obviously, if we reduce the value, the image quality in the final video will also decrease.
Once we pressNext, begins therecording process. The window shows us thetime leftto finish recording the video.
Finally, once the recording process is completed, the program gives us theoptionofreproducethe video once we press the buttonFinish(Finish).
To conclude, we close Windows Movie Maker. We can thenfind outthat, in this example, of the8 Mb original, now the video weighsless than 2.5 Mb
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