Fraps Real-time Video Capture & Benchmarking

Feature Set

Fraps is dead simple and incredibly easy to use – even for technophobes who avoid video games like the plague. While Fraps only works for programs running DirectX or OpenGL graphic technology, those should cover most games you’ll likely want to use.

The program consists of four tabs’ worth of settings, including General, FPS, Movies and Screenshots.

The General tab is pretty straightforward and lets you set some defaults for how the software should run. These include standards like “Start Fraps minimized” and “Fraps window always on top,” which keeps the Fraps window on top when you switch to other applications.

The FPS (frames per second) tab is something you probably won’t need as much if you’re just recording gameplay, but it could still come in handy. Fraps doesn’t just record video and capture screenshots – it also lets you see the frame rate of a given application or game.

Fraps has a built in counter that shows these stats live, and the FPS tab lets you determine where you want it to appear and how you control it. The counter can show you the frame rate between any two points during gameplay.

The Movies tab lets you control all your video capture options, so this is what ultimately should matter to you. Fraps only records video in AVI, but most video editors can handle that so it shouldn’t be an issue.

Fraps lets you determine where files are saved, set your capture frame rate and video size, choose whether or not to record game sound, and set the sound input Fraps uses to record that sound. You can also set your “video capture hotkey” to any button you want, making recording a cinch.

Finally, if you find yourself needing screenshots of your game (DVD cover anyone?), Fraps has you covered. The Screenshots tab lets you determine the folder you save to, set your “screen capture hotkey” and choose the file type you desire. File types include BMP, JPEG, PNG and TGA.

Moviemaking Tool

For those not familiar with machinima, it’s an up-and-coming filmmaking genre that relies entirely on the virtual worlds that video games present. This is good and bad, as you’re limited by what you find in the game, but at least you don’t have to go out and shoot footage.

As a moviemaking tool, Fraps is incredibly simple. Just control your game, set your characters in the positions you desire, and hit record. Like actual filmmaking, you need to have a shot plan and visualize what you want to see. But redoing shots is much easier than in real life because you don’t have to deal with actual people (who get “tired” and demand money). When you have all your footage, just edit it and add voiceovers like you would with live-action video.

Shortcomings

Unfortunately, the freeware version of Fraps has a few drawbacks. For video, Fraps only lets you record “half-size” and at frame rates of 25 or 30 fps. The freeware version also imprints a Fraps watermark at the top of your videos and limits you to 30-second clips. As far as screenshots are concerned, the freeware version only lets you capture in BMP.

It’s not really fair to call these issues shortcomings, as the “payware” version doesn’t hold you back like the freeware does. For $37, you can record at full size (up to 1152x864) and capture at 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. You also can record as long as you like without pesky watermarks. And if that’s not enough, Fraps also throws in JPEG, PNG and TGA support for screenshots.

The real shortcoming of the program is that, if your computer is slow, your frame rates will go way down and there will likely be a lag in video recording. If your computer can handle video editing and hardcore gaming, however, you shouldn’t have too many problems with video lag.

Summary

Fraps is a solid, albeit basic tool for would-be animators looking to get into machinima. The freeware version may not allow you to create truly professional videos, but it is certainly enough to learn on and experiment with. Once you get more comfortable with machinima and find that you’ve outgrown Fraps’s freeware version, you can always upgrade to pro.