Welcome to the Let's Play sub-fourm. With the growing of LP threads in the Video Game section, we were beginning to flood the Video Game thread. So here we are.

If you don't know what an LP (Let's Play) is, it's you playing through a video game while recording yourself whilst adding commentary. The concept of LPs originated from the Something Aweful forum years ago and have since spread across the internet. If you want in on the goods, here's some things you may need:

A screen recorder or capture card: If you are playing a game on your computer (the means of which are up to you), you'll need a screen recorder to get the gameplay into video format. I highly recommend Hypercam. You can set it to record audio as well which takes a good deal of work of your hands. If you are wanting to record straight from the console the game is on, you'll need a capture card. I believe that's what Draygone uses so he'd be best to hit up on how that works.

If you want, you can record your adio separately, but that would mean going in a video editor to add the audio to the video. And from there you can tweak the video however you want (with speed ups for long boring parts or whatever).

The last thing you really need is a microphone. I recomment using a mic from rockband. They are USB and the drivers for them detect automatically. So you just need to plug it in and run with it. I have a mic stand with mine, which helps greatly. The only other two things I would suggest is downloaded a stopwatch program to keep track of your time and bring up the recording properties of your mic in the windows options to make sure you aren't talking to loud or too quietly. Though if you are using a separate audio program, you probably won't need to as the program will have something to that effect.

Then all you have to do is just play the game. After you are finished recording, you just need to upload it to the internet. And trust my word for it... go to www.viddler.com for uploading. I've been to MULTIPLE video hosting sites and Viddler is the ONLY one that works as well as I need it to. No youtube 10 minute limit, no megaupload viewing limit and adds... it's good stuff.

Anyway, if you have any more questions, hit me up. And happy LPing.

Very nice addition, Lanti. You have my full support.

Haha, Facts and I were just talking in the chat how there should be an LP archive.

Didn't you know? As an admin, I get to read the minds of all the members. Guess you didn't read the fine print of the ToS. >_____>

And about the video capturing, I actually use a USB device from Diamond, the One-Touch Video Capture. It's not perfect and an actual capture card would probably be better, but if you're not willing to open up your computer, USB is the way to go.

Okay, so you new setup dray (Using VCR to split video out to both your TV and your capture device that goes to computer) so you can play on your TV sounds like a really awesome idea. I'm going to be checking my TV to see if it has an alternate video out, if so I'm going to be hitting up that capture device too so I can maybe LP some current gen stuff. I wouldn't mind doing a Devil May Cry 4 and Resident Evil 5 LP. Besides, there's a slue of PS2 games out there that would be great to LP.

It's also going to prove incredibly helpful for more action-oriented games. I didn't like what I had to do with the SMB LP. Even if the resulting mistakes were funny to watch.

Btw guys, at least for those using viddler... be sure to go back and watch your videos. You'll miss out on everyone comments if you don't.

Testing things out. I can only assume that, being that HyperCam records directly from the PC, those of us who do not have anywhere the option to record sound from our PCs cannot record sound for HyperCam. (I'm assuming this is what facts is having issues with.)

I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out just what you are asking. Hypercam records from a line in source just fine, which is kind of manditory for LPs. If you are also talking about recording from a line out or "stereo mix" then I don't think so. If what I've been doing is just turning up my computer's speakers till my mic picks up the gameplay audio.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Was testing it out, and I couldn't get any audio from the game recorded. Best I figure is, as you said, turning up the volume so my mic would pick it up, but I might wind up speaking louder as a result.

Yeah, I was kind of worried about that too. What I usually do is bring up the audio (recording) properties which gives me how much sound is going in (since I don't use audacity or goldwave) and will turn up the volume till I see it pick up on the meter. Then I just kind of test talk a few times till I am comfortable with what I've got.

But lately, I've been less worried about the game's actual audio. If it picks up, awesome. If not... well, it's an LP, you are suppose to be worried more about the commentary than the sound effects.

Useful tutorial for LPing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIbvrdi7 ... annel_page
I didn't know splitters could work like that. I figured they just went one way. Maybe I'll grab a couple more splitters and fix it up so I no longer have to route through my VCR with one picture going through coaxil. I have a switchbox, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEHTxDRa ... re=related
I use this, myself: http://www.diamondmm.com/VC500.php
It for certain works on Vista 32-bit. Two biggest downsides are that it doesn't have an option for recording 16:9 and it lowers your screen color while the program is in use. It also comes with its own editing program, but I don't use it, myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60cMA3wF6-8&NR=1
Okay, I'm definately going to upgrade to the new beta version of Audacity. As for the "one-second block" of audio so that your audio matches up with the video, what I like to do is, after I've got it recording, I open some menu or something and start scrolling through it, saying something like "boop" every time I move the cursor, and then line the "boop" up with the cursor movement when editing it all together. Obviously, that part gets edited out once I get it all synced.

I wish there was a way to do that with Component and HDMI connections too. I really don't feel like losing HD quality which I kind of spent a good deal for to record footage from Xbox and PS3. Though tha set up would be perfect for Wii...

Egad, could you imagine the video size if it recorded in HD?

It doesn't have to record in HD, but it needs to be able to at least pick up the signal. Basically, if I am a camera at a HD TV, the video feed later won't be in HD... that's kind of what I'm getting at.

Ah. Well, I take it that you can't have component and composite coming out of your systems at the same time.

Well, what I mean is... I want to split my HDMI video from my PS3 (or component from my 360) to my TV and also to a box... that box then goes from HDMI to whatever format it wants (probably composite) and goes into my computer for recording.

There may be some other way, but I just would like to keep the quality going to my TV... the actual recording could be standard def and I'll be jolly.

So I take it you don't have that split, yet? How is the set-up for HDMI consoles, anyway? I'd assume the component cables are separate from the audio cables on account otherwise you'd get the red cable of the component confused with the red cable of the audio. Which, if that's the case, I'd also assume that you could simply use the basic composite cables, having the video cable to your computer while the component cables go to your TV (or, if the HDMI cable is its own special type of cable, it'd be that one that's separate). That'd just leave you needing a splitter of some sort for your audi.

HDMI is just one cable, it holds both the audio and video feed. Component has three video cables and your standard two audio cables. Yes, that means two of those cables are both red, but they are always have a label on them of some kind. Even if they didn't, it's not like it would be difficult to troubleshoot.

And no, I have no idea how to split either HDMI or component at the moment. =/