[DakAttack]

Oh man, it's three in the morning and I just clicked that God forsaken button on the side of the mouse that moves the browser back a page which effectively destroyed all the work I did to write the steps out. Forgive me for simplifying it.

This is a quick guide for those of us with different resources available, none of them being a computer that has the resources to run a game and record it at the same time. If you do have the rig capable of that I'd suggest you check out Starv's guide to using FRAPs, good stuff!

Step one: You'll need to make sure you have a Playstation 2 or Xbox 360 console, both capable of playing FFXI, or a PC capable of playing FFXI. You're going to need, in addition to one of the last three, a PC capable of recieving S-Video and/or A/V output. You'll need a video capture card to recieve S-Video and/or A/V output, and I recommend ATi TV WONDER PRO, or a similar card. To output the S-Video and/or A/V output from another PC you'll need a graphics card capable of doing so. I can't really recommend anything here because the market is so diverse but I'm sure you'll find guidance at your favorite computer part retailer. You can output A/V output from the Xbox 360 and Playstation 2 using the accompanying cables. The Xbox 360 has an accessory that allows you to output S-Video as well as A/V, but it costs extra.

Step two: Install the video capture card's software on the computer that will be recieving the output from the console or second computer. The ATi TV WONDER PRO software is very simple and straightforward. Next, if you're using a console, plug the S-Video and/or A/V cables into the tuner, then choose the TV player or similar option. If you're using two computers you'll want to purchase Video or S-Video Out cables which are essentially the same as the consoles'. Switch through the input options until you come to S-Video or Composite, and the output should appear on the screen.

Step three: Fiddle around with the settings until you're satisfied, then record to your heart's content! I don't have much advice for editing yet because I'm still trying to figure it out. I'll fill this in when I've come across more information.

You'll find my video capture card of choice here.
You can find an example of an A/V Out cable here.
You can find an example of an S-Video Out cable here.
Here's the official Xbox 360 S-Video cable here.

My experience: Using the windower and an Xbox 360 I was able to "double box" a friend's and my account through the San d'orian Rank 1 hut battle in Ghelsba. It worked really well, and recording was very smooth. Unfortuantely while playing both at the same time seemed to lag up at certain points, and the servers even dropped on client and not the other. I was able to walk through San and Ghelsba fine, but West Ron gave me a lot of trouble on the Xbox 360's side, the window was fine.

Unfortunately I recorded it in MPEG-2, and I'm unsure as to how to convert to into WMV for editing in Window's Move Maker, or how to choose another editer to edit MPEG-2 in. If anybody has any adivce with editing, converting, and codecs, please let me know and I'll include it above. Thanks.


Hope you enjoyed!

[Stromgarde]

Virtualdub.