Recording video

Record video

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Main topics

To get started

Main steps

To start working with MediaRecorder involves the following steps:

  1. Connect all devices and, if applicable, switch them on.
  2. If you have a hardware key - Insert it into a USB port of the computer.

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  3. Start MediaRecorder. The main window now opens. The first time it opens, the preview window is black. That is because you still have to select the cameras. Proceed with the next steps to do so.
  4. Click Video Settings to select the cameras, microphones and, optionally, the output. See:
    Select a video device
    Select an audio device
    Video file options
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  5. Record your videos 

Select a video device

Aim

To select the cameras for recording.

Prerequisites

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tip  If the Video Settings button is not visible, the recording properties may be closed. Click Recording Properties at the bottom of your window. By default the recording properties are open.

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Procedure

In the Video Settings window:

  1. Select your camera from the Video device list.
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    IMPORTANT
    If you have IP cameras see Set up IP cameras how to set these up and select them in MediaRecorder.
    If you use the Screen Capture tool, see Use of the Screen Capture tool on how to select the built-in screen capture device.
  2. Select the preferred frame rate and resolution. The options depend on your type of camera.image.png
  3. For advanced camera settings, click the video symbol next to the name of your camera. The available options depend on your camera. For some cameras you can zoom and adjust settings for brightness and contrast.

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  4. Optionally change the names in the Video name column, to, for example, Webcam, or IP camera.
  5. To record audio as well, continue with Select an audio device
  6. Optionally adjust Video file options
  7. When satisfied with the settings click OK to return to the main window and record your videos (see Record your videos)

Note

Frame rate and resolution

By default, the optimal combination of frame rate and resolution for the camera is selected. If you increase the frame rate, the maximum resolution available goes down and vice versa. If you select an impossible combination of frame rate and resolution and format, MediaRecorder gives a warning (see below).

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Select an audio device

Aim

To select the audio source.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Video Settings window, select the microphones under Audio device. Choose between your computer microphone, a separate micro­phone, or the audio stream of your camera. Choose No audio if you do not wish to record audio.
  2. Optionally record the same audio stream in all videos. To do so, select this checkbox. It means that the device defined as Audio device 1 will supply the audio stream for all your videos.image.png

    Check that the green bar is maximal when speech level is normal.

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    Please note that in Picture-in-Picture mode, you may select which audio source to use for all the videos. This may be important if the first video is the screencapture device, which does not record audio. To do so, select this checkbox:                                                                                                                                                                               select audio source in picture in picture-szerk.png                                                        (For the Picture-in Picture mode, see the Output settings in Video file options).                                             
  3. Click the microphone button for Audio settings.

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    The available options depend on your microphones. Move the sliders to adjust the recording volume.

    To check the recording volume, right-click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of your window and select Recording devices.

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  4. Optionally, change the names in the Audio name column.
  5. Optionally, adjust the Video file options
  6. When satisfied with the settings click OK to return to the main window and Record your videos 

    Note

    Audio is needed and has been tested only for cameras that are supported in The Observer XT.

    Video file options

    Aim

    To specify one of the following:

    See Output settings

    Prerequisites

    Procedure

    Timer format

    Select the options from the lists.

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    The recording timer is present in the lower-left corner of the main window.

    Maximum recording time

    Select the checkbox and enter the maximum recording time.

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    The maximum is 99:99:59 (hr: min: sec). However, see your camera type in the topic Recording devices for the supported maximum recording time.

    Output settings

    Output Quality - Videos can be recorded in various qualities depending on the use. Videos with a higher compression rate are usually smaller in size, but they take more processing power to create and play, and their quality may be worse compared to those with lower compression rates. If hardware encoding is used to decrease the CPU usage and redirect load to the video card (GPU), it may result in a larger video file.

    There are four presets defined, in separate xml files which you can find in C:\ProgramData\Noldus\MediaRecorder\6\EncoderSettings. It is not advised to modify the contents of these files, as they are optimized for the different use cases. For normal use, the default output quality should be used. For EthoVision, DanioVision and the Remote Photo Plethysmography (RPPG) module of FaceReader, special settings are defined.

    The special setting for EthoVision is only useful if you record the outputs of four cameras simultaneously. With the default settings, two cameras are recorded on CPU and two on the video card (GPU). This results in differences in file size. By selecting EthoVision as the output quality, all four cameras will be recorded using CPU power.

    Output mode - If you have selected more than one video source, the following options are available.

    If you select Picture in Picture the following options become available:

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    Notes

    Picture in Picture and Picture by Picture resolution

    If possible, choose the same frame rate for all the videos. If you choose different frame rates the videos with the lowest frame rates may flicker and may not be suitable for use in The Observer XT, EthoVision XT, or FaceReader.

    Picture by Picture resolution of input videos

    The resolution of the resulting video is a sum of the separate videos, with a maximum of 1920 x 1280. If the resulting video exceeds a width of 1920 pixels or a height of 1280 pixels, the video resolution is adjusted proportionally. This requires processor capacity and decreases the quality of the output video. It is better to choose a lower resolution of the individual videos, so that the total resolution does not exceed 1920 x 1280.

    See Picture by Picture resolution how the resolution of the resulting video is calculated.

    Picture in Picture with portrait format

    Please note that if you have multiple videos in portrait format, they may overlap when you use Picture in Picture.

    Change the video file location

    Aim

    To save the videos in another location than the default one.

    The default location where MediaRecorder stores its video files is:

    D:\Noldus\MediaRecorder\Video Files — If Noldus IT installed your system

    C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Noldus\MediaRecorder\Video Files — In all other cases. It is recommended to set this folder to be located on a separate, fast, large capacity drive.

    Prerequisite

    You must be able to write in the selected folder and there must be enough file space available (at least 600 Mb per video per hour).

    Procedure

    Click this button and browse to the new location.

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    tip  Click this button to open the folder with video files in Windows Explorer and play recorded videos.

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    Set video file base name

    Aim

    To select a word or phrase to start the video file name with.

    The video file name consists of the File base name followed by:

    Example – The File base name is Video, you changed the name of Video 2 to Webcam in the Video Settings window (File > Video Settings), the date is 11 May 2016, the time 10:54:43 and you create 2 videos simultaneously. The name of the second video will then be:

    Video Webcam 5_11_2016 10_54_43 AM 2.mp4

    Procedure

    Enter a name in the File base name field.

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    Note

    The date and time depend on your computer’s regional settings. To change these, open the Control panel and then Region and Language. Select your preferences in one of the tabs.

    Select or deselect videos for recording

    Aim

    To choose from which video sources to record video files.

    Prerequisite

    You selected the recording devices in the Video Settings window.

    See Select a video device

    Procedure

    Select or deselect video sources for recording in the Use column.

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    Record your videos

    Aim

    To create video files from the video stream of the connected recording devices.

    Prerequisites

    Procedure

    1. When you selected all settings in the Video Settings window, click OK to return to the Main window. You will see a preview of the cameras.
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    2. Optionally, adjust options like the video file location, the video file base name or the order of the video files. See Options
    3. Press the Start recording button.

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    4. A pop-up window will appear, informing you about Noldus's Data Transparency Policy. Read it carefully before clicking the I will inform the participants button. You can also check the box Don't show me again to prevent further occurrence.                                                                                                                                                                              data transparency szerk.png
    5. The button changes into the Stop Recording button and the Recording timer starts running.
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    6. Press the button again to stop recording. Recording stops automatically when you specified a Maximum recording time.

    Note

    If you have IP cameras, see Pan, Tilt, Zoom control with IP cameras how to change the camera view before or during recording.

    Mute audio in preview

    Aim

    To mute audio sources in MediaRecorder. The muted audio is recorded normally in the video files.

    Prerequisite

    You selected microphones in the Video Settings window.

    See Select an audio device

    Procedure

    Select the audio sources you wish to mute in the Mute column.

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    Options

    What do you want to do?

    Change video order in preview

    Aim

    To change the order of the video cameras, for example to change the position of the images in a Picture in Picture recording.

    Prerequisite

    You selected the recording devices in the Video Settings window.

    See Select a video device

    Procedure

    1. Drag and drop rows. in the table with video devices or drag and drop the preview images.
    2. Click the Refresh button.
      See Refresh the preview 

    Note

    You cannot drag and drop Picture in Picture, or Picture by Picture preview images. Drag and drop the rows in the table with video devices instead.

    Show frame rate, resolution and format

    Aim

    To display hidden rows in the table with video devices.

    Procedure

    Right-click one of the column headers and select the preferred options.

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    Notes

    Refresh the preview

    Aim

    To display video images in the preview after a temporary connection loss or if you connected a camera after you opened MediaRecorder.

    Procedure

    Click the Refresh button.

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    See which preview image comes from which camera

    Aim

    To see which image comes from which camera.

    Prerequisite

    You selected the recording devices in the Video Settings window.

    See Select a video device

    Procedure

    Press the Identify button.

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    Result — Numbers are superimposed on the camera images. These correspond to the row numbers in the table.

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    Show or hide recording properties

    Aim

    To show or hide the table under the preview of the camera images, so that the space for the preview images is increased.

    Procedure

    Click Recording properties.

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    Result

    The size of preview images is increased.

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    Save the camera settings

    Aim

    To make a configuration file that can be used to open the correct cameras, microphones and video settings.

    Prerequisites

    Background

    The settings you create for the different cameras are automatically saved when you close MediaRecorder. They are saved to the file Current settings.mrs that is present in the folder C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Noldus\MediaRecorder. These settings are used when you restart MediaRecorder. But you can also save your own settings, or save different settings for different setups, for example, a webcam for a test participant’s face in a usability test room and three overview IP cameras in an observation room. This way you do not have to select all cameras manually each time.

    Procedure

    1. Choose File > Save Configuration As.
    2. Give the configuration a name and click Save.

    Notes

    Pan, Tilt, Zoom control with IP cameras

    Aim

    To change the camera view in MediaRecorder.

    Procedure

    Hover with your mouse over the camera image. Two buttons appear in the top-right corner of your window.  

    1. Enable or disable PTZ control.
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    2. Open the PTZ preset menu.

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    PTZ control

    1. Click the Enable PTZ button in the image you want to adjust. A four-arrow cross appears in the middle of the image and your mouse pointer becomes a small point.
    2. Click the camera image and keep your left mouse button pressed to control the camera. The cross now becomes connected to the point and the camera image moves in the direction of the point. The further away from the center cross you click, the faster the camera moves.   
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    3. Zoom in and out with your mouse wheel.

    Save camera position

    If you are satisfied with the position of your camera, you can save this as a PTZ preset. Hover over the camera image and click the button that opens the PTZ menu.

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    The following buttons now appear. The Save as buttons appear when you hover over the Return to PTZ preset buttons.

    PTZ keyboard shortcuts

    The following keyboard shortcuts can be used to control PTZ:

    Ctrl + 1

    Enable / disable PTZ in first video

    Ctrl + 2

    Enable / disable PTZ in second video

    Ctrl + 3

    Enable / disable PTZ in third video

    Ctrl + 4

    Enable / disable PTZ in fourth video

    Numerical keypad 1

    Move camera left-down

    Numerical keypad 2

    Move camera down

    Numerical keypad 3

    Move camera right-down

    Numerical keypad 4

    Move camera left

    Numerical keypad 6

    Move camera right

    Numerical keypad 7

    Move camera left-up

    Numerical keypad 8

    Move camera up

    Numerical keypad 9

    Move camera right-up

    Numerical keypad +

    Zoom in

    Numerical keypad -

    Zoom out

    Notes

    To change the PTZ method

    MediaRecorder has two PTZ methods. The default method is described above. it is also possible to let the camera center its camera view to the point that you click with your mouse.

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    Procedure

    1. Open MediaRecorder and select your IP cameras.
      See Select ONVIF cameras in MediaRecorder
    2. Close MediaRecorder. This saves settings for the IP cameras in the file Current Settings.mrs.
    3. Create a backup of the file Default Settings.mrs that is present in the folder C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Noldus\MediaRecorder.
    4. Open the file Current Settings.mrs from the same folder with Notepad.
    5. Locate the line <PtzType>1</PtzType> and change 1 to 0. There is a line for each PTZ camera that you selected in MediaRecorder. Change the line for each PTZ camera.
      Important  When you selected the same camera multiple times in MediaRecorder, use the same method for pan and tilt in each camera. So for each camera, use either 1 or 0.
    6. Save the file as Default Settings.mrs. These settings are used when the file Current Settings.mrs is not found.
    7. Delete the file Current Settings.mrs from the folder C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Noldus\MediaRecorder.
    8. Re-open MediaRecorder. MediaRecorder opens with configuration file Default Settings.mrs and creates a new file Current Settings.mrs with the edited settings. The new PTZ method is now available.

    To Pan and Tilt the camera view

    1. Click the Enable PTZ button in the image you want to adjust.
    2. A white cross appears. The camera moves to the point that you click with your mouse.

    Enter a default user name and password of IP cameras

    Aim

    To enter the ONVIF user name and ONVIF password of IP cameras only once, in case you have several cameras with the same credentials.

    Procedure

    1. Choose File > Preferences > IP camera settings.
    2. Select Use default IP camera user name and password.
    3. Enter the user name and password.image.png
    4. Follow the procedure in Select ONVIF cameras in MEdiaRecorder or Select devices that do not support ONVIF in MediaRecorder. When you click the Advanced video settings button, the user name and password are filled in automatically.   

    Use commands

    Aim

    To control video recording with another program that can send commands, for example, EthoVision XT.

    Procedure

    In your application, browse to the program MRCmd.exe that is by default located in the folder C:\Program Files\Noldus\MediaRecorder 6 and specify the command.

    For example, use the following command line to start video recording:

    “C:\Program Files\Noldus\MediaRecorder 6\MRCmd.exe /R”

    note  If you installed MediaRecorder in another folder than the default one, the program MRCmd.exe is present in this folder. Adjust your command lines accordingly.

    Available commands

    There is a space between MRCmd.exe and the slash.

    Load a configuration file

    The command /C loads a configuration file with the settings for your cameras (Save the camera settings). This is, for example, useful to open MediaRecorder with the correct cameras. Make sure MediaRecorder is not recording at that moment.

    By default MRCmd.exe loads a file from the folder C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Noldus\MediaRecorder. If the file is located in another folder, you must type the full path. If the file name or the path contains spaces you must type it in between quotation marks.

    Example 1 - Open MediaRecorder and load Configuration_observation_room.mrs from C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Noldus\MediaRecorder:

    MRCmd.exe /E /C=Configuration_observation_room.mrs

    Example 2 - Opening MediaRecorder and load Configuration Control Room from C:\Configuration files:

    MRCmd.exe /E /C=”C:\Configuration files\Configuration Control Room.mrs”

    Set file base name

    The command /B sets the File base name.

    See Set video file base name

    Example - Set the File base name to Observation room:

    MRCmd.exe /B=”Observation room”

    This option cannot be used together with other commands.

    Notes

    Delay

    Allow enough time between the commands. If a command is sent before the previous one is carried out, the second command is not carried out. For example, if the command Start Recording is sent before MediaRecorder is completely open, recording does not start.

    There may be a delay between the command Start Recording and the moment the recording actually starts. This delay depends on the number of cameras, camera settings, the processor speed and programs running in the background.

    In the most common scenarios with MediaRecorder and The Observer XT, the videos are automatically synchronized with the events, so the delay is not important.

    See also Synchronize videos with events in MediaRecorder with The Observer XT

    Picture by Picture resolution

    The highest allowed resolution of a recorded video is 1920 x 1280. The resolution of a Picture by Picture video is a sum of the separate videos. However, if that exceeds a width of 1920 pixels or a height of 1280 pixels, the video resolution is adjusted proportionally. This requires processor capacity and decreases the quality of the output video. It is better to choose a lower resolution of the individual videos, so that the total resolution does not exceed 1920 x 1280.

    The resolution of the picture by picture video is determined in the following way:

    If the height was higher than 1280, the width and height would be reduced further, resulting in a height of 1280 pixels.

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