Widescreen Gaming Forum

I've been chatting on several forums, many of which either have forums for posting gaming videos, or who's General Discussion forum's often have such things posted. The videos not only add an element of entertainment and stimulating conversation, they can be usefull as tutorials on gameplay or video capture and editing for some.

Hosting them is not a problem, I can give those whom need advice tips on where to host them for free, you only need upload them to their site and post the links. There are places to do this with both downloadable and streamable content, though the sites that stream limit file size considerably more.

Quite frankly I was surprised that a forum that specializes in widescreen gaming does not already have such content. I would like to formally suggest that we include, if not encourage such content, as it is becoming very popular, and is another way to enhance the video game experience.

If it gets popular enough, we could even have separate places for 4:3 and 16:9 videos, of which I have both. The games I've made videos of so far are Painkiller, Far Cry, and F.E.A.R.. I have about 3 dozen videos, but only 6 of them are widescreen, as I just recently started making them in 16:9.

Not a bad idea. :D
I was planning on making some Windows Vista movies (if possible).
Maybe i can plant that in such a section aswell.

Not a bad idea. :D
I was planning on making some Windows Vista movies (if possible).
Maybe i can plant that in such a section aswell.

Ssssssst about Vista it's not legal you know, download :wink:

I think that a video section could be something nice and interesting. As you said hosting must take place elsewhere and that will hold many entusiasts back because finding a good host is not easy. You could go with the standard public hosts to host it. Another thing is I think there should be some tutorial or atleast tips how you make a movie from a game. Most people game all the time but have no idea how to make a movie out of if. Individual gaming tips for example how to record a demo of a game and turn it to bmp or whatever and then what codec to use. Or some external program that records it for you. A lot of people know this and will post demos but some guys will feel left out and really want to do that too. I dont want to see any look how good I am at cs or something like that, but I think that isnt a big risk as this is a mature community.

Well I've been a PC user for only 5 years or so, 4 of which I've been a gamer, and only 1 of which I've been making videos, yet I know enough about it to teach the basics. I think you're overcomplicating it, most people think it's much harder than it really is. It's very affordable and easy to learn, in fact you can actually do it without spending anything if you suffice with adding music to your videos instead of recording the game sound with the video.

Movie Maker 2 is free with XP SP2, and a very good editor. Game Cam's free demo will record video non stop, but not audio. Game Cam's "Lite" version is only $10, and will allow you to record in game sounds. Game Cam is looking to reinstate their widescreen capturing option (unstretched), after evaluating a minor bug in the latest build version.

Also, don't assume it takes a cheezy free webspace setup to host your videos, or that free hosting sites are too much trouble or lacking in features, that's not the case anymore. I have my own filepage on Filefront's free hosting service. They allow files of up to 1 gig in size, and as many as you want. They will never delete them based on views, there are no restrictions other than the normal laws. They even allow you a 750x85 pixel banner and the ability to arrange your files in directories and subdirectories.

Filefront is just one example though, there are a few others, one of which is Putfile, a site that streams video files of up to 25MB, and also allows an even more customizable personal filepage (I have one with them too). They do, however, delete files if they are not viewed for 6 months.

I can offer links to Movie Maker 2 and Game Cam tech forums, as well as essential information on how to make custom compression profiles (necessary for widescreen videos). If we get a sticky or thread started for videos and video making, I could also participate in that to help people with basic questions and answers.

Sorry that I have not checked in on this thread I started sooner, I've been up late the last week watching the Olympics. :wink:

(EDITED) OK, here's an example, my first widescreen video, done about 5 weeks ago, along with my filepage header:

(Realistic mode, 7:20, no scratch. Music is This Life & Think, by Drowning Pool.)



Asunder: Tunnels of Turmoil (Far Cry's Control level-104MB)
The search for Valerie begins!

I'm downloading the file now. The hosting may be free, but it's a pain. I had to jump through about four screens, and then the download has gone from 10 min @ 140kb/s to an hour plus @ 20kb/s.

I wouldn't mind hosting videos, but I would want a service that offered easier usage and faster downloads. I don't think a lot of people would use something this un-user friendly. I could host videos on my .mac account. I already pay for a basic subscription, and could upgrade it to 4GB of storage and 250GB/month of bandwidth for $100 a year.

That might not be a bad idea, if there is enough interest in making and watching videos. Maybe we'll add that to the Insider, become an Insider and the WSGF will host your videos.

All these additions can start to add up pretty quickly

An Insider (Level II / Platinum / EAX) Package

could include vid hosting & an album other goodies etc etc - at least with an eye to breaking even.

Update - after 15MB downloaded, and well over an hour, the DL rate hit 2.5kb/s and said it had 10 hours to go.

I can't even get it started after 5 mins of waiting so i've given up!

how about making the video into a torrent file and hosting the .torrent file instead?

Ssssssst about Vista it's not legal you know, download :wink:

Gheghe, not for me. I have a original copy through work :D

how about making the video into a torrent file and hosting the .torrent file instead?

That's a great idea. Especially when the forum gets bigger this can be an awesomeway to share files.