Best codec to use for recording

[neo_bahamut1985]

Okay, I have the software call CamStudio and wanted to capture video; the problem is that whenever I record (i.e. emulators) the speed goes down if I use a good codec (like a DivX or Mpeg 4 codec), it looks okay but the speed is horrendous. On the other hand, if I use a generic codec (like Microsoft Video 1/2/3), the emulator/etc speed is uninterrupted, but the video looks like crap (and is choppy). What I'm saying is, which would be the best overall video codec to use? If you don't know what I mean, perhaps I'll post some video comparisons.

[DOLLS (J) [!]]

Well, it depends, in the specific case of ZSNES your best bet is to record an ZMV movie first and then use the integrated functionality to encode the video screen with x264.

For a desktop recording (windows apps, etc) there exists a number of codecs tailored for this specific task that are quite fast and yield excellent compression with minimal quality loss. (See camtasia, MSU, etc)

For general screen recording with lots of changing graphics (like videogames), your best bet is first to encode with a fast enough lossless codec and then re-encode the resulting video using a good general purpose encoder like x264, with a suting size/quality compromise depending on your needs. (See HuffYUV, MSU, etc).

This might be of help to you:
http://compression.ru/video/codec_compa ... cs_en.html

[neo_bahamut1985]

using a lossless then recompressing it later makes alot of sense; I'll try that out and see how it works..