How to Record Long Videos With Fraps
By Matt Skaggs
FRAPS is a program for recording on-screen media, which you can use for benchmark testing or to create a movie. Recording videos with FRAPS is simple; you only need to press a single key to start recording, and then you press that key again to terminate the recording. If you need to record a long video using FRAPS, you'll need to make sure you've got FRAPS set up correctly and that you have sufficient hard drive space for your project. Just keep in mind that you should not record copyrighted media without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Step 1
Open the FRAPS program. Click the "Start" button and begin typing "Fraps" in the search box; when the program appears in the list of results, click it.
Step 2
Click the "Movies" option near the top of the FRAPS window.
Step 3
Ensure that FRAPS saves the movies to the largest drive you have by clicking "Browse" and choosing a location on that drive. If you only have one drive, then the exact location doesn't matter. Since FRAPS records movies in an uncompressed format, the required space is more than you would expect, so make sure you have no less than 10-20 gigabytes available. The exact requirements is highly dependent on the settings you choose for FRAPS and on the resolution of the media you're recording: if you record HD content, you may need well over 100 gigabytes, depending on how long you record. You should do some testing to find what will work best for your project.
Step 4
Adjust the FRAPS settings to suit your available hard drive space. If you have a few hundred gigabytes available, the settings probably won't matter unless you record several hours of video. In the "movies" options, you can change how many frames per second ("fps") you record at: the lower the number, the smaller the file size, but the worse the video will look. You can also choose "Full-size" or "Half-size" for the resolution. The former means the video file will be much larger with a much higher resolution; the latter means the video file will be smaller with a lower resolution. Again, you may want to do some testing to find what works best for you.
Step 5
Open the media you're going to record and press the keyboard shortcut to begin recording. The default shortcut is "F9," but you can change that if you want in the "Movies" section of FRAPS.
Step 6
Press "F9" again when you're ready to stop recording. To view the video clip, you can either navigate to it in Windows Explorer or just click the "View" button in FRAPS's "Movies" options.
Tips
- You should definitely compress the movie file before you upload it or use it; you can save an enormous amount of hard drive space that way. You can use "Windows Movie Maker" to create a new movie from the file, or you could use another free option like Handbrake or Miro.
Warnings
- FRAPS can significantly slow down your system if you're recording long, high-quality videos, so make sure your system far exceeds whatever requirements there are for the media you're recording.
Writer Bio
A lover of technology in all forms, Matt Skaggs began writing professionally in 2010, specializing in Windows computers and Android devices. His writing has appeared on many websites providing a plethora of technology information and tutorials. In 2008 Skaggs graduated from Bob Jones University with a Bachelor of Arts in humanities.