converting .mng videos to something usable in Emulaxian?

[AceTKK]

I grabbed several .mng videos using AdvanceMAME's capture function but I don't know what to do with them.  None of my players is able to open them.  Can anybody recommend a program (pref. free/shareware) that can convert these clips into Quicktime or .avi files?  I want to play the videos during the Game Info screen in Emulaxian alongside the cabinet and flyer images.  

Thanks,

-Ace-

[Howard_Casto]

mng is a dead format

only advance menu uses them to my knowledge.

[AceTKK]

awww crap.  I can't believe I went to all the trouble to configure AdvMAME so I could get some videos and now they're useless?  

-Ace-

[)p(]

awww crap.  I can't believe I went to all the trouble to configure AdvMAME so I could get some videos and now they're useless?  

-Ace-

When i started making videos I used advance mame to capture them. But it has some major drawbacks. it captures the mng and sound seperatly and they are not in sync. so you have to edit them in premiere to get it right and then export them.

thats why I started using hypercam to capture the mame window directly.

there are some programs that will translate mng into avi to load it in premiere. I don't remember exactly...but google will know ;-)

peter

[)p(]

ah you can import them into quiktime itself and then save it with this free codec:
http://www.tarkvara.org/mng/

even better no conversion needed...i just tried it with that codec installled the mng worken in emulaxian automatically...jusy drop the codec into your windows\ssystem32\quikctime folder


so you did not do the work for nothing  

peter

[AceTKK]

Peter, you are a god among men.

-Ace-

[AceTKK]

well, it's sort-of working; after installing that codec and associating the .mng file with the quicktime player I can open the file in a Quicktime window.  However, when I try to play the file (which is 17 MB) nothing happens.  The progress bar immediately jumps to the end and the screen never changes from the opening image.  I haven't tried from within Emulaxian yet, that's my next step.

-Ace-

[)p(]

yeah i had that too the first time i tried to load an mng in the quicktime player. then i tried to use the import function to do a conversion and saw the image. I restarted the player and it worked from then on...

[Howard_Casto]

This is why i said it was a dead format.  Not worth the trouble of conversion imho.  It's a case of been there, done that.  

[AceTKK]

well, I still can't get the videos to play in the Quicktime player.  I'm going to check out this hypercam app. instead.

-Ace-

[)p(]

weird quicktime plays them ok even doubleclicking an mng works now...but Hc is offcourse right...i hope someboday will add avi recording back into mame and hopefully this time with sound.

as for using hypercam bests results are obtained when you launch mame in a window set to the original size of the game and the capture that window.


peter

[AceTKK]

That's exactly what I did and the results are pretty great.  I added the -nosound switch also to save some computing power (I'm not planning to have game sound during the info screen).  I was able to grab a couple of good movies at 30 frames/sec. and of course they work in Quicktime.  Can you explain to me how I need to name them and where to place them in order to have them show up in the Emulaxian info screen?  

Thanks Peter

[)p(]

name them just as the romname...like galaga.mpeg
then either setup the qtvr path in the emulator cfg file for mame or just drop them in the dummys\qt\ folder.

and there is free version of real producer that lets you convert them also to rm to display on the models. if you do and you want to share them, email me, as the rm videos will come available soon again and more are very welcome  

peter

[AceTKK]

Okay, I've got mvsc.avi saved in both the dummy folder and in a folder I setup.  I still don't see the video in the info screen, just the cabinet, flyer, and marquee images.  Where is the video supposed to play?  Do I need to adjust something in the .cfg files to activate it?  

-Ace-

[)p(]

Okay, I've got mvsc.avi saved in both the dummy folder and in a folder I setup.  I still don't see the video in the info screen, just the cabinet, flyer, and marquee images.  Where is the video supposed to play?  Do I need to adjust something in the .cfg files to activate it?  

-Ace-

looks like i screwed up the quicktime version test that i introduced in 0.79 I think the fe decides you have no quicktime installed and ignores them.

the video is a seperatec sprite. I think i put it over the cabinet bitmap in the emulaxian skin.

[)p(]

ok i changed the quicktime detection...and updated the fe zips with the new version...hope this works  

http://3darcade.mameworld.net/frontend/fe080upgrade.zip
cut an paste link mameworld does not like extenrally linked files

peter

[AceTKK]

It's working perfectly now.  Thanks!  Nice job on the updated fereadme.html also, the quick setup guide will be very helpful for newbies.  

I'm going to grab Real Producer tomorrow and I'll see if I can make some good conversions.  

-Ace-

[SirPoonga]

mng is dead?  I thought mng was animated png, like an animated gif.  I see mng quite abit.

[Howard_Casto]

no sirp, mng as a source of video previews with sound hacked in as adv mame did is dead.  Mng however is still dying.  I rarely see it used on anything.  

[SirPoonga]

I think mng is also that, same acronym, different meaning.

[AceTKK]

I found a better alternative to hypercam.  It's called CamStudio, available at http://www.atomixbuttons.com/vsc/ .  It's superior to hypercam for a few reasons:

1. It's completely open-source, so you don't have to pay a registration fee (or use a crack ;-) to get rid of the HyperCam logo.

2. You can set it's priority from within the GUI so windows allocates more system resources to it.  

As a result of (2), I'm able to record great quality 60 second clips at 50+ frames per second while running Mame.  This blows HyperCam outta the water!  You guys should definately check it out.  

Now that I have these huge clips, can anyone suggest a user-friendly .avi editing program?  I want to cut out the footage I don't need and maybe add a fade-in and fade-out effect to the clips.  This is exciting stuff!

-Ace-

[)p(]

I found a better alternative to hypercam.  It's called CamStudio, available at http://www.atomixbuttons.com/vsc/ .  It's superior to hypercam for a few reasons:

1. It's completely open-source, so you don't have to pay a registration fee (or use a crack ;-) to get rid of the HyperCam logo.

2. You can set it's priority from within the GUI so windows allocates more system resources to it.  

As a result of (2), I'm able to record great quality 60 second clips at 50+ frames per second while running Mame.  This blows HyperCam outta the water!  You guys should definately check it out.  

Now that I have these huge clips, can anyone suggest a user-friendly .avi editing program?  I want to cut out the footage I don't need and maybe add a fade-in and fade-out effect to the clips.  This is exciting stuff!

-Ace-

sounds good i will definately try it  

avi friendly? most are...i still use premiere...

will fade out and in not distract from the attract mode loop ar are you not recording complete attractmodes?

peter

[Howard_Casto]

what peter said... it's best to record the complete attract mode loop and then if you play it back it looks like a minature mame running in the fe.  

[AceTKK]

Yeah, maybe the fade in / out isn't such a good idea.  I'm more interested in videos of actual gameplay than the attract mode though, but it will still be looped.

-Ace-

[Howard_Casto]

The attract mode loop of every single game i've seen includes a gameplay segment.  You know when it shows them playing and it reads "please insert coin."  Attract modes make a nice clean loop, that's why we choose to use them.  

[AceTKK]

That is true, and I understand your point.  If I were using displaying these videos on the models I would probably do the same thing.  However, these are going to be used just in the Game Information screen, and I don't expect people to sit through all the slow introductory screens that MK2 & MK3 for example show in attract mode before displaying any action.  I want to edit the videos so that each has 5 seconds of the animated title screen that fades into 25 seconds of gameplay footage and then loops back to the beginning.  I just need to find some good editing software.

-Ace-

[Howard_Casto]

I understand your point too, I just don't think you realize how tiem consuming that will be.   Just to give you an idea......  Doing an average attract sequence takes 15-30 minutes to do.  It's only a minute to two to capture the sequence, but it takes several minutes to convert the avi to mpeg/real movie ect.  But the nice thing is one you capture the avi the rest of the stuff can be done in batch format later.  But here in lies the problem.  If you capture a few sequences from each game you have these issues....  

1.  Most of these freeware capture apps are designed to quickly overwrite the same avi file.  Having to change it several times coul get tim consuming.  

2.  There are very few freeware video editing software that can do a good fade, and the cheaper the software, the longer the rendering time.  

3.  After all of this is done you still need to add 10-20 minutes on top of the editing time for the actual compression.  

So what happens is 15-20 minutes per game jumps to 20-90 minutes per game.  

Now with hypercam all you do is press the "capture start" key when the games attract sequence starts and press it again when it's over.  Presto, you have an avi of the attract sequence.  Now it still has to be converted to a more suitable format, but that can be automated and done in a batch process while you sleep.  

I'm not trying to discourage you from doing this at all, I just want you to be aware of what you are getting into.