About Record Modes

BB FlashBack SDK has a number of methods of recording the screen. The best choice of record modes depends on the operating system in use on the end-user's PC and what type of material is being recorded.

The four modes - capture driver, MPEG, DirectX, GDI and Bitmap - are outlined below.
 

GDI Mode

Runs on Windows 98 and newer.

This mode runs on the widest range of operating systems and hardware.

Its disadvantage in comparison to DirectX and capture driver modes is that it often cannot capture the screen at as high a frame rate and may produce a greater impact on PC performance.

Its advantage over the capture driver is that it does not require installation of a driver and can record animating content at a higher frame rate - see Recording Movie Player Applications.

When recording with GDI mode, better performance can be achieved by turning off graphics hardware acceleration in Windows. This also has the effect of preventing media player applications from using 'overlays' which cannot be recorded by the SDK with any record mode.

Select GDI mode by setting FBRecorder::RecordMode to 0 and FBRecorder::CompatibilityMode to 0.

MPEG Mode

Runs on Windows 98 and newer.

This mode is best for recording moving video. It produces a much smaller FBR file than GDI or Capture Driver mode and should achieve a better frame rate. It can produce higher CPU loading though when recording large desktops - it is best used on a region.

Select MPEG mode by setting FBRecorder::RecordMode to 0 and FBRecorder::CompatibilityMode to 3.

Set image quality with the FBRecorder::MPEGQuality property.

Capture driver mode

Runs on Windows 2000 and newer.

This mode is capable of the highest performance on a wide range of hardware. On faster PCs, even if 'integrated' or older graphics hardware is used, this mode usually has a very small impact on PC performance while recording.

It is optimised for recording 'standard' Windows applications, like MS Word or Windows Explorer, that do not contain animations and moving images. It may struggle to capture activity like Flash animations or moving video, producing a low number of frames per second and a larger impact on PC performance. GDI and DirectX modes are a better choice for recording this type of material.

The driver needs to be installed before capture driver mode can be used for recording. A reboot may occasionally be required after installation. Also, administrator rights are required for driver installation.

It cannot record Vista's 'Aero' graphics mode - it will force Vista to Basic mode while recording.

See Installing the Capture Driver for more information on installing the driver.

Select capture driver mode by setting FBRecorder::RecordMode to 1

DirectX mode

Runs on Windows 98, 2000, XP, 2003.

Note: DirectX mode is not available on Windows Vista or 7. An OnError event is generated if FBRecorder::CompatibilityMode is used to select DirectX mode when running on Vista.

Note: DirectX mode can only record the primary monitor.

DirectX 7.0 or newer is required. Windows 98 users may need to update their installation of DirectX. Windows 2000, XP and 2003 should already come installed with DirectX 7.0 or newer.

This mode can give very high performance on PCs with newer graphics hardware.

Its advantages over the capture driver are that it does not require installation of a driver, and can record animating or moving video content at a higher frame rate - see Recording Movie Player Applications.

Its disadvantage is that some PCs are incapable of running the mode.

Select DirectX mode by setting FBRecorder::RecordMode to 0 and FBRecorder::CompatibilityMode to 1.

Bitmap mode

In this mode, the screen is not automatically recorded in the same way as in the modes described above. Once recording is started, images are saved to the movie file via the FBRecorder::AddBitmapByHandle and FBRecorder::AddBitmapFromMemory methods.

When the movie is played back, these images are displayed in the same order they were added, at their specified position. If an image was added 5.5 seconds after the start of recording, then it will be displayed 5.5 seconds after the start of playback.

Select Bitmap mode by setting FBRecorder::RecordMode to 0 and FBRecorder::CompatibilityMode to 2.