Question / Help Recording a region no you tube video explains this yet.

[BOBC]

Hi, I have a CAD program running on my PC, I wish to record the perspective view of just the object I have created and not the menus and other stuff.
One you tube video says Region capture is dead easy and folk dont usr OBS because they cant manage it, use Source > Window Capture but thats for live windows, he is doing it on some internet fed source, I try that and select my CAD prog from the list but still see the OBS interface so have nothing to alt drag the border to. I try Display Capture but all it offers me in the panel is my display resolution, and all I see is the OBS interface with the red box heading off into infinity, I need to see my CAD prog that is already running before I launched OBS, and drag the borders to the edge of the 'perspective' window. How do I preview the CAD prog and drag the borders to get a region capture of just the perspective window in it ? I also have Snagit bu Techsmith, their method is so easy, initiate the prog, get a flashing recording box to wherever you drag a recording box out to, hit record. Why is OBS so awkward and confusing when it just shows its own interface going off to infinity. If I minimise OBS I see the CAD prog but no means of dragging out a recording box.

BOBC

 

[R1CH]

If you want only a certain region of your desktop to be captured, then use display capture and crop it to the desired size (either using ALT crop or the crop filter).

 

[Narcogen]

I try Display Capture but all it offers me in the panel is my display resolution, and all I see is the OBS interface with the red box heading off into infinity

Display capture captures your display. If you're displaying OBS on your display while OBS is capturing your display, OBS will capture OBS. If OBS is previewing your capture while you're capturing it, you will see this-- the hall of mirrors effect-- which is normal and expected when you ask OBS to do this.

Workarounds are:

• minimize OBS
• run OBS on a separate display
• Disable the preview
• add a Crop filter to your display capture to exclude the portion of the screen showing the OBS interface

OBS is overkill as a simple screen recorder. It is a compositor, video switcher, and an encoder, all of which functions require that it have an on-screen interface. If you don't need it, you can minimize it and operate OBS with hotkeys.

 

[BOBC]

Hi,
Please give me the step by step method to run OBS and capture just the perspective view region of my CAD prog.
This for me and many others would be so useful as I am considering Snagit as its so easy to see whats about to get captured.
Thanks

BOBC

 

[Narcogen]

If Snagit is easier for you, why not use it?

 

[BOBC]

I have OBS and Snagit involves money, people use OBS as its free, and that was my hope as well. Are you saying OBS can't do it, the steps involved cant be revealed ? I would like to see the steps if they exist, that anyone wanting to region capture should use Snagit ? If the steps do exist please reveal them. many people read this and would like to know.

BOBC

 

[Narcogen]

Add a display capture source.

https://obsproject.com/wiki/Sources-Guide#display-capture

Right click that source in your scene.

Choose "Filters" from the drop down menu.

In the pane on the left hand side, click the + button to add a filter.

Choose "Crop/Pad" from the drop down menu.

Specify the values for the area you want to capture. For your purposes, it would probably be best to uncheck the "Relative" checkbox, as this is designed for just cropping out elements on the edges of a window with small adjustments.

Instead, with relative UNchecked, you can specify the size you want your region to be, and the coordinates of the origin of the capture area.

 

[BOBC]

Add a display capture source.

https://obsproject.com/wiki/Sources-Guide#display-capture

Right click that source in your scene.

Choose "Filters" from the drop down menu.

In the pane on the left hand side, click the + button to add a filter.

Choose "Crop/Pad" from the drop down menu.

Specify the values for the area you want to capture. For your purposes, it would probably be best to uncheck the "Relative" checkbox, as this is designed for just cropping out elements on the edges of a window with small adjustments.

Instead, with relative UNchecked, you can specify the size you want your region to be, and the coordinates of the origin of the capture area.

Hi,
Thank you for the steps, I was hopeful, but then I get as far as having to specify numbers/size of the area to be recorded, but I cant judge what numbers i need , if I could see my CAD prog and drag a bounding box to encompass the region I need to film, thats what I need. It still is not showing me the CAD prog before I record it, in youtube video the tutor chap drags the corner of the red box with alt held down to set the region for some live streaming video, he can see the video he is about to record, I likewise need to see the CAD prog running on my PC, and do likewise, just a matter of how to see the prog with OBS, which seems inapable of showing anything running other than itself. This method of entering numbers for the four edges of the region box when I cant see how it relates to the CAD prog and all I see is OBS to infinity is going to be much trial and error until I get the 4 values right, each time minimising OBS and hitting start then stop recording, analysing the rersult, altering numbers trying again, sheeeesh !!! is that how OBS want us to set a region, are they disallowed from using the drag box method ?
If I need to film different windows such as top, right, perspective it means entering numbers and much guesswork each time, impractical OBS, totaly useless in fact. This seems archaic and non GUI. It might take all night to get those values to what they should be.
Why cant we see a preview of the prog interface we wish to record part of and drag a red box to set the region required ? This is a basic need of screen capture yet OBS can only offer this method of trial and error of values denoting box edges.

Unable to record my region or regions as such.

Does anyone else reading this manage to do so with numbers ?

BOBC

 

[Narcogen]

Recording a screen region is not a usual function for OBS users at all, I would say. Most sources are cameras, capture devices, fullscreen applications, application captures, full display captures, window captures, or display captures cropped to the size of a particular window. There is not a whole lot of call for a region capture except for just excluding certain screen areas (like a menubar) for which specifying a pixel size border from a certain side of the screen is adequate.

This may very well be a basic need of screen capture, but OBS is not primarily a screen recorder. There are very many excellent screen recorders, and I have used them for various things as well. Where OBS excels is as a compositor, video switcher, and live video encoder-- features that most screen recorders don't have. Again, if one of those programs is better suited to what you want to do, then you should use them.

I'm not sure what you mean by being "disallowed from using the drag box method". You can also use that method if it works for you-- with the display capture in the preview window, type Control-F and drag the handles. Dragging the handles now crops instead of resizing, which is the default behavior.

I'm not sure why you needed to ask me for step-by-step instructions on how to do this in OBS if you already knew about that method. I've never used this feature at all and only looked it up to answer your question.

 

[BOBC]

Hi,
1) run my CAD prog on screen
2) Launch OBS
3) In source click + and choose display capture select create new it says display capture2 and tick make source visible and ok it
4) panel appears showing one entry display 1920 x 1200 capture cursor ticked, ok that.
I am puzzled here as if I choose window capture I get to see the CAD prog named in the list of choices.
5) I am still seeing OBS interface going off to infinity.
6) right click to left of biggest red border and choose filters crop/pad and accept name it gives.
7) untick relative, entering width and height sees red box grow, exit that and hit ctrl F and release keys and I can drag red box to set size.

however I cant see what I am dragging it to crop, the CAD prog just isnt showing up, all I have is a black area with a blue stripe across it.
Unlike the video on youtube where someone uses window capture and gets to see the video whilst he crops it before recording it, I see with display capture just OBS interface then at stage 7 just black and grey and some blue.

image attached.
BOBC

 

[Narcogen]

I am puzzled here as if I choose window capture I get to see the CAD prog named in the list of choices.

What is puzzling?

Window capture shows you a list of currently open windows to capture.

Display capture captures the entire display, so there's nothing to list. It's just what is currently on the display.

5) I am still seeing OBS interface going off to infinity.

Display capture captures your display. As long as OBS is on your display, you will see this. The usual workaround is to connect another display, and move the OBS window there.

If you have maximized OBS on your display while trying to crop a display capture.. then you won't see anything.

You can crop a window capture in the same way, but you can't display capture an application that is underneath OBS while OBS is filling the entire screen.