Capturing/Editing PC game footage [HELP]

[lonelyspacepanda]

I use a program called Fraps to capture game footage that outputs the footage into it's own uncompressed .avi codec called "FPS1".

I'd prefer to edit this footage in Final Cut Pro, but I'm having trouble. If anyone could tell me how to compress this footage without losing quality (I want to have a YouTube HD video of it), I'd really, really appreciate it.

It's amazing how many people use Fraps for capturing game footage, and how there are no guides for this sort of thing (even on the company's website!) I've wasted an entire Friday on this, and really can't afford to waste any more of my weekend. :sigh:

thanks in advance!

[tehboris]

Lossless video formats: http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=Category:Lossless_Video_Codecs

All the same, I'd recommend a lossy video format such as xvid using a high bitrate.

[lonelyspacepanda]

What works best with YouTube HD though? Can you give specific settings or link me to a video that will cover it? I've tried out a couple and none of them looks as good as some Crysis videos I've found on YouTube HD.

[tehboris]

http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-hd-update/

[lonelyspacepanda]

Yeah, I've read that sort of thing before but it isn't detailed enough for a newb like me. I've already put out videos in DivX and MPEG4 but they either look really choppy or ugly. The best one so far is WMA 9 which looks slightly better then MPEG4 while remaining less choppy. If anyone could give more detailed info, especially with using Sony Vegas, I would really appreciate it!