All Half-Life and Source based games include a utility for recording games in a special format called a demo. The recorded footage is only readable by the game itself. Here’s a step by step tutorial to convert these recorded demos into video format.

Recommended Method

This is the method I always use, and is the “safe” method that I recommend.

What You Need

• Demo file(s)
• VirtualDub (download)
• Plenty of hard drive space

To install VirtualDub, just unzip it to the desired location. To use it, run ”’VirtualDub.exe”’ or ”’VeeDub64.exe”’ depending on the version.

Converting

1. Run TF2 and reduce the resolution (I use 720×480 or 1280×720 for HD). You should also restart the game after this or some things may be out of proportion. Also change any other settings for the desired effect (such as disabling the HUD or voice; see below for useful commands).
2. In the console type the following commands (replace ”demoname” with the name of the demo file):

   startmovie moviename
   playdemo demoname

   The demo will now play while the game records the frames to TGA files at 30 fps.

3. When the demo is completed or you have all the footage you want, in the console type:

   endmovie

   You should now have lots of TGA images and a WAV in the mod directory.

4. Run VirtualDub and go to File > Open video file. Browse to your Steam\SteamApps\account\Game Name\mod directory and select the first image in the series (moviename0000.tga). Click Open. It will now import all the images in the sequence.
5. Go to Audio > WAV Audio and select the moviename.wav file. Click Open.
6. If you plan to edit the file in another program, you can leave it uncompressed. Otherwise you can choose compression options in Video > Compression….
7. Go to File > Save as AVI and save the output to the desired location. When the process completes, you will have an AVI file that can be edited or played back with other tools.

Clean-up

The easiest way to remove all the TGA files is to use the following commands in the Command Line:
cd Path-to-mod-folder
del *.tga
del moviename.wav

Alternate Method

I have not tested this very much and there seems to be issues with audio synchronization, but it is a much easier and faster process.

What You Need

• Demo file(s)
• Plenty of HDD space

Converting

1. Run TF2 and reduce the resolution (I use 720×480 or 1280×720 for HD) in windowed mode. You should also restart the game after this or some things may be out of proportion. Also change any other settings for the desired effect (such as disabling the HUD or voice; see below for useful commands).
2. In the console type the following command:

   startmovie moviename avi

   A prompt will ask for compression options (may not work in full-screen). Choose a good balance between size and quality or leave it uncompressed.

3. In the console type the following command (replace demoname with the name of the demo file):

   playdemo demoname

   The demo will now play while the game records to an AVI file.

4. When the demo is completed or you have all the footage you want, in the console type:

   endmovie

You should now have a complete AVI video in the game directory.

Useful Commands

• demoui – Nice GUI for opening and controlling demos
• sv_cheats 1 – Required for some of the below
• voice_enable 1/0 – Enable/disable voice
• cl_drawhud 1/0 – Enable/disable the HUD

Filed under: Tutorials by StevoTVR
Tags: demos, hl, source, tutorial, valve, video