Unity Recorder V1User Manual

UnityRecorderV1UserManual

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Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Unity Recorder

Use the Unity Recorder to capture and save in-game data during Play Mode. For example, use

the Unity Recorder to capture and save gameplay as an MP4 file.

A recorder specifies details for creating a recording, including a data source, resolution, and

output format. The Unity Recorder package includes the following recorders:

●Animation Recorder: generates an animation clip in ANIM format.

●Movie Recorder: generates a video in MP4 or WebM format.

●Image Recorder: generates a sequence of image files in JPEG, PNG, or OpenEXR

format.

●GIF Recorder: generates an animated GIF file.

The Unity Recorder also supports Timeline. Use Recorder tracks and clips to trigger recording

sessions from Timeline instances.

Limitations

The Unity Recorder has the following limitations:

● The Recorder window and Recorder properties are not available in standalone Unity

Players.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

● To use Unity Recorder with Scriptable Render Pipeline (SRP) or High Definition Render

Pipeline (HDRP), use only the Game View, 360 View, or Render Texture choices in the

Capture drop-down menu.

● The Animation Recorder only records a GameObject in the current Scene. It does not

record a GameObject in other scenes.

● The Movie Recorder does not support variable frame rates.

● The Unity Recorder does not capture frames at a consistent rate from systems that use

a real-time clock, like the Video Player. Data captured from these systems might appear

speeded up or slowed down.

Upgrading Unity Recorder

Besides new features, Unity Recorder 1.0 has a few notable changes:

● Use the Window > General > Recorder menu to access Unity Recorder features.

Features for older versions of Unity Recorder were accessible from the Window >

Recorder menu.

● Unity Recorder includes new, updated recorders. These recorders take advantage of

Unity Editor features and are more stable than previous versions. However, if you must

use the legacy recorders, toggle Window > General > Recorder > Options > Show

Legacy Recorders.

To upgrade to Unity Recorder 1.0 from an earlier version:

1. In Unity Editor, open your Unity Project.

2. Save the current Scene.

3. In the Project window, expand the Unity Technologies



folder and select the Recorder

folder.

4. In the main menu, choose Edit > Delete.

5. Quit Unity then re-open your project.

6. Use the Unity Asset Store to search for and install Unity Recorder 1.0.

Setting up Recorders

Use the recorder list in the Recorder window to add, rename, edit, duplicate, and delete

recorders. You can also save and delete your recorder list as an asset to reuse in your project

and in other projects.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Tip: You can save a recorder as a Preset. You can also specify a preset for recorder settings as

a default when creating new recorders.

Re-opening the Recorder window restores the values of the last recording session.

To add a recorder:

1. Open the Recorder from the Unity menu (Window > General > Recorder).

2. In the recorder list, click + Add New Recorders to choose from a drop-down menu.

3. Adjust the settings for the new recorder.

4. Optionally rename the new recorder by single-clicking its name.

To delete or duplicate a recorder:

1. Open the Recorder from the Unity menu (Windows > General > Recorder).

2. In the recorder list, right-click the recorder and choose Delete or Duplicate.

Tip: You can also delete and duplicate recorders with the Delete and Ctrl+D/Cmd+D keys,

respectively.

To save, load, or clear settings for all recorders:

1. Open the Recorder window from the Unity menu (Windows > General > Recorder).

2. In the recorder list, click the drop-down menu.

3. Do one of the following:

○ To save your recorder list as an asset, choose Save Recorder List.

○ To load a recorder list, choose Load Recorder List, then the list to load.

○ To delete all recorders in your list, choose Clear Recorder List.

Recording in Play Mode

When recording in Play Mode, use the Record Mode property to specify when to start and stop

the recording. You can manually start and stop recording, specify a single frame, a range of

frames, or a range of time. You can set up more than one recorder to record the same Scene.

Note: During recording, you cannot modify the properties in the Recorder window.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

To record a scene in Play Mode:

1. Set up your scene to prepare it for recording.

2. Open the Recorder from the Unity menu (Window > General > Recorder).

3. In the recorder list, select then set up the recorder to use.

4. Set the Record Mode and Frame Rate properties.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 to use other recorders for the same Scene.

6. Click Start Recording or press F10. Unity Recorder activates Play Mode if it is not

already active. The progress bar displays the number of frames or images recorded.

7. When you are ready to stop recording, click Stop Recording or press F10. You only

need to stop recording when using the Manual record mode. Your game continues in

Play Mode.

Tip: Closing the Recorder window, or exiting Play Mode and returning to Edit Mode, also stops

the recording.

Recording from a Timeline track

You can start and stop recordings from the Timeline. A Recorder Track in Timeline contains

one or more Recorder Clips. Each clip specifies a recording to start and stop while Timeline

plays the Recorder Track.

Adding a Recorder Track in Timeline.

A Recorder Clip has the same properties as a recorder in the Recorder window except for the

following differences:

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

● Recording mode can only be set to Constant. Timeline can only play using a constant

frame rate.

● The frame rate of the recording inherits from the Timeline’s Frame Rate setting.

● The Clip Timing section replaces the Bounds/Limits section. Instead, use the Start,

End, and Duration properties to set when recording occurs.

● Use the Recorder Category property to select which recorder the Timeline clip uses.

● The Recorder Clip properties are stored in the Timeline Track and do not affect the

properties in the Recorder window.

To set up a recording session in a Timeline instance:

1. Select the GameObject in your Scene that is associated with the Timeline Asset.

2. In the Timeline window, click Add and select Recorder Track.

3. Right-click the Recorder Track and select Add Recorder Clip.

4. Select the Recorder Clip to view and edit its recording properties in the Inspector

window.

Debugging Recorders

You can view the GameObject that Unity Recorder creates in your Scene. This GameObject is

named Unity-Recorder. It contains the components and child GameObjects that the Unity

Recorder creates to maintain bindings between the Recorder and the GameObjects in your

Scene. Also, while recording, the Unity-Recorder GameObject contains components that store

the progress of current recording session. Unity-Recorder is normally hidden from the

Hierarchy window.

To toggle the visibility of the Unity-Recorder, choose Window > General > Recorder >

Options > Show Recorder GameObject.

Recorder Window

Manage recorders and control recording in the Recorder window. The Recorder window has

these sections:

● Recording controls: Start and stop recordings, and specify their duration and frame rate.

● Recorder list: the recorders you have added or loaded.

● Recorder properties: Specify the recording properties, such as the output format and

encoding, file name and location.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

The Recorder window: recording controls (red), recorder list (blue), and recorder properties (green).

Recording controls

Use the recording controls to start and stop a recording. Specify when to start and stop a

recording with the Record Mode properties. Use the Frame Rate properties to specify how to

constrain the frame rate during recording. The frame rate affects the size and number of the

captured output files.

Property:

Function:

Start Recording

Stop Recording

Starts and stops recording. Clicking Start Recording also activates

Play Mode if it is not already active.

Record Mode

Specifies the frames or time duration to record.

Manual

Start and stop recording when you manually click Start Recording and

Stop Recording, respectively.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Single Frame

Record a single frame. Use the Frame Number property to specify this

frame.

Frame Interval

Record a consecutive set of frames during Play Mode. Use the First

Frame and Last Frame properties to specify when to start and stop.

Time Interval

Record a specific duration during Play Mode. Use the Start and End

properties to specify when to start and stop.

Frame Number

Specifies the number of the frame to capture when using the Single

Frame mode.

First Frame

Last Frame

Specifies the range of frames to capture when in Frame Interval mode.

Start

End

Specifies the time, in seconds, to begin and finish recording.

Playback

Specifies how to control the frame rate during recording.

Constant

Limit the recorder to a specific frame rate. Use the Target property to

specify this rate.

Variable

Use the frame rate of the game. Specify the upper limit of the rate of the

game during recording with the Max Frame Rate property. Note: The

Movie Recorder does not support a variable frame rate.

Target

The frame rate to capture when using the Constant setting in

Playback. The Unity Recorder captures at this rate regardless of

whether the game is played at a higher or lower frame rate. For

example, if Target is set to a custom value of 30 fps but the game plays

at 60 fps, the recording is captured at 30 fps.

Max Frame Rate

Limit the rate of updates in Play Mode. This property is available when

Playback is Variable. To prevent your game from exceeding this frame

rate, the Unity Recorder inserts delays during game play. Use this

property to reduce the size of the output.

Cap Frame Rate

Check this property when the frame rate of your game is faster than the

Target frame rate. This property is available when Playback is

Constant.

Recorder properties

These properties specify the file name and location to store the output from a recorder. These

properties are available for all recorders.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Some recorders, like the Animation Recorder, can only record inside the Assets folder.

Tip: Click to reveal the output files in Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder.

Property:

Function:

File Name

The name of the output file. Use the text field to specify the pattern to

use for recording many files. Choose placeholders from the

+Wildcards drop-down menu.

+Wildcards

The placeholder text to insert in File Name. The recorder replaces

these placeholders when saving the output file. You may combine

wildcards.

Path

The folder where output files are saved. Use the drop-down menu to

choose a pre-defined Unity folder. Choose Absolute to specify a

custom directory or click ... to navigate to a custom directory.

Movie Recorder properties

The Movie Recorder generates a video in MP4 or WebM format. It does not support variable

frame rates.

Property:

Function:

Format

The encoding format of the output of the recorder. Choose MP4

or WEBM.

Capture Alpha

Check to include the alpha channel in the recording. Uncheck to

only record the RGB channels. This property is only available

when Format is WEBM. This property is not available when

Capture is Game View.

Capture

The input for the recording.

Game View

Record the frames that are rendered in the Game View.

Targeted Camera

Record the frames captured by a specific camera, even if it is not

used in the Game View.

360 View

Record a 360-degree video. Use the Source camera as the point

of view for the video. The recorder captures 360 degrees on the

y-axis of the Source camera.

Render Texture Asset

Capture the frames that are rendered in a Render Texture.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Texture Sampling

When capturing, supersample the Source camera to generate

anti-aliased images in the output. Use this capture method when

the Rendering Resolution has the same or higher resolution

than the Output Resolution.

Render Texture

The Render Texture asset to use as the source for frames.

Available when Capture is set to Render Texture Asset. The

output resolution of the recording is fixed to the resolution of the

Rendure Texture.

Super Sampling

The size of the grid from which to sample. This property is

available when Capture is Texture Sampling.

Source

The camera to use for recording. Choose Active Cameras, Main

Camera, or Tagged Camera. The Main Camera option

specifies the camera with the MainCamera tag. Available when

Capture is set to Targeted Camera, 360 View, or Texture

Sampling.

Tag

The tag of the camera to record. Available when Capture is set

to Targeted Camera and Source is TaggedCamera.

360 View Output

The width and height, in pixels, of the 360-degree video. This

property is available when Capture is 360 View.

Cube Map

The dimension of the cube map, in pixels, for the 360-degree

video. This property is available when Capture is 360 View.

Stereo

Check to generate both a left and right stereoscopic view for a

360-degree video. This property is available when Capture is

360 View.

Stereo Separation

The angle to separate the left and right views. This separation is

along the y-axis of the Source camera. This property is available

when Capture is 360 View.

Rendering Resolution

The dimensions of the input from which to sample. This property

is available when Capture is Texture Sampling.

Output Resolution

The dimensions of the video recording. This property is available

only for applicable Capture choices.

Aspect Ratio

The width:height ratio to format the output to.

Flip Vertical

Check to flip the images in the output to make it upside-down.

Use this property to restore up and down when your system

generates video that is flipped vertically.

Capture Audio

Check to include audio in the recording.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Quality

The quality of the output: Low, Medium, or High. The lower the

quality, the smaller the size of the output file.

Animation Recorder properties

The Animation Recorder generates an animation clip in ANIM format.

Property:

Function:

Game Object

The GameObject to record.

Recorded Target(s)

The components of the GameObject to record. Choose more than

one item to record more than one component.

Record Hierarchy

Check to record children of the Game Object too.

Image Recorder Properties

The Image Recorder generates a sequence of image files in JPEG, PNG, or OpenEXR format.

Property:

Function:

Format

The encoding format of the output of the recorder. Choose

PNG, JPEG, or EXR (for OpenEXR).

Capture Alpha

Check to include the alpha channel in the recording. Uncheck

to only record the RGB channels. This property is only

available when Format is PNG or EXR. This property is not

available when Capture is Game View.

Capture

The input for the recording.

Game View

Record the frames that are rendered in the Game View.

Targeted Camera

Record the frames captured by a specific camera, even if it is

not used in the Game View.

360 View

Record a 360-degree video. Use the Source as the point of

view for the video. The recorder captures video 360 degrees

on the y axis of the Source camera.

Render Texture Asset

Record the frames that are rendered in a Render Texture.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Texture Sampling

When capturing, supersample the Source camera generate

anti-aliased images in the recording. Use this capture method

when the Rendering Resolution has the same or higher

resolution than the Output Resolution.

Source

The camera to use for recording. Choose Active Cameras,

Main Camera, or Tagged Camera. The Main Camera option

specifies the camera with the MainCamera tag. Available

when Capture is set to Targeted Camera or Texture

Sampling.

Tag

The tag of the camera to record. Available when Capture is

set to Targeted Camera and Source is TaggedCamera.

Output Resolution

The dimensions of the video recording. This property is

available only for applicable Capture choices.

Include UI

Check to include UI GameObjects in the recording.

Flip Vertical

Check to flip the images in the output to make it upside-down.

Use this property to restore up and down when your system

generates video that is flipped vertically.

GIF Recorder properties

The GIF Recorder generates an animated GIF file.

Property:

Function:

Capture

The input for the recording.

Targeted Camera

Record the frames captured by a specific camera, even if it is not

used in the Game View.

Render Texture Asset

Record the frames that are rendered in a Render Texture.

Texture Sampling

When capturing, supersample the Source camera generate

anti-aliased images in the recording. Use this capture method

when the Rendering Resolution has the same or higher

resolution than the Output Resolution.

Source

The camera to use for recording. Choose Active Cameras, Main

Camera, or Tagged Camera. The Main Camera option

specifies the camera with the MainCamera tag. Available when

Capture is set to Targeted Camera or Texture Sampling.

Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual

Tag

The tag of the camera to record. Available when Capture is set

to Targeted Camera and Source is TaggedCamera.

Output Resolution

The dimensions of the video recording. This property is available

only for applicable Capture choices.

Aspect Ratio

The width:height ratio to format the output to.

Include UI

Check to include UI GameObjects in the recording.

Flip Vertical

Check to flip the images in the output to make it upside-down.

Use this property to restore up and down when your system

generates video that is flipped vertically.

Encoding

Properties for controlling the quality and size of the GIF output.

Num Colors

The number of colors to use in the GIF palette table. The

maximum is 256 colors. Specify a smaller palette to reduce the

size of the GIF file while reducing image quality.

Keyframe Interval

The number of frames that share the same color palette.

Increase this number to reduce the size of the GIF file while

reducing image quality.

Max Tasks

The number of frames to encode in parallel. Increasing this

number may reduce the length of time Unity takes to encode the

GIF.

Unity Recorder V1User Manual