Export to video

Export video

The Export to video item (File > Export to video) opens a dialog box which allows you to export an animated scene to a video file. The feature uses the ffmpeg library to ensure better quality video.

Figure 197: Export video dialog box

Video

In the Video group you can set the following options:

• Resolution: Select a video resolution from the drop-down list, or click to specify the precise resolution you require. Two resolutions are available for the 4:3 aspect ratio (800x1080 and 320x240) and two for the 16:9 aspect ratio (1920x1080 and 1280x720). The custom resolution corresponds to the current window size of the scene. Be aware that some encoders need even resolution (e.g. H.265).

• Frame Rate: Use the drop-down list to set the frame rate you require. The higher the frame rate, the smoother the video is, but the larger the file size will be. Note Some encoders only support a specific set of fps values.

• Start and End time: Set the start and end time for your video using the spin boxes or the sliders. You can also enter the values with your keyboard. These controls allow you to define the length of the video corresponding to a specific event during the simulation, and focus on it. The upper limit of the end time is the simulation time. The end time cannot be lower than the start time. Note Depending on the time value, a conversion into days, hours, minutes, seconds is displayed for information purposes.

• Select a playback speed from the Speed drop-down list. You can also enter a value with your keyboard. The video length depends on the speed ratio. This means that if the speed ratio is lower than 1, the video duration is greater than the time range defined by the start and end times. The resulting video duration is displayed at the bottom of the Video group.

Output

In the Output group you can set the following options:

• Video format: Within the Simcenter Amesim installation, a limited list of encoders available in ffmpeg is provided due to copyright restrictions: GIF, and VP9. Note Customers can access additional encoders (MPEG-4, WMV1, WMV2, H.264/AVC, H.265/HVEC, VP9, Theora) if they have a custom installation of ffmpeg. To do so, customers must create an environment variable AME_FFMPEG_EXE pointing to the full ffmpeg.exe path. For example: AME_FFMPEG_EXE=C:/Program Files/ffmpeg/bin/ffmpeg.exe.

• Quality: Select low, medium or high. The higher the quality is, the larger the video file size. A lower quality setting may introduce undesirable artefacts in the video.

• Output file: Enter a filename and use the browse button to select a storage folder. Output file format is determined by the output file extension used. The following is a list of supported formats according to encoder:

    avi
   
   
    mp4
   
   
    wmv
   
   
    mkv
   
   
    ogg
   
   
    webm
   
   
    gif
   
  
  
  
   
    MPEG-1
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    MPEG-2
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    MPEG-4
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    WMV1
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    WMV2
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    H.264
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    H.265
   
   
    
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    VP9
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    Theora
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    X
   
   
    X
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
  
  
   
    GIF
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    X
  

• Play after export: Use the button to define whether the video is launched after export.