Petro-SIM Movie Recording Troubleshooting

Welcome

Petro-SIM 6.2 and newer do not ship with any movie recorder any longer. You need to select and use one yourself. If you do not have one installed, here are some free options to consider:

  • Windows 11 Snipping Tool. Press the Windows key + Shift + S. Click the film camera icon, drag your mouse cursor to define the area to record. Then click the Start button. Finally use the Save button to save the video.
  • ShareX is also free open source add free desktop recording software. Looks easy and straightforward to use. Also seems to have a portable version. Also available on the Windows Store (which requires Windows 10). Warning: Note that apparently the default configuration automatically uploads and shares images.
  • Open Broadcaster Software is also free open source add free software that can record desktop movies. It also has a portable version so it can be used without needing admin rights to install. Start it and configure for recording by default. Under Settings, output, you can change the output format to MOV (or MP4) if you prefer, rather than flv. Under Source click + and add Display Capture. Now hold down the Alt key and drag the red rectangle to set the recording area. When ready, just click Start Recording. You can also find several tutorials.
  • VLC Media Player, can also record the desktop (if you Google it you will find detailed tutorials). You can also use the portable version of it if you are are unable to install software. It does not contain any adds or extra software and is very widely used. However, you cannot add your voice, it records in raw format, and the entire desktop is recorded.
  • On many Windows 10 versions, there is a movie recorder built into the Windows system, via the Game DVR. You can press Win + G to open the game bar, which has a movie recording option. Or just use Win + Alt + R to start or stop a recording. Recordings by default are saved to the Videos folder, which can be found in Windows File Explorer
  • There are a number of low cost or free desktop movie recorders such as FastStone Capture (shareware).

Petro-SIM versions 4.x, 5.0, 6.0 and 6.1 include an older version of CamStudio, which is a free open source movie recording tool. You can still download the full version from http://camstudio.org/. Please note that there are reports of this installing adds, so we do not recommend it!

Older versions of Petro-SIM (pre 3.3) used the "Microsoft Media Encoder 9 Series" to record movies. Sound is also recorded by default. These movies are handy for training or bug reporting purposes. This web page will be opened from Petro-SIM if you try to record a movie, but the required functionality returns an error code or is not installed. Sadly, Microsoft has discontinued the Windows Media Encoder 9 Series, replacing it with Expression Encoder 4. This encoder does not provide the components necessary for Petro-SIM to record movies.

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