Introduction · FAQs › Bandicam codec vs. External codec - VFW (Video for windows) codec

Bandicam codec vs. External codec

Bandicam codec is able to compress the recording video and use much lower CPU/GPU/RAM than other codecs.
However, if you want to get better quality videos or make smaller videos, you could try the [External Codec] option of Bandicam.
Bandicam 1.8.2 or higher version supports the third party VFW (Video for windows) codec - External codec.

A comparison between Bandicam Codec and External Codec

The table below shows the file sizes when Bandicam records a 1024x768 resolution video for one minute.

* Bandicam Codec

Codec Size Quality Description
MPEG-1 27 MB Good Best codec for Bandicam (Recommended)
Xvid 34 MB Good DivX/Galaxy Smartphone
Motion JPEG 222 MB Better Best codec for video editing software
YV12 2,053 MB Best Lossless codec
RGB24 4,144 MB Best Lossless codec

* External Codec

Codec Size Quality Description
Xvid 16 MB Good DivX/Galaxy Smartphone
DivX 21 MB Good DivX/Galaxy Smartphone
x264 28 MB Better Best codec for a high-end computer
(High quality, Smaller files)
Lagarith 686 MB Best Best codec for video-editing software
(High quality, Lossless video codec)

You need a high-end computer to use the external codecs because most external codecs use much more system resources than the Bandicam codec.
For more information about Bandicam codec, visit http://www.bandicam.com/support/settings/video/#video_format


Using External codec

To use the external codec, click the [Settings] button under the Video tab, and click the [...] button after selecting [- External Codec -]

bandicam external codec for recording


Choose a codec from the codec list, and then click the Configure button. bandicam external codec setting for recording

There are a lot of different codecs out there, and the following codecs/settings illustrate how you can use the external codec. If you know better codecs/settings, feel free to visit the Bandisoft forum :: FAQ :: Bandicam codec vs. External codec

1. Xvid codec settings for video recording

Xvid is an open-source compression codec based on the MPEG-4 ISO format. It permits the compressing and decompressing of digital video in order to reduce the required bandwidth of video data for transmission over computer networks. If you use DivX player or Galaxy Smartphone, you could try this codec.


Choose "Real-time" at the Quality preset, and uncheck "Display encoding status."


2. DivX codec settings for video recording

The DivX codec is proprietary software developed by DivX Inc., DivX codec allows for high quality videos and minimal file sizes. If you have a DivX Player (hardware) or Galaxy Smartphone, you could try this codec.


Choose "1080HD Profile" at the Certification Profile, move the bar to the SPEED section, and then choose "1-pass quality-based" at Rate control mode.


3. x264/h264 codec settings for video recording

x264 is a free software library for encoding video streams into the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format.
x264 is a far superior codec and can provide better picture quality at a smaller file size than XviD/DivX.
If you have a very fast and powerful computer, you should try x264 codec.


Choose "Ultrafast", check "Zero Latency" and "None" at the configuration window to get the best result.


4. Lagarith lossless codec settings for video recording

Lagarith is a lossless video codec intended for video editing and archiving. This codec can provide better picture quality than Motion JPEG (MJPEG), and the recorded file size is much smaller than Bandicam's lossless codecs (YV12, RGB24). If you use video editing software (Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere or Pinnacle Studio), you should try this codec.

Choose "YV12" mode to increase the recording speed of Bandicam.

**Use Multithreading: If you use a high-end computer, check this option. It will improve the recording speed.




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