I am looking for software I can use to capture my desktop and record video and audio for my trade journal. Notes can only tell part of the story and having an actual video of each trade showing the entry, trade management and exit would be extremely valuable for learning and future development. So, if any of you are already doing this, I would love to know what software you are using so I can compare features of several programs available. For now, I am evaluating the following: Total Screen Recorder CamStudio Desktop Video Recorder Hyper Cam BBFlashback Thanks. Dry
Does this kind of software puts a lot of load on the processor ? How big is a file of 1 hour recording ?
I use CamStudio works great. I usually will record my screen about 1 1/2hrs at a time, then start a new recording. A exercise I do after the day is look at the charts, find patterns, then go back to the tape to see what the price action looked like, it will help you see patterns during the day and will help you become more familiar with the price action. I would suggest still keeping a written journal though also, the more times you review your trades the more you will remember them.
I've been using Camtasia for many years for my personal trade journal. The file size is dependent upon the size of the screen(s), colors, audio et cetera. Lets put it this way, 5 to 8 hr recording can be big enough to fill up a DVD. I have almost a DVD for each trading day going back many years. As for the load on the computer. I highly recommend you have much more than what Camtasia recommends. If you have a computer strong enough to handle any of Adobe's heavy duty video editing/producing programs...you can handle Camtasia. Last of all, as someone has already hinted...do your recordings in parts. I do my in 2hr recordings...stop...start a new 2 hr recording. The stopping and then saving the file and then starting a new recording usually takes me no more than 1 minute. Mark
You could also use any front-end that records the market and allows you to replay it, as for instance, NinjaTrader. It records the datafeed and your your trades, without recording the screen image (which is what takes so much space in the hard drive and also bogs down the computer). You can also replay the market at different speeds, so you can review a trading session in, say, one hour. And this system allows you not only to review, but to re-trade the session (ah, the magical profits... ) A much better approach, in my view.
Replay and recording the trading sessions has two completely different purposes. Thus, I personally don't have any use for replay. Instead, I need to record exactly what I was doing on my screen and the trading environment I was in on any given trading day in the past. Thus, replay cannot do that. However, I'm not saying replay isn't useful...I just don't need it. Mark