Update Recording Tab of ConfigTool

[miakilborn]

The Recording tab should be updated, as a part of the config tool's redesign. Mock-up here

[dideler]

Duplicate of #539?

[miakilborn]

Not anymore. Sorry, it was supposed to be recording. And the link is fixed.

[zxiiro]

Output directory actually only makes sense in the context of recording to a file. I wonder if we should put it closer inside of the record to file area?

[dideler]

@zxiiro good point, it can be a nested item of "Record to File". The label would have to be reduced so it fits nicely. Maybe just "Output Location" or "Location". Putting it as the first nested setting (so above the "File Format" setting) would make it more discoverable, which is useful because I think the output location is a setting that every user would be interested in -- if they don't change it, they would at least like to know what it's set to. That bring up another point, we should make sure the text field for the location is a sufficient width, so most paths are fully viewable.

I also suggest moving the "Record to ..." sections to the top. So first you would decide the more general settings like where you want to record to and what type of recording, then you configure the details such as the audio and video inputs.

[zxiiro]

Was moving audio/video input to the bottom something we discussed? sorry I can't remember.

I feel like inputs are more important than outputs so they should appear at the top. You're more likely to change the inputs and care about changing inputs than you are to care about changing outputs in my opinion.

[miakilborn]

Dennis said:

I also suggest moving the "Record to ..." sections to the top. So first you would decide the more general settings like where you want to record to and what type of recording, then you configure the details such as the audio and video inputs.

[dideler]

I don't think we discussed location of the audio/video inputs until now.

I think we should provide good defaults for the audio/video inputs, so users won't have to touch those (complicated) settings if possible. I could see every user being concerned with where their recordings are being saved to and in what format, which is why I suggest moving it to the top since the user is more likely to be looking for it.

I could be wrong. The only way to know for sure is to do user testing and observe what they do.

[zxiiro]

The inputs are concerned with where your audio and video source is coming from. This is the most important part of the recording. Picking whether you want to record your webcam, or your desktop. I don't see how any defaults would prevent a user from being concerned about what to record.

Maybe you are thinking about the "setup" button which opens a popup for more options for these which we already provide pretty good defaults. I actually rarely ever need to click the setup button for these items. But everyone using using Freeseer will still need to click the drop down menu and pick whether they want to record from a webcam/usb device or to record their desktop.

I think for most purposes you don't have to click the Setup Button for any of the inputs or outputs and can rely on the defaults. The only plugin type that the setup button is a absolute must is streaming plugins which require details on your account.

[zxiiro]

FWIW we even discussed previously that we should in addition to configtool have the option to select your sources inside the recording interface. If anything this highlights how important it is for a user to be able to pick their input sources.

[dideler]

have the option to select your sources inside the recording interface

I agree. For the other stuff mentioned, my response will have to wait till I can take a better look at the config tool at home. At the moment I'm just relying on memory.

[dideler]

Here are screenshots of the audio & video inputs settings in the recording tab on master. I'll try to make some comments during lunch today.

[dideler]

Looking at the above screenshots, both the video and audio input sources are hidden behind their 'setup' buttons. These source settings should be easier to find; putting them directly on the recording tab in their appropriate sections would be a good start.

For example

[x] Video Input
  Source [Video Test Source]
  Video Mixer [Video Passthrough]

I think ultimately it doesn't make that big of a difference what order the "Record to File/Stream" and "Audio/Video Input" options are in. The "Input" options are most important for recording the right thing (otherwise you can pretty much throw away your recording if you made a mistake here). But I think the "Record to" options will be used more often. Either way, any order should be good enough as long as the "Input" and "Record to" options are grouped together.