# Fraps > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fraps > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fraps.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraps > Source revision: 1357191553 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Screen recording and benchmark utility for Windows This article is about the software Fraps. For the animal behaviour abbreviated as FRAPs, see [Frenetic random activity periods](/source/Frenetic_random_activity_periods). Fraps Fraps on Windows 8.1 Developer Beepa Pty Ltd Release August 25, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-08-25) Final release 3.5.99[1] / 26 February 2013 Operating system Windows 98 and later Type Benchmarking, screencasting License Proprietary software Website fraps.com **Fraps** (derived from [**Fra**mes **p**er **s**econd](/source/Frames_per_second)) is a [benchmarking](/source/Benchmark_(computing)), [screen capture](/source/Screenshot) and [screen recording](/source/Screencast) utility for [Windows](/source/Windows) developed by Beepa. It can capture from software that uses [DirectX](/source/DirectX) and [OpenGL](/source/OpenGL), such as [PC games](/source/PC_game). ## Operation Fraps is proprietary and commercial software, but it is free to use for frame rate display and benchmarking, and [free to use with limitations](/source/Trialware) for video capture (30 second time limit, [watermark](/source/Digital_watermark)) and screen capture ([BMP](/source/BMP_file_format) format only). The *frametimes* benchmark feature (logging of individual frame render times) gained attention in 2013 on computer review sites in debate about [micro stuttering](/source/Micro_stuttering) in games.[2] On [Windows Vista](/source/Windows_Vista) and [Windows 7](/source/Windows_7), the desktop can be captured if [Windows Aero](/source/Windows_Aero) is enabled. [Windows 8](/source/Windows_8) game capture works, but not desktop capture as of version 3.5.99.[3] Fraps records video at high resolution if the computer is sufficiently powerful. The maximum supported resolution is 7680×4800.[4] Fraps uses a proprietary [codec](/source/Codec). Therefore, playing Fraps video output requires Fraps or [ffdshow](/source/Ffdshow) to be installed. [Compression](/source/Data_compression) is relatively low and the resulting file sizes are relatively large: A two minute screencast of a [full HD](/source/Full_HD) screen (1920×1080) may take up 3.95 [GiB](/source/Gibibyte) on disk.[5] There is an option to encode the [RGB value](/source/RGB_color_model) of every pixel, but the default is to use a [YUV](/source/YUV) scheme for better compression.[6] The color space used is [Rec. 709](/source/Rec._709), full range.[7] ## History Since version 3.5.0, Fraps has the ability to store the entire session in one video file. Prior to this update, all Fraps footage was split at 4GB and the split files would have to be joined at the [transcoding](/source/Transcode) stage. However, for [backwards compatibility](/source/Backwards_compatibility) and limiting damage in case of a crash, there is still an option which allows users to use the old recording method of splitting videos.[8] Since version 3.0, Fraps supports [DirectX 11](/source/Direct3D#Direct3D_11) and [Windows 7](/source/Windows_7). Since version 3.5.0, the minimum [system requirements](/source/System_requirements) has changed. Fraps requires a CPU with [SSE2](/source/SSE2) instructions ([Pentium 4](/source/Pentium_4) and later) and [Windows XP](/source/Windows_XP) or later. Fraps has not been updated since February 26, 2013, and the trademark on Fraps expired on May 19, 2017.[9] ## Reception In 2012, Jim Norris from pcadvisor.co.uk praised Fraps for its featureset and usability, by stating: "Video capture is similarly option-generous with hot key functions, capture rates and sound settings that are all easy to understand and set". He also criticized the lack of customer support: "Beepa's customer support seems nonexistent. Several queries via their provided web forms (...) remained unanswered, and I was never able to contact anyone from the company despite repeated attempts to do so". But this, according to Jim Norris, seems in stark contrast to "the quality of the software and the speedy pace of its development." He concluded by praising the featureset of the free version: "the free version is quite feature generous and will suit the needs of almost every user." and gave the software 3.5 out of 5 stars.[10] ## See also - [Analog video capture](/source/Video_capture) - [Bandicam](/source/Bandicam) - [Comparison of screencasting software](/source/Comparison_of_screencasting_software) - [Digital Screencasting](/source/Screencast) - [HyperCam](/source/HyperCam) - [Screen capturing](/source/Screenshot) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-wikidata-c5d8b2fa0d29c13aa56480323c8f32b1f7e1961f-v20_1-0)** ["26th February 2013 - Fraps 3.5.99 Released"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220916195925/https://www.fraps.com/news.php). Archived from [the original](http://www.fraps.com/news.php) on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Wasson, Scott (2 January 2013). ["As the second turns: the web digests our game testing methods"](http://techreport.com/blog/24133/as-the-second-turns-the-web-digests-our-game-testing-methods). *The Tech Report*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230531215126/https://techreport.com/blog/as-the-second-turns-the-web-digests-our-game-testing-methods/) from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved 19 May 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Record Windows 8 desktop"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130306190252/http://frapsforum.com/threads/record-windows-8-desktop.2038/). 27 April 2012. Archived from [the original](http://frapsforum.com/threads/record-windows-8-desktop.2038/) on 2013-03-06. Retrieved 2013-05-19. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Fraps FAQ"](http://www.fraps.com/faq.php#videocap). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240407223554/https://fraps.com/faq.php#videocap) from the original on 2024-04-07. Retrieved 8 June 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Why should I encode my videos?"](http://frapsforum.com/resources/why-should-i-encode-my-videos.6/). 21 January 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2013.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Fraps"](http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=Fraps). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240405192228/https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=Fraps) from the original on 2024-04-05. Retrieved 19 May 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Fraps discussion (quoted email from Fraps developer)"](http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1556914#post1556914). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230424153803/http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1556914#post1556914) from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 19 May 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Fraps 3.5.0 Released!"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130127063633/http://frapsforum.com/threads/fraps-3-5-0-released.1226/). 27 April 2012. Archived from [the original](http://frapsforum.com/threads/fraps-3-5-0-released.1226/) on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2012-12-28. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR)"](http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78757654). 19 August 2018. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240127183635/https://tsdr.uspto.gov/) from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2019-10-06. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Norris, Jim. ["Fraps review from pcadvisor.co.uk"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130510063102/http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/software/3331211/fraps-review/). Archived from [the original](http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/software/3331211/fraps-review/) on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 20 July 2014. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.fraps.com) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fraps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraps) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraps?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.