PhantomRec — "Record now. Encode later. Zero lag."

Built by MaxRBLX1 v1.9.5

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Project History

PhantomRec was originally released as RetroRec (v1.0 through v1.7). The name was changed in v1.8. All recordings and settings from previous versions are fully compatible.

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What is PhantomRec?

PhantomRec is a free, portable, and invisible screen recorder for Windows. It captures your desktop at a smooth 60 FPS with system audio, then converts the recording into a compact, high-quality file — all without slowing down your computer.

No GPU? No problem. Old laptop? It works. PhantomRec is designed to run on any Windows PC from Vista to Windows 11, from a dual-core budget machine to a high-end workstation.

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A Note on Windows Versions

PhantomRec doesn't care what hardware you have. It cares what OS you run — because your OS determines what capture APIs are available.

Windows Version	Capture Method	Recording FPS	Playback FPS
Windows 10 / 11	GFX (GPU zero-copy)	60 VFR	60
Windows 8 / 8.1	DDAGrab (GPU)	60 VFR	60
Windows 7 / Vista	GDI (CPU software)	55 cap	30

Windows 7/Vista lack GPU-accelerated capture APIs. PhantomRec still works — but your OS caps playback at 30 FPS.

The fix is free: Upgrade to Windows 8.1, 10, or 11 on the same hardware. Your CPU, RAM, and GPU haven't changed — but now the capture APIs exist, and PhantomRec uses them.

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Why Choose PhantomRec?

PhantomRec uses a two-stage ghost pipeline — the same architecture that made Fraps legendary, rebuilt for modern codecs.

Stage 1 — Live Capture (mpeg4, 1 thread, ~5% CPU): The screen is captured and encoded with MPEG‑4 Part 2 — a lightweight codec that barely touches your CPU. Duplicate frames are skipped automatically. No GPU encoding means no stop-button freeze.

Stage 2 — Post-Convert (x264, all cores, after you stop): When you press stop, PhantomRec converts the recording to x264 at high quality using all CPU cores — when your system is idle. You get NVENC-quality file sizes without needing a GPU.

The Result:

• Your GPU stays 100% dedicated to your game or desktop
• Recording uses ~5% CPU on any hardware
• Heavy compression happens when you're done recording
• Instant stop — no encoder queue drain freeze
• Smooth output on any CPU from 2008 onward
• No GPU required. No NVENC. No AMF. CPU only.

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System Requirements

Component	Minimum
OS	Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11
CPU	Any dual-core x86_64 (SSE2)
RAM	4 GB
GPU	Any. Integrated. None. All work.
Storage	Any HDD or SSD

*No dedicated GPU or GPU hardware encoding required.

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Quick Start

1. Download the latest release and extract all files.
2. Make sure maxsengine.exe is in the same folder as PhantomRec.exe.
3. Double-click PhantomRec.exe — a small always-on-top window appears.
4. Press F10 to start recording. Press F10 again to stop.
5. Wait a few seconds for post-processing — your video opens automatically.

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What's New in v1.9.5

• Pure C Core — Capture engine rewritten in C11. No STL. No exceptions. Zero allocations during recording.
• C++ UI — Clean separation. Win32 + GDI+. Core and UI linked through extern "C".
• Smart Capture Fallback — GFX → DDAGrab → GDI. Every method degrades gracefully if the OS doesn't support it.
• Customization — Custom backgrounds (PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF), custom fonts (TTF/OTF), font size, font color.
• Animated GIF Backgrounds — Smooth frame transitions, no ghosting.
• INI Hot-Reload — Edit PhantomRec.ini while running. Changes apply within 2 seconds.
• No UI Stacking — Text and backgrounds render clean on every update.

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Configuration

All settings in PhantomRec.ini. Edit while running — no restart needed.

[Settings]
Hotkey=F10
PauseHotkey=P
ConvertAfterRecording=yes
ConvertPreset=veryfast
CaptureMethod=auto

CaptureMethod options: auto (default), gfx, ddagrab, gdi ConvertPreset options: medium (best quality), veryfast (balanced), ultrafast (fastest)

[Appearance]
Background=C:\path\to\image.png
Font=C:\path\to\font.ttf
FontSize=14
FontColor=16777215

Building from Source

Requirements

• MinGW-w64 (UCRT64)
• Windows SDK

Compile

# Step 1: Compile the pure C core
gcc -std=c11 -O2 -c src/phantomrec_core.c -o phantomrec_core.o

# Step 2: Link with C++ UI
g++ -std=c++17 -O2 -D_WIN32_WINNT=0x0A00 \
    phantomrec_core.o src/PhantomRec.cpp \
    -o PhantomRec.exe \
    -lcomctl32 -lshell32 -luser32 -lgdi32 -lkernel32 \
    -ladvapi32 -lole32 -luuid -lksuser -lavrt -lgdiplus -lcomdlg32

⚠️ -D_WIN32_WINNT=0x0A00 is strictly required. Without it, the binary targets XP compatibility and the recording pipeline fails with 0 FPS.

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Project Tree

PhantomRec/
├── src/
│ ├── PhantomRec.cpp	C++ UI (Win32 + GDI+)
│ ├── phantomrec_core.c	Pure C core
│ └── phantomrec_core.h	Shared header (extern "C" bridge)
And remaining or licence and Readme and .gitgnore

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What PhantomRec Does Not Do (Yet)

• Streaming — PhantomRec is a recorder, not a streaming tool.
• Webcam overlay — Not supported.
• Per-window capture — PhantomRec captures the entire monitor.

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License & Credits

PhantomRec is free software. Use it, modify it, share it.

Built by MaxRBLX1.

Max'sEngine™ powered by FFmpeg (ffmpeg.org).

Audio capture based on Microsoft WASAPI sample code.