Hey folks, I’m stumped with a video recording problem in Ruby. I’m trying to capture and stream a webpage using a headless browser setup. My code uses Ferrum for the browser and ffmpeg for recording.
Here’s what I’ve got so far:
require 'headless_browser'
display = VirtualDisplay.new(size: [1920, 1080])
display.start
browser = HeadlessBrowser.new(display: display.id)
browser.visit 'https://example.com'
record_cmd = "video_capture -size 1920x1080 -rate 25 -input #{display.id} output.mp4"
recorder = Process.spawn(record_cmd)
Process.detach(recorder)
sleep 3
Process.kill('TERM', recorder)
Process.kill('TERM', display.pid)
browser.close
The weird thing is, the output video has the right duration, but it’s just one static image. Any ideas on how to fix this or if there’s a better way to tackle this? Thanks in advance!
I’ve dealt with similar issues when working on web automation projects. One thing that stands out is the short duration you’re capturing - just 3 seconds might not be enough to see changes, especially if the page has animations or slow-loading content.
Try increasing the sleep time to at least 10-15 seconds. Also, make sure your ffmpeg command is correct - ‘video_capture’ isn’t a standard ffmpeg command. You might want to use something like:
ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -r 25 -i :#{display.id} output.mp4
Another potential issue could be with the virtual display setup. Some headless environments don’t handle video well. You might want to try using Xvfb explicitly instead of a generic VirtualDisplay.
Lastly, consider using a tool like RecordMyDesktop or SimpleScreenRecorder instead of ffmpeg directly. They often handle the complexities of screen capture better in headless environments.
Hope this helps point you in the right direction!
I’ve encountered similar challenges when working on automated web testing projects. One suggestion is to check if your headless browser setup is actually rendering dynamic content. Some configurations might not process JavaScript or CSS animations correctly, resulting in a static image.
Consider using a tool like Selenium WebDriver with ChromeDriver in headless mode instead. It tends to handle dynamic content better. Also, make sure you’re giving enough time for the page to fully load and render before starting the capture.
For the video capture itself, you might want to look into using the ‘capybara-screenshot’ gem combined with FFmpeg. It can take multiple screenshots over time, which you can then stitch together into a video. This approach often works better in headless environments where direct screen capture can be tricky.
Remember to check your system’s graphics capabilities too. Some headless setups require specific GPU configurations to properly render and capture video content.
hey mikezhang, have u tried using capybara with poltergeist? it’s pretty solid for headless browsing and works great with video capture. also, make sure ur ffmpeg command is correct, maybe try -f x11grab instead of video_capture. good luck mate!