The Capture Service is a system-wide tool used to record augmented reality experiences. This service seamlessly blends the physical and digital worlds into a standard still image or video which can be later viewed on your computer or on a Magic Leap device by way of the Gallery application.
The Capture tool can be invaluable during the software development process. It can also be used for various purposes, including:
- Presenting or comparing software prototypes
- Usability testing
- Human Computer Interaction studies and research
- Recording tutorials and best practices for your app
Capture is designed to be fast and efficient.
Capturing With the Control
Screenshot
To capture a screenshot on the device, press the Home button and then quickly tap the Bumper button on the Control.
Video
To record a video, you would hold the Home + Bumper buttons down simultaneously. To stop recording a video, repeat the above step hold the Home + Bumper buttons down.
Capturing With the Mobile App
Capture
To capture a screenshot on the mobile device, press the capture (for 1.5 seconds or longer) button. For pictures, tap the button and for video, hold to start and stop.
Considerations when Capturing
A Magic Leap user perceives mixed reality in a much more profound way than Capture can replicate via compressed MP4 videos (with Stereo sound) and JPG images.
Further, our device uses additive techniques for color and light composition in the sense that it adds different layers while letting the user's brain blend the physical and digital worlds into a single experience. Capture aims to automatically replicate the above process, but the quality of a recording would not be the same as using your app on Magic Leap device.
Treat Your Head as a Camera
Move gradually and try to avoid sudden motion / rotation and use the timer displayed when Capture starts so as to keep a steady pace. Try to keep a path with similar color contrast (for example, try to avoid presenting white digital content over black areas) and establish a clear plan on:
- What parts of your room should be captured
- When they should be captured while using your app
- How the user should interact with digital content
Brighten Your Content
Your digital content might seem less solid when captured than in the actual Magic Leap device experience. It is recommended that you brighten your digital world to make its elements less transparent. However, if you do that, you might as well need to darken your real world setting in order to keep a good balance.
Think of Performance
Running the Capture Service requires some processing power. Be sure to allow enough resources for smooth capturing alongside your app. For example, capturing your app performing meshing requires more resources than an average video recording.
Edit Your Videos and Images
As a post-processing step you might want to edit your videos and images to eliminate elements that the user of a Magic Leap device cannot see. Magic Leap device users do not see blurry, pixelated areas. However, Capture outputs compressed MP4 videos and JPG still images. You may need to edit these media to retain as much of the quality of the user's augmented reality experience as you can.
Video and still images specs
The video and image specs are the following.
Standard |
Resolution |
Aspect ratio |
1080p (default) |
1440×1080 |
4:3 |
720p |
960x720 |
4:3 |
Audio is captured from the digital source channel of the augmented reality experience.
The available space for video and still images storage in Magic Leap device is 3.7 GB.
Retrieve Captured Content
All captured video and images are stored and handled the same as any other media by the Magic Leap device.
View Captured Content on Magic Leap
Follow these steps:
- Open the app launcher
- Navigate to the "Gallery"
- Select the captured video or image
- Hard press the Touchpad on the Control to view the media
You can delete all unwanted media by using the Magic Leap "Gallery" application.
Copy Captured Content To Your Computer
Using The Lab, you can copy images directly off your Magic Leap device to your computer. You will ned to have enabled Developer Mode on your device to use this feature.
- In The Lab, click on "Device Bridge"
- Next, click on "Files", then, on the left-hand side, click the arrow next to "Documents", and finally click the arrow next to "C1"
- For video content, click "Videos"
- Click on the video file you'd like to copy, and select "Download"
- For images, click "Photos"
- Click on the image file you'd like to copy, and select "Download"
- For video content, click "Videos"