A Guide To Sharing Replays

23
United States
Georgia
Prodigy-Wolf- WolfTheWhite
So, I'm a bit shocked that there isn't a full guide or tutorial on how to export or import replays on GTP. If there is, I searched up and down for it, but I must have missed it. So, I figured I might write this little tutorial about what I have found out about it myself. I have a tuner card with which I record video, but I sometimes find that other players are jittery or just outright laggy in my replays, so I ask people to send me their replays, but it doesn't seem like anyone really knows how to do this, so I'm putting this here for my sake, as well as anyone else who wants to be able to share their replays. There is one tool needed as a requirement.

Requirement: To get a replay on or off your Playstation, you will need a USB drive of some sort, or some other storage device if you are lucky enough to have the old-school phat Playstation 3 with memcard slots.

NOTE: Because of the mechanics of GT5 and the PS3, each region replay can only be played from the same region disk. As far as I know there is no way around this yet. I imagine a hexeditor comparison between a US and EU param file might make it work, but the only reports of this I found failed. It occurs to me that PAL and NTSC replay data itself may be structured differently since they are at different framerates. It is a VERY GOOD IDEA, to make note of which region you have, there is a BCxx-##### on your disk somewhere, mine is BCUS-98114, the US NTSC disc.

As a last warning before you continue, the save setup of the PS3, and the Replay file setup of GT5 don't make this very easy, I tried to make this as simple and foolproof as I could, but it is still a bit complicated.


EXPORTING​

Step 1: Getting the Replay from GT5 to the PS3 disk

To share a replay, you need a replay to export. In your "My Home" screen click on "Replay Theatre" camera. It is to the right of the yellow "?" button, in the bottom left of the screen. Hit Triangle on the replay that you want to export, and a menu comes up, with an item that says "Export to Save Data" about halfway down. This is what we want to select:

cXgt


After this you get a Warning that it may take a long time, for my about 1 minute drift replay it took maybe 5-10 seconds, just click yes, then it will show New Replay Data. Click Enter to save a new Replay Data. It asks you again if you want to save, so click yes, again. If all is well it says "Save Completed." Then we got on with our gaming.


Step 2: Getting the Replay off the PS3 to your PC

After you export the data, you must exit the game to the XMB, where you will go to "Save Data Utility (PS3)". You should see your replay file somewhere in that gob of gamesaves you have, probably at the top, unless you went and played more GT5 and saved again before you quit. Put your thumbdrive or memcard in the PS3 and it should appear near the top of your save list. Hit Triangle on your gamesave, then go to "Copy", it has the yellow Plus symbol here:

cXgM


Under the "Select the destination." screen, select the storage device that you inserted, and click enter on it. Once it copies onto your storage device, it says "Copy completed." and your replay is now on a thumbdrive ready to go! BUT...


Step 3: Making it all one file, because the PS3 is dumb at this.

Once you get to the computer with your storage device and look for your replay, you might find it, as well as a bunch of other files, under PS3 > SAVEDATA > BCxx#####-RPL###. Where BCxx##### is the GT5 serial of your region (BCUS98114 for the US NTSC version, BCES00569 for EU PAL version, BCAS20108 for the Asian version). Note do not use the CE edition BCUS98272, becuase the CE game disc is still BCUS98114. What is really important here is the RPL###, you need that as well as the files in it, for the replay or it will show up as corrupt.

cXr5


I have a lot of other things in my SAVEDATA folder on my thumbstick, so I don't archive the root PS3 folder, but you can do that if you know what you're doing. Here I used Windows own little trick to Zip stuff, you can use whatever archive tool you want, I like 7zip, but not everyone has it. Rightclick the BCxx#####-RPL### folder that contains your new replay, hover on "Send to >" and select "Compressed (zipped) Folder". You can then rename the resulting Zip file whatever you want, and the BCxx#####-RPL### folder itself will be inside it.

cXfI


As far as I know, this works exactly the same in Windows XP and Windows Vista (I actually have Windows 7 here despite the old-school window style). You can now email the Zip, or even post it on the internet for all to download, like my Viper Drift Trial Here: http://puu.sh/cXq0 [Note, this is a US NTSC replay, If a European would like to send me a BCES replay, I'll post it for the purpose of a sample for Europeans who want something to import for the next section]


IMPORTING​


Step 1: Putting Humpty Dumpty Together Again

Not everyone puts their replay data into a nice zipped folder with one click like I have. I have been sent individual files from within the folder, without knowing the RPL### folder it came in. If you have a replay you want to import, but the BCUS or BCES folder was not included, and all you got was, a param.sfo file, a param.pfd file, an icon0 file, a replay.0, and maybe a few more replay.#, you're not out of luck. As long as you have the param.pfd, param.sfo, and all the replay.#, you can hack your way to a working replay file. If you have the BCxx#####-RPL### folder in a nice zip file, skip to Step 3.

Assuming you have replay data for your region you can put the pic1.png and icon0.png (the two .PNG files are the same in every replay), plus the param files and replay.# files onto your thumbdrive or memcard in the folder PS3/SAVEDATA/BCUS98114-RPL001 or PS3/SAVEDATA/BCES00569-RPL001 or PS3/SAVEDATA/BCAS20108-RPL001 on the root folder of your device.


Step 2: Getting the Right RPL### on the PS3

There is a small chance that RPL001 was in fact the correct number for the replay when you plug your device into the PS3, but if it isn't you will see a corrupt save on the USB Drive [or Memory Card] under the "Save Data Utility (PS3)". Check this corrupt data and it will show something under the description like "[###]: Replay data for GT5". That ### is the correct ### for your RPL### folder. If the replay is corrupt in the next step still, review that you did this correctly first, and if its still corrupt the replay data might not be from your region.


Step 3: Preparing the Replay Folder for the PS3's pickyness

Copy all of the files, (Or the BCES/BCUS folder for the replay) to Q:/PS3/SAVEDATA/BCUS98114-RPL### substituting you're device drive letter for Q: [and your BCES number if you aren't BCUS98114], and putting the correct number in ###. You should have the files PARAM.PFD, PARAM.SFO, ICON0.PNG, PIC1.PNG, REPLAY.0, and more REPLAY.# files if the replay is fairly big. In this case I have BCUS98114-RPL003 [Which I found out using Step 2 above myself >_<]

cXv9


Check on the PS3 to be sure that you see the replay icon, and not a corrupted save file. If it's corrupted, make certain that it is for your region!


Step 4: Copy the Replay to the PS3

If everything so far has worked when you go to "Save Data Utility (PS3)" > Storage Device you should see something like this:

cXgP


Click Triangle on your replay, and select Copy, to copy it to your playstation. NOTE: If you have exported a replay, and it has the same RPL### as the one on the Storage device it will ask you to overwrite the one on the PS3.


Step 5: Importing in GT5

Start GT5. In the Replay Theater, click the little import button, above the search button:

cXgB


You will be brought up with a selection of the importable replays on the PS3. It's a VERY GOOD IDEA to check the Date and Time, car, driver, and track of the replay, especially if you save almost every replay and have a few hundred to sort through on your PS3, so you can find the replay later. The date you care about is the replay date at the bottom under Driver, not the save date of the exported replay:

cXgE


Choose the one you want, and the PS3 will ask you if you want to load it, hit yes. It will then say Load completed, and GT5 will then show this prompt:

cXgI


If your replays are sorted by date, and you read the very good idea to check the date and time of the replay above, then you can now navigate through your plethora of replays until you find the one you imported, by sorting them by date.


Hopefully this was a not so complicated guide to an overcomplicated operation, I know I would like to be able to record replays of my team members for youtube, hopefully this can be useful to other Drift Teams and Racing Crews looking to send replays to people with tuning cards, or even just friends.

If you think I've made any error or something is still very confusing, feel free to post a comment, and maybe I'll get around to fixing it. Hope this helps.


-Wolf-
 
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Thank you for taking he time to write this tutorial! Very usefull information! Thank you!
 
My question now is... How can we watch our replays on platforms other than the PS3? I want to watch my replays on my laptop. Good read nevertheless:tup:
 
I want to watch my replays on my laptop.
You can't. A replay file is a set of instructions that only a PS3 playing GT5 can understand.

To watch a replay on a PC, you need to use a capture card to capture the video.
 
Good info.

Take note that some longer replays ie. Endurance Races cannot be exported. GT will throw an error indicating the file is too big to be exported.

And the rest of the Editions Product IDs :

US
Gran Turismo 5 - SCEA BCUS-98114
Gran Turismo 5 (Collector's Edition) - SCEA BCUS-98272

EU
Gran Turismo 5 - SCEE BCES-00569
Gran Turismo 5 (Collector's/Sig Edition) - SCEE BCES-00569/S

ASIA
Gran Turismo 5 (Normal/Racing Pack) - SCEI BCAS-20108
 
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Good info.

US
Gran Turismo 5 - SCEA BCUS-98114
Gran Turismo 5 (Collector's Edition) - SCEA BCUS-98272

EU
Gran Turismo 5 - SCEE BCES-00569
Gran Turismo 5 (Collector's/Sig Edition) - SCEE BCES-00569/S

ASIA
Gran Turismo 5 (Normal/Racing Pack) - SCEI BCAS-20108

The CE editions discs are actually no different than the regular one. I have the BCUS-98272 box, but the game disc is still BCUS-98114, as well as the replay data. I'll note that above, and add the BCAS.


edit: Added the BCAS to the tutorial up there, and took out the for other regions you can find the BC## by...

I assumed these are all the regions for the disc, and I assume the EU CE/SE edition does the same as the US, where the disc id is the regular BCES00569, but I can't test that myself. If anyone with the EU CE/SE version might confirm this?
 
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That has cleared it up for me, Thanks!

I tried this a few days ago and my Lap Top couldn't recognize the replay (Obvious reasons)
 
I can copy a PAL replay to the PS3, but is there any way to import it into NTSC? When I click import, I don't see the replay, but it shows up in the PS3 Save Data list.
 
Im doing these exact things but its in its on little folder when I copy it to my ps3. So when I try to import it its not in the gran turismo 5 folder. for example

Saved Data:

------BF3
-------GT5 (replays are inside)
-------gt5-herhaling (bijgewerkte versie) <--- the one im trying to import
------mobile suit gundam

how do i get that one im trying to import into that folder. or do i have to delete all the replays in that gt5 folder so it can try to import that one? I'm willing to do. PLEASE HELP!
 
Im doing these exact things but its in its on little folder when I copy it to my ps3. So when I try to import it its not in the gran turismo 5 folder. for example

Saved Data:

------BF3
-------GT5 (replays are inside)
-------gt5-herhaling (bijgewerkte versie) <--- the one im trying to import
------mobile suit gundam

how do i get that one im trying to import into that folder. or do i have to delete all the replays in that gt5 folder so it can try to import that one? I'm willing to do. PLEASE HELP!

Looking at the name of the file, I guess it's Dutch, so it's PAL version. As you're from USA, you probably have NTSC GT5 version, so this replay simply isn't compatible with your game.
 
Looking at the name of the file, I guess it's Dutch, so it's PAL version. As you're from USA, you probably have NTSC GT5 version, so this replay simply isn't compatible with your game.

So your telling me I cant import it? no way to move it into the other files.?
 
So your telling me I cant import it? no way to move it into the other files.?

If this replay really is from EU version of the game and You have US, no. Replay and the game must be from the same region, then you can import them.

BTW. You copy replays ingame, where you have the list of your replays, on the left you have a button to import.
This tutorial seems a bit complicated for me, and I'd skip few parts. You just need to have a replay in folder [USB letter]:/PS3/SAVEDATA/ put the USB stick into PS3, start GT5, go to replays, press the "Import" button and select storage device and the replay. But still versions have to match.
 
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I simply don't understand why the PAL and NTSC regions even need different games that cause incompatible replay files. It's 2013 and my tv can display all the resolutions my PS3 puts out, why then is there even a need for a Euro version, and if the replay file just contains data to make the game engine replay the race, then it shouldn't matter anyways, because the game would render it in whatever resolution you have it set at.

Am I wrong here?
 
Can't you attach replay data from your xmb to a private message to someone on your friend list and share your replays that way? I always just assumed you could but I've never actually tried it.
 
I simply don't understand why the PAL and NTSC regions even need different games that cause incompatible replay files. It's 2013 and my tv can display all the resolutions my PS3 puts out, why then is there even a need for a Euro version, and if the replay file just contains data to make the game engine replay the race, then it shouldn't matter anyways, because the game would render it in whatever resolution you have it set at.

Am I wrong here?

My guess is that there's some legal or tax reason why they have to be different for different regions.

Also, it should be really easy for PD to make the replay files shareable, I wonder why that haven't been done. Like, one click to share it with your friends, instead of going through the multiple complicated steps described above.
 
Can't you attach replay data from your xmb to a private message to someone on your friend list and share your replays that way? I always just assumed you could but I've never actually tried it.

In fact, you can't do that. The reason for this is that the replays are saved as a bunch of files, none of which can be attached to a PS3 message. To get those files to be saved in their proper location is also not a user function...

My guess is that there's some legal or tax reason why they have to be different for different regions.

Also, it should be really easy for PD to make the replay files shareable, I wonder why that haven't been done. Like, one click to share it with your friends, instead of going through the multiple complicated steps described above.

Here's what I don't get: I can race with a guy from England, a guy from Brazil, a guy from the USA and a guy from Germany at the same time, and once the race is done we can each go and save the replay file on our HDDs... but we can't have one of us save the file then email it to the others... If the versions are so different they're not in-game compatible, then how is it possible to interact with them in an online race? Shouldn't someone be unable to participate due to their TV resolution? Truly 21st century stuff here...:crazy:

It boggles my mind to find out this way that the advent of digital tv and HD screens didn't trigger the abolition of NTSC/PAL/SECAM discrimination. Especially since the replay files contain no rendered data at all, no video stream, just data streams for each control input from which the game's render engine then produces a "live" replay. The screen resolution or TV format has nothing to do with the data contained in a replay save, making me truly wonder as to what the real reason for this shortfall may be. I'm just baffled.
 
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Here's what I don't get: I can race with a guy from England, a guy from Brazil, a guy from the USA and a guy from Germany at the same time, and once the race is done we can each go and save the replay file on our HDDs... but we can't have one of us save the file then email it to the others... If the versions are so different they're not in-game compatible, then how is it possible to interact with them in an online race? Shouldn't someone be unable to participate due to their TV resolution? Truly 21st century stuff here...:crazy:

It boggles my mind to find out this way that the advent of digital tv and HD screens didn't trigger the abolition of NTSC/PAL/SECAM discrimination. Especially since the replay files contain no rendered data at all, no video stream, just data streams for each control input from which the game's render engine then produces a "live" replay. The screen resolution or TV format has nothing to do with the data contained in a replay save, making me truly wonder as to what the real reason for this shortfall may be. I'm just baffled.

It's because online gameplay was programmed to handle players from different regions. The replays were not meant to be shared, probably it's one of those things they didn't have time to look into. After all, they were working on a way to upload replays to youtube so they must have known that people would be interested in sharing replays...

I'm also pretty sure that if they wanted to fix replay sharing they could do that pretty quickly, all they need to do is to create a function to send your replay data to someone else, shouldn't be more complicated than sending a car. But if they're not aware that it's a function that is missing, then they won't do it.

I guess that in order to raise awareness about it we could:
1. Hire an airplane to write the message in smoke on the sky above Tokyo.
2. Tweet Kazunori Yamauchi about it.
3. Keep posting about it here on GTPlanet and hope that PD has a proper CI (competitive intelligence) department that once in a while checks these forums for consumer feedback.

Edit: Oh, and 4. Blimps.
 
It's because online gameplay was programmed to handle players from different regions. The replays were not meant to be shared, probably it's one of those things they didn't have time to look into. After all, they were working on a way to upload replays to youtube so they must have known that people would be interested in sharing replays...

I'm also pretty sure that if they wanted to fix replay sharing they could do that pretty quickly, all they need to do is to create a function to send your replay data to someone else, shouldn't be more complicated than sending a car. But if they're not aware that it's a function that is missing, then they won't do it.

I guess that in order to raise awareness about it we could:
1. Hire an airplane to write the message in smoke on the sky above Tokyo.
2. Tweet Kazunori Yamauchi about it.
3. Keep posting about it here on GTPlanet and hope that PD has a proper CI (competitive intelligence) department that once in a while checks these forums for consumer feedback.

Edit: Oh, and 4. Blimps.

I prefer just complaining to my coworkers about it, annoying them immensely.:sly:

I remember back in the GT3 days, my nephew and I had a memory card at his mom's house that we saved a best lap replay on. Whenever he was home, he'd copy the replay file(s) to his MC and try to beat my ghosts, then save the replay for his ghost on the card for the next time I'm visiting. Those days are over, but it didn't matter then whether you were playing against European version replays, because there was no way to get them anyway. I saw an elaborate setup that would copy MCs to a PC via USB reader, then you could email saved files, but the recipient would need to have the same device to write the file to their memory card, and I'm convinced that there were issues with that whole process too.

Is there a forum here that is based on such gameplay? A thread where people get together and exchange ghosts to beat each other's lap times... For those of us who'd like to compete with one another but are not online at the same times (due to time zones or working).

Just wondering:dopey:
 
God, exporting replay files is probably the most nasty thing you can do in GT5. I'm collecting lots of replays from cruises or photoshoots (over the past years, I have saved about 700). Now some months ago I had a problem with GT5 and had to reinstall, therefore had to export all of those... kept me busy half a day. If we could just select all (or better yet, select some or all) and export them like we can do with photos, that'd keep my PS3 busy but I wouldn't have to do anything stupid like now (clicking menus, waiting for export to finish, exiting them, clicking them on next file, ...).
And once you're done with that s:censored: you're not even done! Now not only your save game menu is REALLY spammed, you also have to copy the files yet AGAIN to either back them up or get them back into the game... one by one... because PD. :sly:

:mad:
 
daan
You can't. A replay file is a set of instructions that only a PS3 playing GT5 can understand.

To watch a replay on a PC, you need to use a capture card to capture the video.

I'm glad someone besides me is addressing this. I get tired of having to explain it in any and all topics that deal with replays.
 
I'm glad someone besides me is addressing this. I get tired of having to explain it in any and all topics that deal with replays.

The way I think of it is that the file containing a "race replay" or any kind of replay only contains the information relating to the car, since the track and environment is already on the game console with predetermined camera replay angles. The car replay can move from console to console, but on a PC, if the replay data could be decoded, it would be without the track and therefore uselsess.
 
Video please i dont have the attention span to read that tutorial....... jk thats seem like alot or work imo and no worth the trouble
 
The way I think of it is that the file containing a "race replay" or any kind of replay only contains the information relating to the car, since the track and environment is already on the game console with predetermined camera replay angles. The car replay can move from console to console, but on a PC, if the replay data could be decoded, it would be without the track and therefore uselsess.

Nearly, replay data is simply a stream of data that emulates keypresses from the user and similar data from the AI cars. It requires a GT5 game engine and hence a PS3 because the replay is played on the game engine in real time using the input data from the replay rather than input data from the user. Its not a video recording like, say, YouTube, for instance.
 
chug-a-bug
Nearly, replay data is simply a stream of data that emulates keypresses from the user and similar data from the AI cars. It requires a GT5 game engine and hence a PS3 because the replay is played on the game engine in real time using the input data from the replay rather than input data from the user. Its not a video recording like, say, YouTube, for instance.

Exactly, also, the game saves the car's heading, speed and location at certain intervals like keyframes. In case sometimes the processing of the live input data results in discrepancies, the game will then jerk the car into the correct spot to ensure continuity. This can be observed as choppy car movements in laggy online play where the button presses transmitted over the network are too sparse to result in accurate opponent rendering.

Furthermore, they contain car data for each car, track and option information and also driver's names and the accurate race results, because sometimes, the winner of the race will be a few thousandths off the original time during replay...

Bottom line, the lack of a built-in option to share replays online is an olmost inexcusable oversight in my opinion. And that it hasn't been addressed in this many updates and patches is inexplicable to me completely.
 
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