How do I screen record sound and video on Windows?
I'm looking for a way to screen record sound and video on Windows and want recommendations on what software or tools I should use. It'd be great if it's something not too hard to use. Thanks for the help
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If you are on Windows 10 or 11, hit the Windows Key + G. This will open the GAME BAR and allow recording options, including sound and video. There are also paid versions, but this is a quick and free way!
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Many of the built in recording functions may not allow recording of File Explorer, or the Windows Desktop which may be necessary for some users to record.
The default shortcut to start recording in Windows is Windows Key + Alt + R if you are in an app that is allowed to be recorded by Windows.
The approach taken by many is using third party programs. The most used is probably going to be OBS Studio, available here:
https://obsproject.com/download
Download the Installer, open the file that was downloaded.
On Windows you may have to click a button that says 'Allow' to open the file, on some versions this may appear as a more generic Security Warning dialog that asks if you'd like to run, or cancel. Click Run, then follow the instructions to install the program.
On macOS, it will open a small window with the OBS icon next to the Applications icon.
Drag the OBS icon over the Applications icon to install the application, confirm your password.
For Windows you can open OBS Studio from your Start Menu, on macOS it will be in your Launchpad, which is an icon that has 9 different colored squares inside of it, this takes you to the list of apps installed in macOS.
Open OBS Studio, it will ask if you want to optimize for recording or streaming, for what we want to do, choose 'Optimize for recording, I will not be streaming', the next page can be left on defaults, or you can customize your resolution and Frames Per Second.
Now for the only hard part: your source.
In the bottom left, there is a section called 'Sources' that should say 'You don't have any sources.'
Click the + (plus) icon in the lower left of the sources box, choose display capture if you want it to record everything shown on the screen.
Give it a name, I leave it on defaults unless I will have more than one added, and press OK.
It will then ask what the Capture Method should be, leave it on Automatic.
Where it says 'Display', this is where we can choose the monitor it will record from.
If you only have one screen attached, it will only show one monitor.
Once you have selected your monitor click OK.
You may see your display taking up more or less room than is framed in the preview, in this case, put your mouse over the red boxes that are outlining the display preview, and drag them inwards (or out) to get the preview to match the size of your screen.
The only other thing to consider is whether you want audio to be recorded onto the video.
In the middle we have the Audio Mixer, where we can record or mute Desktop Audio, if you have a Microphone attached, it should show up in this section and will be recorded by default, mute that if you do not want it recorded.
If your microphone is not in the list, you may have to add a new source where we added the Video source, this time add an Audio Input if it's a microphone, or add Audio Output if you want to record all sound that is playing on the computer. The next step will ask you which device you would like to record audio from, I choose microphone so it can record what I am saying, and for audio output I choose my desktop speakers, since for me that is where audio is played.
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The default shortcut to start recording in Windows is Windows Key + Alt + R if you are in an app that is allowed to be recorded by Windows.
The approach taken by many is using third party programs. The most used is probably going to be OBS Studio, available here:
https://obsproject.com/download
Download the Installer, open the file that was downloaded.
On Windows you may have to click a button that says 'Allow' to open the file, on some versions this may appear as a more generic Security Warning dialog that asks if you'd like to run, or cancel. Click Run, then follow the instructions to install the program.
On macOS, it will open a small window with the OBS icon next to the Applications icon.
Drag the OBS icon over the Applications icon to install the application, confirm your password.
For Windows you can open OBS Studio from your Start Menu, on macOS it will be in your Launchpad, which is an icon that has 9 different colored squares inside of it, this takes you to the list of apps installed in macOS.
Open OBS Studio, it will ask if you want to optimize for recording or streaming, for what we want to do, choose 'Optimize for recording, I will not be streaming', the next page can be left on defaults, or you can customize your resolution and Frames Per Second.
Now for the only hard part: your source.
In the bottom left, there is a section called 'Sources' that should say 'You don't have any sources.'
Click the + (plus) icon in the lower left of the sources box, choose display capture if you want it to record everything shown on the screen.
Give it a name, I leave it on defaults unless I will have more than one added, and press OK.
It will then ask what the Capture Method should be, leave it on Automatic.
Where it says 'Display', this is where we can choose the monitor it will record from.
If you only have one screen attached, it will only show one monitor.
Once you have selected your monitor click OK.
You may see your display taking up more or less room than is framed in the preview, in this case, put your mouse over the red boxes that are outlining the display preview, and drag them inwards (or out) to get the preview to match the size of your screen.
The only other thing to consider is whether you want audio to be recorded onto the video.
In the middle we have the Audio Mixer, where we can record or mute Desktop Audio, if you have a Microphone attached, it should show up in this section and will be recorded by default, mute that if you do not want it recorded.
If your microphone is not in the list, you may have to add a new source where we added the Video source, this time add an Audio Input if it's a microphone, or add Audio Output if you want to record all sound that is playing on the computer. The next step will ask you which device you would like to record audio from, I choose microphone so it can record what I am saying, and for audio output I choose my desktop speakers, since for me that is where audio is played.
Both Windows 10 and 11 have the ability to bring up a Windows screen recorder. With the shortcut, you press the Windows key and the letter G. This has limited uses, depending upon your graphics card, and what you're trying to do as a screen capture. In those cases, a third party Screen Capture app might be more useful. Vimeo does offer a free screen recorder. The best screen recorders are the ones that have extensions in your browser so that you can very quickly activate them as opposed to having to open a separate application.
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One of my favorite programs for screen capturing is OBS, and I know a ton of streamers also use it. You can choose which windows to record and organize them on screen however you want. You can also record your mic audio really easily if you need to record a presentation.
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Have you tried using Zoom to create screen recordings? I know a lot of people already have Zoom so it's nice to be able to use something you already have for a new purpose.
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If you're using Windows 11, you should have access to the snipping tool, which lets you take screenshots and screen record. Not all versions of Windows have the snipping tool though for some reason. But you can also use PowerPoint to screen record, believe it or not: open PP, start a new slide, click "insert," click "screen record," and then after you're done just right-click on the recording and click "save media as."
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This is awesome! I didn't know that the snipping tool can record videos, I only thought it could take still screenshots. Thanks
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I think all of the options mentioned so far are great, but I have one more suggestion—not a lot of people realize that PowerPoint has screen recording functionality! I wouldn't go out of my way to get PowerPoint for screen recording, but if it's something you already have, it can be a handy tool
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