How to Record a Video on a PC
Movavi Screen Recorder is one of the best ways to record videos on a PC:
In this article, we’ll discuss how to record a video on a PC with a few different methods: an online screen recorder, built-in tools, desktop programs, and browser extensions.
Best for: professional-looking screen recorded videos
Rating: 4.5/5 stars, 49 reviews
OS: Windows, macOS
Step 1. Download and open Movavi Screen Recorder
Movavi Screen Recorder offers a free version for your screen capture video needs. Download and open the desktop recorder, and you’ll be prompted to set the area you want to record and adjust your recording settings.
Step 2. Set up your recording parameters
Click the Screen recording button. Movavi Screen Recorder offers intuitive settings to let you select the part of the screen you want to record. You can adjust the height, width, and other settings easily before you hit record.
Step 3. Record video on your PC
Hit the Start recording button to record video with audio from your desktop or laptop. When you’re done, simply hit the square Stop button.
Step 4. Access and edit your video
Along with recording screen videos, Movavi Screen Recorder lets you make edits after recording a video. Press the Cut button to cut the video or click Save current frame to make a screenshot from the video. To save your video, click Export, enter the name of the file, choose the output folder, select the appropriate output format, and finally click Save.
Pros:
Free download
Easy user interface
High-quality recordings
Easy on-the-fly video editing
Cons:
Large video file sizes
Watermark on the free version
Best for: recording video online without downloading an application to your desktop
Rating: 4.7/5 stars, 439 reviews
OS: online
Step 1. Open Screen Capture
Screen Capture is an easy answer to how to record video on a laptop or PC in your browser with no download. You’ll need to ensure that you’re using a browser that supports Screen Capture, so first, open a Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Microsoft Edge window. Go to Screencapture.com, and click the Start Recording button.
Step 2. Choose what to share
A window will pop up with options to capture your entire PC screen, a single window, or a single Chrome tab. Choose the area you want to record and click Share.
Step 3. Download your recording
When you hit Share, your recording will begin. When you’re finished, hit the green Stop Recording button, and it will take you to a screen to download your recording or start a new one. If you want to change the file format, you’ll need to get the Screen Capture app.
Pros:
Simple interface
No download required
Cons:
Screen Capture app required to change file formats
Requires internet access
Only works for some browsers
Windows Game Bar
Best for: recording gameplay on a Windows 10 PC and Xbox gaming system
Rating: unknown
OS: Windows
Step 1. Open Windows Game Bar on your PC
Windows Game Bar is a native application to all Windows 10 PCs. You can open it by pressing the Win + G.
Step 2. Start recording
Press the Record from now button to start recording a clip of your screen. You can stop recording at any time by hitting the Stop recording button.
Step 3. Access and edit your video clip
To access your captured video, open the Game Bar again. In the app, go to Show all captures to edit your video.
Pros:
Included with all Windows 10 PCs
Simple screen captures and recordings
Cons:
Interface can be confusing at times
Videos don’t always capture correctly
Inconsistent recording performance
Microsoft Office PowerPoint
Best for: capturing screen recordings for PowerPoint presentations
Rating: unknown
OS: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Step 1. Open PowerPoint and select a slide
Microsoft Office PowerPoint has a little-known screen recording feature. It’s designed to let users embed videos in slides, but you can also use it to screen record on a computer and save the resulting video for later use.
Step 2. Select the recording area
Open the Insert tab and select Screen Recording. This should open options on the Control Dock. Choose Select Area or press the Windows logo key + Shift + A. Then, you can click and drag your mouse over the area that you want to record.
Step 3. Start recording
In the Control Dock, hit Record or press the Windows logo key + Shift + R. PowerPoint will now start capturing a video of the selected area on your screen. You can also control your recording by hitting the pause, record, and stop buttons on the Control Dock at any time. The hotkeys for these commands are:
Step 4. Save your video
PowerPoint automatically saves the videos you record as part of your presentation when you hit the Windows logo key + S, but you can also save your recording as a separate file. Right-click on the image of the recording in the slide and choose Save Media As. Then, just choose a destination and file name, and hit Save.
Pros:
Included with PowerPoint
Easy interface
Cons:
Requires an extra step to save a video file separately
No free version (a user must have Microsoft Office)
AceThinker Aqua Demo
Best for: high-quality screen video recording
Rating: 4.8/5 stars, 199 reviews
OS: Windows, macOS
Step 1. Choose your preferred recording parameters
Run the software and click on Video Recorder. Afterward, you will be able to adjust the recording settings as you like. You can pick to record the entire/whole screen or just a specific part of the screen and select the audio input source from the microphone or system sound. You can also turn on the webcam if you want to include yourself in the recording.
Step 2. Record screen video on your PC
When the settings are OK, click the REC button to start the recording. During the recording process, you can utilize the built-in editing tools to annotate the video in real-time by adding highlights, texts, lines, drawings, etc., if needed.
Step 3. Preview and save the recording
When you think the recording is done, you can click the Stop button to end the recording process. Next, a preview window will pop up for you to check and preview the recording you just captured. Finally, you can simply click the Done button to save the video if you are satisfied.
Pros:
User-friendly interface
High-quality recording
Flexible recording options
Versatile editing tools
Multiple output formats
Cons:
Watermark and time limit on the free version
Lack of advanced video-editing features
OBS Studio
Best for: screen captures for streaming videos
Rating: 4.7/5 stars, 686 reviews
OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
Step 1. Select a scene and add a source
When you first open OBS Studio, you’ll notice two boxes: Scenes and Sources. There should already be a scene (named “Scene”) on the left in the Scenes box. Click on it to select it. With Scene highlighted, click the + button to add a source. A dropdown box will open. Scroll down and choose Display Capture. A new box will pop up. Click OK.
Step 2. Choose your Output settings and recording path
Open the Settings tab at the bottom right of the window. Here, choose the Output tab and select your file’s video format, as well as its name and where to save it (the recording path).
Step 3. Record your screen capture
After you adjust your settings, you can start recording by clicking the Start Recording button. You can stop by clicking the Stop Recording button. OBS Studio doesn’t have a pause button, but you can edit your video later if you need to break it up.
Pros:
Freeware
Accommodates multiple file formats
Cons:
Not intuitive
No pause button
Lag on large files
Awesome Screenshot & Screen Recorder
Best for: capturing part or all of a Chrome browser tab
Rating: 4.6/5 stars, 24 000 reviews, 2M users
Browser: Chrome, Firefox
Step 1. Get the extension from the Chrome web store
Awesome Screenshot & Screen Recorder is a plugin for Google Chrome. So, the first step is to go to the Chrome web store and download the app on your computer.
Step 2. Open a Chrome browser tab
In your browser, click on the Awesome Screenshot bubble. You’ll find it at the upper right of the window with the other plugins.
Step 3. Choose what you want to record
When you click on the Awesome Screenshot bubble, you’ll see a dropdown menu with options to:
If you choose Capture selected area, you can use your mouse to draw a rough perimeter around the area you want to capture. You can then record your screen video and share it with team members in Chrome, Trello, Asana, and other tools. Or you can simply save the recording on your computer for later.
Pros:
Free version available
Easily capture webpage videos on the fly
Ability to capture part or all of a browser tab
Cons:
Inconsistent capture results
Confusing interface
The free version doesn’t include team collaboration features
Limited storage capacity for the free version
Best for: capturing webcam videos online without downloading an application
Rating: 4.7/5 stars, 439 reviews
OS: online
Step 1. Open Screen Capture in a supported browser
Like Screen Capture, Screen Capture webcam recorder is a web-based application that supports Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Microsoft Edge. Open the app in any of these browsers to get started.
Step 2. Select Microphone
To the left of the Start Recording button, you’ll see two options with checkboxes. Check the box for a microphone if you want to use your microphone to capture sound in your webcam video. Unchecking Watermark will let you capture a video without a watermark, but you will need to sign up for the premium version of Screencapture.com to do this.
Step 3. Record your webcam video
Hit the green Start Recording button to start your video. When you’re finished, click the green Stop Recording button, and you’ll be taken to a page to download your video.
Step 4. Download your webcam video
Hit the green Download button to save your video. If you want to change file formats, you’ll need to download the Screen Capture app. If you’re happy with the default format, you’re all set and can continue recording and playing video clips from your screen as much as you want.
Pros:
No download required
Easy user interface
Cons:
Watermark on the free version
Premium version required to change file formats
Must be connected to the internet to capture webcam videos
Windows 10 Camera app
Best for: recording webcam videos on Windows 10 PCs
Rating: unknown
OS: Windows, Xbox
Step 1. Open the Camera app
If your PC has a built-in webcam, or if you’re running a connected camera, you can use the native Windows 10 Camera app on your computer. Go to Start and select Camera.
Step 2. Record your video
Click on Video in the Camera app. Tap it again to start recording. When you’re done recording, tap it one more time.
Step 3. Find and watch your saved video
To access the webcam video you just recorded, go to Start and select Photos. You should find your video in one of the collections here.
Pros:
Built-in app for Windows 10 PCs
Simple user interface
Cons:
Requires 4K-capable camera
No built-in virtual webcam
BombBomb Video
Best for: recording and sharing quick webcam videos
Rating: 4.8/5 stars, 700 reviews, 40 000 users
Browser: Chrome
Step 1. Download the extension
BombBomb Video is a Chrome extension. So, you can find and download it in the Chrome web store. Then, find the BombBomb logo bubble at the top right of your Chrome browser window and click on it.
Step 2. Record your video
Clicking on the BombBomb extension opens a Record tab. Here, select Camera only to record only from your webcam. You can also select Screen recorder to capture both your screen and your webcam video. Once you’ve hit Camera only, click Launch Recorder and tap the red circle to start recording.
Step 3. Finish up
After you finish recording, you have a few options to finish up your video, including adding a CTA button or link banner. Then, just save your video and you’re ready to go.
Pros:
Switch between screen recording and webcam recording
Simple user interface
Capability to add CTA button or link
Cons:
Videos sometimes timeout or don’t upload
Video quality is lacking
Sometimes it’s difficult to pick one program over another, so here’s a list of things you should pay attention to when choosing a screen recorder:
OS: make sure the software is compatible with the operating system you are using.
Features: you should consider functions necessary for your goal and choose accordingly. For example, you probably need to record both your screen and microphone sound to make a video lesson. In this case, you should pay attention to whether the software actually includes these features.
Support: try to find a program that has accessible customer support. It’ll help you out in case of trouble.
Reviews: before trying a product, check out user reviews – other people may have shared their positive experiences or pointed out problems with the software.
We hope this article has helped you choose a video recorder. Check out different options and pick the one that suits you best.
You can record a video on your PC with any of these applications:
Windows Game Bar is a built-in application in all Windows 10 PCs. To record your screen with this application, follow these simple steps:
Alternatively, you can try out Movavi Screen Recorder if you’re wondering how to capture a video on PC.
To record a video of your screen online without downloading any software to your computer, follow these steps:
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