Recording a screen for all to see
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 9 years, 10 months AGO
Dear PropellerHeads: I've turned into the de facto IT support person for my entire family. While I'm happy to help, explaining the steps necessary to correct a problem can sometimes be difficult when I'm guiding them remotely. Is there some way I can record my screen so they can see what I want them to do?
A: You are happy to do it now, sure. But just wait until they start calling 24/7 and start to get confrontational because their friend Guido disagrees with your recommended course of action. How long will it be before you pull a Comcast (bit.ly/1ET18LH)? Could make for some uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinners in the future. Just saying.
Well, if you take our word for gospel (and we know you do), chances are you have VLC media player installed on your system (videolan.org/vlc). If you don't, read our previous article (bit.ly/1DUBvqv) on why it's a good replacement for Windows Media Player or QuickTime.
Besides playing every video file under the sun, VLC actually possesses the ability to capture your desktop as well. To do so, open up VLC and select Media > Open Capture Device. Select the Capture Device tab and change the Capture mode to Desktop. Bump up the frame rate to 10-15 frames per second. Click the Convert button.
In the next window that appears just select the destination file and click the Start button. VLC will immediately begin capturing your desktop. If you have multiple monitors, it will only capture the principal one. When you are done recording, click on the Stop button. You can now play the MP4 video file VLC created.
The approach has some shortcomings. First, it will record the entire screen, not just a single window, if that is desired. Second, it does not track your mouse or cursor movements so it appears as though things are just happening. Finally, there is no audio so you cannot dictate any commentary while you are recording your screen.
To add in these features, you will need to turn to a dedicated screen recording program like Open Broadcaster Software (OBS, obsproject.com). OBS is the de facto capture software for twitch.tv, the game-streaming service that lets people watch others play games. Boy, am I in the wrong line of work.
To get started with OBS, right-click on the Sources area and then select what you'd like to record. If recording a specific window, select that option and then select the window you want to record. You can either record the entire window, or just the contents. When done, click the Start Recording button. OBS will generate a FLV file and place it in your Videos folder.
OBS allows one to stream the screen recording directly to Twitch, DailyMotion, YouTube, or several other services, and gives guidance as to how to optimize the settings for each service.
Where OBS gets really fancy, though, is that you can record multiple sources simultaneously. So if you have a webcam, for example, you can not only record an epic battle sequence while playing Evolve, but you can also put your beautiful mug up in the corner with blow by blow facial expressions. Fear, worry, lip-licking determination, confidence, relief...all out there for the world to see.
But you can also record an image or text in order to give your video a watermark or copyright notice.
The best part of both VLC and OBS is that they are freeware, though they would appreciate donations. Sort of like, I guess you wouldn't mind a small donation from your family for all of the free tech support you are giving them.
When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.