1. File Format & Compression

A file format is a particular way of organizing the data within the file. There are many video file formats and some screen recording tools support more than one. However, most of the time, it goes down to MP4 vs. WMV.

MP4 or WMV for screen capture?

The WMV format is a product of Microsoft. Back in the day, it was created to allow professional videos to be recorded in high quality, e.g. on DVD, Bluray. The biggest issue here is that Mac users often have trouble viewing WMV files.

MP4, on the other hand, helps you produce video files that can be opened on any platform. And, when it comes to video quality, MP4 is actually better than WMV.

So,MP4 is more suitable for publishing your screen captures on the web and sharing them with others. The best free video capture software allows you to save your videos in MP4.

2. Video Hosting & Uploading

When looking for a screen capture software, you’d probably look at the recording features like — recording time, ability to record the computer audio, and so on.

But what happens after you record your screencast?

Most of the time, video files are very big and can’t be attached to emails. This means that, to share a video, you have to upload it somewhere in the cloud. In other words, you need video hosting.

This is a book-worthy topic but here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Hosting on YouTube. Some screen recorders allow you to post your videos on YouTube. That’s great when you want to share your videos publicly but not recommended if the screencast contains sensitive information.
• Proprietary video hosting. Some screen recorders like Screenrec, Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder and Screencast-O-Matic come with video hosting. When storing your videos on these platforms, it would be wise to research if the platform is free and what level of security it offers.
• Cloud Recording. If there is no Cloud Recording option, you will have to wait for the video to upload until you can share it. The best free screen capture tools come with this option.

Conclusion

Even the best free screen recording software has advantages and disadvantages. At the end of the day, the recording features — what you can do with the tool, are just as important as the effectiveness — how quickly you can record your computer screen and share it with others.

So, before you set your mind on a free screen recording software, it’s best to evaluate your own recording needs. Maybe you don’t need to upload your videos to social media or maybe you don’t need to record in HD.

Based on this criteria, the top screen recording software for us is the free screen recorder by ScreenRec. The final decision is, of course, yours to make.

As the names suggest, the biggest difference is that a desktop screen recorder can capture your screen while you're offline or on a poor internet connection. An online screen recorder requires stable Internet. For this reason, an online screen recorder isn't the best option when it comes to game capture. It may be a viable option when you're recording a tutorial, though.

Screencast-O-Matic is a popular screencasting tool. Many people use it to record tutorials, training videos and other educational content. The biggest advantage of Screencast-O-Matic is, perhaps, the ability to share the recording to a number of platforms like Vimeo, YouTube and Screencast-o-Matic's own video hosting platform. One downside, however, is the fact that you have to wait for the recording to upload and, if you've been recording for, say, 1 hour, this can be a huge pain. That's why, as an alternative, we'll suggest ScreenRec. It's quick and lightweight, allows you to capture both your computer audio and microphone audio and, finally, it's got instant private sharing--your screen recordings are uploaded in real time which means that you never have to wait. You get a sharing link as soon as you press 'Stop'.

It depends on the screen capture tool you're using and your platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc). With ScreenRec, for example, you have to press Alt + S to start recording your desktop. This works on all platforms.

References and Further Reading?

Best Free Screen Capture Software For Mac Computers

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Record Your Computer Screen And Audio (For Free)

Screen recorders are easy to come by now but to find a handy, free, powerful one is still a strenuous job.
What kind of screen recorder could be qualified as good? How to find a right-hand recorder effortlessly? Can I get a free yet powerful screen recorder?

Some notoriously well-known screen recorders like OBS may serve as an instant solution to these dilemmas. But there aren’t many of its kinds, and that’s the reason why this passage is written – it is going to inform viewers of more functional and free screen captures software.

Default and Free Screen Capture Software

The first category is about two screen recorders that come with Windows and Mac. The biggest advantage of them is that they require no download and installation, and of course, they are free.

• Xbox Game Bar – the default recorder of Windows 10

It’s said that Xbox Game Bar is a creation inspired by the built-in recorder of Xbox One S or X, which avails Xbox gamers to capture games, thus producing images and videos.
Microsoft now makes this function a standalone capture tool on Windows 10.
Here is an instruction for how to use Xbox Game Bar:

Step 1 – Preparations: open the target program in advance in the background.

Step 2 – Press hotkey “Win icon + G” and you can see the Game bar control’s popping up.

Step 3 – Configure for the screen video capture on the control panel or from Settings.
To set up options for video quality, FPS, or video duration, you should follow the steps listed below: Windows 10 settings > Gaming > Capture. If you want to record gameplay, the Game Mode will be more suitable.
Besides, there are options for defining what audio to record, making custom shortcuts, and deciding whether to record in the background.

Step 4 – Start recording and jump to the target program you’ve prepared in ‘step 1’. End the recording with buttons or hotkeys. When the capture is over, you can click the Windows notification to check this MP4-formatted game clip.

• QuickTime – The default recorder for Mac OS

The simplest way to capture the Mac screen, needless to say, is the macOS-bundled screen recorder – QuickTime. This very software not only plays the role of a media player but also serves as a versatile audio and video recorder. With it, you can record any specific region of your Mac screen, with sounds from your microphone. However, there is a long-held problem of QuickTime which is its failure to record system sounds.
Here is an instruction for how to use QuickTime:

Screen Capture Video For Mac

Step 1: Open up QuickTime, on the top side toolbar, navigate to the File menu, and select “New Screen Recording”.

Step 2: Then the related screen recording interface will pop up. For macOS Mojave or Catalina users, however, a brand-new Screencast app shows up when they follow the procedures in ‘step one’.
Generally, what causes such a distinction in the same application is Mac’s upgrading plan. If your OS is macOS 10.13 or earlier, QuickTime is the same old look. But if your OS is macOS 10.14/10.15 or even higher, QuickTime will impress you with a more clean and minimalist style.

Step 3: Set up QuickTime before recording: You can set the Microphone source, Save-to path, Timer, etc.

Cnet Best Screen Capture Software

Step 4: Start and end QuickTime screen recording. Note that the stop button is a little bit hard to find – it is located in the menu bar. You can use the hotkey to end the recording by pressing Command-Control-Esc.

Step 5: After recording, you can utilize the thumbnail to trim, save, or share.

By the way, if you want to choose QuickTime as your right-hand assistant but feel pity for its deficiency in recording system sound. We have a troubleshoot passage to solve this problem – fix QuickTime recording with no sound.

Third-Party Free Screen Capture Software

This section is about a web-launched recorder and a 3rd-party desktop recorder that run perfectly on both Windows and Mac.

• Apowersoft – website launched, available for both Windows and Mac users

Apowersoft is a convenient website screen recorder. You can totally regard it as a default recorder on your PC since it requires no download or installation. But in speak of the functions, Apowersoft is clearly way more functional than any default recorders on Windows and Mac. Rooting on a webpage, Apowersoft bears almost all the features that a common recorder possesses, the editor, annotation tool, multiple recording modes, etc.
In a conclusion, Apowersoft, as its name suggests, is quite powerful in recording features.

Here are the steps to use the Apowersoft recording screen:

1. First and foremost, anyone who attempts to leverage Apowersoft (website version) should download a launcher to their PC. This link is indispensable since it builds bases for subsequent operations. When the launcher is successfully downloaded, you hit Start Recording from its main interface to begin the recording.

2. After that, a control bar will pop up waiting for your further operations. What’s worth mentioning is that Apowersoft offers users four recording modes, sufficing different kinds of demands over recording.

3. If you can’t decide which mode to start with, you are suggested to use the most ordinary Full-Screen mode.

4. Don’t forget to add annotation tools to your footage during your recording.

5. When you feel like stopping the recording, you can press the button from the floating bar. Then there are several options for outputting your recordings – You can save your videos to your local folders or upload them onto the cloud, or to YouTube.

• RecMaster – Free, 3rd-Party Screen Capture Software

3rd-party screen recorder – RecMaster is a powerful tool that delivers more stable performance than other recorders. It can effortlessly record on-screen activities, be they browser-tab recording, website video recording, or gameplay recording.
What distinguishes this recorder from other alternatives are intuitive interfaces and easy operations. Compared with Apowersoft and the two default recorders mentioned above, RecMaster bears more features and is smack of flawless if it was me to judge it.

Let’s see how to record screen with RecMaster:
Step 1. Open RecMaster and choose Full-Screen Mode.

Step 2. Tweak the settings. Basically, you need to select Video Formats > Video Quality > FPS (Frame Rate per Second) to activate the best performance of RecMaster.
Unlike QuickTime, RecMaster allows you to record any sounds from your PC. And if necessary, you can add a webcam to your videos to better demonstrate the content in your recording.

Step 3. Press REC and RecMaster to begin to capture your screen. To stop recording, you need to press the button again.

Step 4. Your footages will be automatically saved to the hard discs of your PC. You could also find them on the ‘Recording List’.

Editor’s Words
This passage gives viewers four free screen capture software, which is both reliable and powerful. Hope you can choose according to your demands.