Video has been the star content of the internet for a long time. The platforms and social networks most popular have to do with this content: TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, Instagram… And this affects both mobile devices and if you play on your PC. Hence Windows, both Windows 10 What Windows 11have tools to record the screen and edit videos.
In Windows you can record your PC screen using the Xbox tool built into Windows 10 and Windows 11. And then edit the content with Clipchamp, which comes by default with Windows 11. The Xbox tool, the Xbox Game Baris designed to make it easier for you if you are going to play from your Windows PC.
And among its features, it allows you record what you see on screeneither a video game or an open window. This will make it easier for you to make a video while you play or explaining what you do with an application or web page that you have open. Let’s see what it consists of and, if you are not convinced, how to record the screen from OBS Studio, the favorite app on twitch.
Record screen with Xbox Game Bar
The Xbox Game Bar It is one of the great improvements that Windows has experienced in recent years. It appeared in Windows 10 and now it is also in Windows 11 with some other new features. It is activated by pressing the Windows keys + G and it gives you direct access to different functions without disturbing you while playing games or having a full screen window.
The function we are interested in is Capture. It is used to record videos by pressing a button. They can be videos of the games you play or record your desktop screen. And you can include, or not, the audio that emits a video, a game or that captures the microphone of your computer. When finished, you will have the possibility of share the video or edit it with another app.
To choose where the videos recorded with Xbox Game Bar are saved you will have to go to Home > Settings > Games > Screenshots > Screenshot location. There you can also open the folder configured by default to house your videos and video screenshots.
Otherwise, you can control the Xbox Game Bar with keyboard shortcuts. The most prominent are the following:
- Windows key + G: Open the Xbox Game Bar
- Windows key + ALT + G: Record the last moments of the game
- Windows Key + ALT + Print Screen: Capture a frame of the game
- Windows key + ALT + R: Start or stop recording
- Windows key + ALT + M: Start or stop microphone recording
Record to video with OBS Studio
The main free alternative What we have today to record the Windows 11 screen is obs studio. It is used to record video from different sources, join those images into one and broadcast live video via YouTube or Twitch.
In a previous article I talked about this tool for Windows 10, but it also works on the latest version of this operating system. It is also free and you can install it on both Windows and macOS and Linux.
To record the screen of your PC with OBS Studio you will have to create a new project and choose display capture either Screenshot as the source of the video to be recorded or broadcast. You’ll find that option in the lower left corner of the main OBS Studio window. Where says No source selected. Click on the + button and choose Screenshot.
In Audio Mixer You can mute the sound that comes from the microphone and/or what happens on the screen. For example, you can record screen without hearing the audio of a playing video or of Spotify either Amazon Music if you have them open
To start recording the screen with OBS Studio you will have to click on the button start recording. Then minimize the app so it doesn’t bother you while you play or do whatever you have to do on the recording. When you’re done, tap stop recording to finish and see the result.
OBS Studio records in MKV format. You can change it to MP4 or MOV formats from the application settings. You will also have other options to change at your fingertips, such as the recording resolution, etc. This way you will get the best possible quality or a quality acceptable to edit and publish your videos.