Recording gameplay videos on a PC has become easier than ever nowadays, with more and more user-friendly tools available. But as much as it is more accessible, it can be tricky to record high-quality gameplay videos if you don’t quite know how to set it up.
If you want to make sure that the gameplay videos that you record are in the best quality possible – there are a few areas in particular that you may need to tweak:
- Video recording parameters
The main video recording parameters that will affect the quality of your gameplay videos are its resolution and frame rate. As a rule, the resolution should be as high as possible, above 1080p, and normally match the resolution of the game for the video’s definition to look good.
On the other hand, the frame rate should be above 30 – with 60 being better as gameplay videos contain a lot of movement. The higher the resolution the smoother the video will look.
Increasing the resolution and frame rate will require more processing power while recording, and the video file size will be larger as well.
- In-game graphics settings
When you record gameplay videos on a PC you’re essentially capturing them based on the output to your screen – so improving the in-game graphics settings will improve the overall quality of the video. Before you dial everything up as high as possible, however, keep in mind that the game’s frame rate needs to be kept high as well.
In short, you can freely increase the in-game graphics settings, but you should make sure that its frame rate isn’t affected too badly. There are several ways you can check the game’s frame rate – and you should make sure it is at least consistently above 30 even after you increase the in-game graphics settings.
- System resources
Considering your system resources are going to be taxed by recording high-quality videos while running a game at the same time, you will want to free up as much of them as possible. The best way to get started is to close any apps or background processes that you aren’t using.
If you’re using Windows 10 it may help to enable the Game Mode as well – if it isn’t already.
Unfortunately, your system resources are finite however and so there’s only so much you can do. In the event that you aren’t able to get your game to perform well while recording, you may need to reduce some of its graphics settings that are the most processor-intensive so that it doesn’t require as many resources.
Considering system resources are at a premium, you should try to make sure the screen recorder Windows 8 or 10 you’re using doesn’t take up too much of them either. For example, you could try Movavi Screen Capture Studio.
If all else fails you may need to upgrade your PC so that it is able to run and record games in high quality. Admittedly some of the upgrades can be expensive such as the CPU or graphics card, but others may be more feasible – such as increasing the RAM or switching from a conventional hard disk to a Solid State Drive (SSD).
In any case, after you’re done you should make sure you encode the video in the right settings so as to not affect its quality. It is advisable to use the same resolution and frame rate as you recorded it in, and make sure the bitrate is high enough as well.
As you can see it really isn’t all that difficult – provided you know the factors that affect the quality of your gameplay videos.