Best Light Screen Recording Software

Screen recording software comes in all different shapes, sizes and features. The best light screen recorder software allows you to record a certain area of your screen, or an entire monitor. You can save these recordings as a video file that you can upload to YouTube or other video-sharing sites. There is even software available that will sync with game soundboards during gameplay recording so you can create tutorials on how to play your favorite games.

Many folks today are turning to screen recording software for their computer use needs. The best light screen recording software is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to functioning in the modern age. If you’re looking through a list of open screen recording software, then you’re in luck, because this article will go deeper into best monitor recording software.

There are many software programs that you can use to record your screen activity. Screen record software is a very useful tool if you want to create a video, capture photos or share your screen on internet.

The ability to make a screencast video can also be used to showcase your creativity when playing games like Minecraft and recreating scenes from movies and/or filming music videos in simulation games like The Sims.

What is screen recording software?

Screen recording software is a productivity tool that allows users to capture audio and video clips directly from their device¿s screen or webcam. It also records the audio output of user devices. The recorded media files can be edited, annotated, or exported in various file formats for easy distribution. 

Screen recording software lets users import audio files, static screen captures, and more. Businesses use this software to create tutorials, explanation videos, and product demos, among other content.

10. OBS (Open Broadcaster Software)

OBS isn’t just for broadcasting. And OBS also isn’t only for Windows! It has solid screen recording capabilities but does not come with an editor.

Pros

• Can do lots more than just record your screen
• Open sourced
• Free!

Cons

• Might run into glitches because of the open source thing—we suggest working one version behind current to avoid glitches
• No video editor

9. Ezvid

Ezvid is freeware video and screen capture software. Ezvid’s web page claims to use your computer’s processing power to increase the speed of its screen recording and video editing capabilities. Though Ezvid files may be uploaded to sites like YouTube, it is most compatible with their Wiki site, wiki.ezvid.com, which touts itself as the world’s first exclusively video Wiki.

Pros

• Has facecam and voice synthesis
• Includes a video editor
• The site claims you can create a professional-looking video in minutes (rather than hours)

Cons

• Needs 10GB free hard drive space, which might be a lot for older machines
• Online forums complain it’s laggy and glitchy

There is no paid version of Ezvid, though the developers encourage you to make a donation of anywhere from $9.00 USD to $250.00.

8. TinyTake

TinyTake claims to be the best free screen capture and video recording software out there. The software allows you to capture a video of your screen activity, annotate it, and share it on social media. TinyTake advertises itself as simple, free, and feature-rich, though many features are only available with the paid options.

Pros

• Can use for free but with limited features
• Can add graphics from your local drive for annotating files
• Built-in viewer is optimized for mobile devices

Cons

• Free version is extremely limited
• No free version for commercial use

Here’s what you get with the paid version

TinyTake’s prices range from $9.95 USD for a one week pass, $29.95 annually for the Standard plan, up to $199.95 a year for the Business plan. With the paid plans you get

• Increased storage up to 2TB with the Business plan
• Length of video stretches from 5 minutes with free plan up to 120 minutes for the one week pass and Business plan
• Video annotation
• Elimination of ads and promotions

7. Apowersoft

Apowersoft’s screen recorder is web-based, so you don’t have to download anything. Instead, you just open this free online screen recorder in your browser.

Pros

• Can record what’s on your monitor and on your webcam at the same time
• You can add colors, shapes, notes, and different icons in realtime while you’re recording
• It’s free!

Cons

• Can’t capture on a secondary monitor

6. Loom

With Loom, you can capture your screen, voice, and face and instantly share your video in less time than it would take to type an email. It works on Windows, Mac, and iOS.

Pros

• Records up to 1080p
• Allows for live notations
• Can record screen and webcam, or just screen, or just webcam

Cons

• No post editor
• Free version puts your videos on loom.com for storage rather than your computer storage (though you can download)

Here’s what you get with the paid version: No limits to the number of videos you can store and access on Loom.com.

5. Icecream Screen Recorder

With Icecream Screen Recorder you can capture any area of your screen as either a screenshot graphic or a video recording. Icecream Screen Recorder boasts an intuitive and easy-to-use interface with a suite of tools and options to use when making screen captures. You can use Icecream Screen Recorder to make professional-looking videos of webinars, games, and Skype conversations.

Pros

• Draw, outline, or add arrows and text to your video capture
• Record webcam video along with screen recording
• Zoom tool allows you to zoom in while recording
• Can set multiple screen captures on a timer

Cons

• Only 10 minutes of recording time with free version
• WEBM is only available video format with free version

Here’s what you get with the paid version

Screen Recorder Pro has a one-time fee of $29.95 USD for a lifetime license for two computers. This includes a license for commercial use of the software. With the Pro version,

• There are no limits to the length of videos recorded
• You can save in a variety of video formats including MP4
• You can add a personalized watermark to the video
• You have access to priority support

4. Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic allows you to make recordings from your screen or webcam. Though you can upload your videos to YouTube, you also have the option to upload your videos to Screencast-O-Matic.com’s free server host.

Pros

• Make recordings up to 15 minutes in length with the free version
• Limited options for publication with free version
• Recording from both screen and webcam
• The paid version is inexpensive

Cons

• Watermark is visible on videos made with free version
• Recording computer audio requires Windows Vista or later

Here’s what you get with the paid version

Upgrading to Screencast-O-Matic Pro costs $15.00 USD per year, or $29.00 for three years. Paid features include:

• Elimination of watermark
• Recording of computer audio
• Access to editing tools
• The ability to publish to Google Drive, Vimeo Pro, and Dropbox

3. Windows Game Bar

This is an underrated software built into Windows 10. Simply press Win+G to open the menu, and you’ll find a screen recorder, camera recorder, audio recorder and more—all built right into your Windows system!

Pros

• Built in
• Records voice from a microphone, system and mouse sounds
• Saves videos in HD format

Cons

• There is no built-in editor, you need a different software for that
• It only records games, programs, and browser if they fill the screen. It doesn’t record system stuff like your desktop or the file explorer.

2. iSpring Free Cam

iSpring Free Cam is free screen recording software for Windows to help you record screencasts with ease. A number of video editing tools and functions come with the software to let you delete fragments of video, remove background noise, and apply audio effects. Videos may be saved as WMV or uploaded to YouTube.

Pros

• No watermark, time limits and ads
• Records voice from a microphone, system and mouse sounds
• Users can edit audio and video to fine-tune recorded screencasts
• Saves videos in HD format (up to 720p or 1080p)
• Uploads video to YouTube for sharing

Cons

• No webcam recording
• Saves recordings as WMV only

There is no paid version of iSpring Free Cam, software is absolutely free.

1. Camtasia

With Camtasia, you can record professional videos of activity on your computer’s monitor with minimal effort. In addition to recording videos, Camtasia also lets you import HD video into your recording from an external source. Camtasia is unique in that it can create interactive videos containing clickable links to generate dynamic video content suitable for use in the classroom or the workplace.

Pros

• Records on multiple video and audio tracks
• Has green screen effect to make it seem as if you are a part of the action
• Easy to incorporate animated items, like callouts and scrolling text
• Google drive integration
• Free app available to record videos on mobile devices and transfer to Camtasia for editing
• Export video at 60fps (new with Camtasia 2018 and newer)

Cons

• Demo of full software is only free for 30 days
• Users are prohibited from creating videos for commercial purposes when using the free version

Here’s what you get with the paid version

Camtasia is $249.00 USD to purchase a software key for a single user license. You can save a bit of money (about $50.00) if you purchase 5-9 licenses. Discounts increase to about $90.00 per license when you buy 15-24 licenses. When you purchase a license you get:

• Updates to your purchased version
• Permission to install the software on up to 2 machines

NVIDIA ShadowPlay

Currently, recording game highlights has become popular among game players. Certain online tools help users to record their gameplay and share it with other players. One among them is NVIDIA ShadowPlay, where you can record gameplay and share it easily.

It consists of powerful features and is capable of recording, live streaming, broadcasting, and sharing your gameplay highlights with anyone you want. It can record gameplay automatically in the background or when you command it.

The GPU encoding in NVIDIA ShadowPlay is more effective as compared to traditional game recording forms. With this excellent software, you can record outstanding gaming moments with minimal effect on your game performance.

It supports streaming to Twitch, Youtube Live, and Facebook Live, similar to a webcam. Even though you do not have a powerful PC, you can still use this software to meet your requirements. You can record the last minutes of your gameplay by using its hotkey.

Key Features

Instant sharing

You can easily stream NVIDIA ShadowPlay and save a lot of time. It allows the broadcasting of your recording directly on Facebook, Twitch, and Youtube.

Create GIF easily

ShadowPlay comes with advanced functionalities that help you to create gifs without leaving the game. Once gifs are created, you can share them immediately on various online platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Imgur.

High-resolution screen capture

You can find a featured Ansel available with ShadowPlay that allows screen capturing in high-resolutions. Furthermore, you can adjust their appearance and configure their positions to produce professional and high-quality images. With the Ansel feature, you can create 360-degree in-game capture.

Instant highlight capture

One of the most amazing features that you can discover in ShadowPlay is that it allows last-minute gameplay recording, and you can save instant highlights with the help of the Alt+F10 key. If you do not want to record and save the entire game, you can share the highlights.

ShadowPlay highlights

This feature allows recording gaming moments and saving them to your hard drive automatically.

The benefits of screen recording software

• Improves employee training: By using screen recording software to record employee training videos, businesses can significantly reduce the costs associated with conducting instructor-led training sessions. Employees can learn at their own pace using recorded lectures, demonstrations, tutorials, and other training content.
• Simplifies troubleshooting: Support teams can use screen recording tools to create step-by-step troubleshooting videos for the most common issues faced by customers or employees. These troubleshooting videos can be collected and organized into a knowledge database for customer or employee self-service.
• Enhances employee collaboration: Due to the popularity of hybrid work environments, businesses need software tools that aid remote collaboration. Screen recording software offers a centralized platform that allows users to collectively work on a project while communicating and sharing information in real time.
• Helps create a learning database: With screen recording technology, businesses can more efficiently create a repository of videos that can serve as a learning resource for new employees or employees looking to refresh and sharpen their skill set.

Conclusion

Screen recording software is one of the best open screen recording software, offering you all the necessary features to accomplish your tasks with fewer efforts. If you are thinking about which one to choose, or just want to read a simple tutorial explaining how they work – keep on reading.

Monitor recording is the process of digitally capturing everything that appears on a computer monitor to produce a file that can be played back at a later time. More simply put, it’s when you record a video of your desktop for future playback or to send to others.