How to Screen Record on Windows 11
They say there’s no better way to present or demonstrate something than to provide a video of it. And this is true if you consider how accurately a video depicts every pixel and frame on your screen.
Speaking of accurate screen-recorded videos, there are two ways to go about it on Windows 11, and one of them is the in-house Xbox Game Bar by Microsoft.
If you’re looking to record your screen on Windows 11, whether to show off your gameplay sessions, demonstrate your work, or create a tutorial, the steps highlighted in this article will help you do that easily.
How to Record Screen on Windows 11
As stated earlier, there are two ways to record your screen on Windows 11: the in-house Xbox Game Bar and third-party OBS Studio. If all you need to record is within the confines of an app, Xbox Game Bar will suffice. Its only drawback is that it can’t record the Windows user interface, including the start menu, notifications bar, and Windows Explorer.
Alternatively, the third-party app OBS Studio can record everything from an app’s window to the entire Windows user interface. It’s the perfect method to use if you’re creating a tutorial-like video and will need to switch between different apps at intervals.
The steps below will guide on how to Screen Record with Xbox Game Bar or OBS Studio:
Xbox Game Bar
Recording your screen via Xbox Game Bar is very straightforward:
- Open the app on which you want to record your screen
- Press Windows key + Alt + R to launch the recorder, and a widget will pop up indicating that the screen recorder has started
- On the small widget which overlays on the app you’re running, you can click the microphone button to mute and unmute audio
To stop recording:
- Press the Windows key + Alt + R again to save your record.
Note that clicking on the Game Clip Recorded alert that pops up next will take you to the screen records depository in Game Bar.
OBS Studio
If you’re trying to minimize the number of third-party apps on your PC, Xbox Game Bar should suffice for your screen recordings, provided you’re only recording one app.
However, if you want to record the entire Windows interface with more robust features, a third-party app such as OBS Studio is the way to go. Follow these simple steps:
- Download and install OBS Studio here
- Once you open the app for the first time, you’ll get a prompt asking you to “optimize for streaming, recording is secondary” or “optimize just for recording, I will not be streaming.”
- Choose the appropriate option depending on your preference
- In the next window, press the + icon under the Sources section to add your PC display
- Next, select Display Capture from the options
- Click Ok and click Start Recording
Once the screen record begins, you can minimize OBS Studio and do whatever you want in Windows. Once you’re done recording, go back to the app and select Stop Recording.
Final Notes
Unless you would be navigating between different apps when recording, I recommend that you stick with the in-house screen recorder, Xbox Game Bar. While there’s no harm in trying a third-party recorder, less bloatware on your PC translates to faster performance.
