How to Record Your Desktop Using VLC Media Player

If you have been looking for a simple way to record your desktop and may be share the video on YouTube, then you already have the means. The means is of course VLC Media Player. There are many features of this software besides the ability to play videos of any format. Recording your desktop in your desired format happens to be one of them.

To perform desktop video recording, we have to use the “Capture Devices” feature. It is accessible from Media > Open Capture Device. From there we will choose Desktop as a capture mode and stream it to a video file. Advanced users have already figured out the steps, but for the simple user- here are the steps in detail:

  1. In VLC, click on Media > Open Capture Device [CTRL + C]. Open Capture Device
  2. For Capture Mode, choose "Desktop". Also chose a desired frame rate.
  3. In the bottom, press the small down facing arrow and choose Stream. Capture Device Wizard A stream output wizard will open. Hit next.
  4. In "New destination" make sure "File" is selected and then click on Add. Stream to File
  5. Browse the location to save your recording file and give in a full filename like record.mp4. Hit Next. File Destination Stream
  6. Under profile choose the video format and container. The default H264 video format with MP3 audio is a great choice. Hit Next. Transcoding Options
  7. Click on "Stream" and the recording begins immediately. Begin Recording
  8. To end the recording, press the stop button in the main VLC screen.
Notes:
  1. You will know that the recording is in progress as the timer in player screen increments.
  2. After stopping, locate the video file you just saved and play it to see your recorded screen.
  3. If you want a smoother video, then try increasing the frame rate. Higher frame rate means smoother videos but it requires greater computing power and resources of your laptop or desktop.

Display Mouse Pointer in Recorded Videos

If you've noticed that without additional configuration, your mouse pointer is not recorded when you capture your desktop using VLC. To configure a pointer to be displayed, you'll have to download a mouse pointer image and configure it to be used as the screen mouse image.

To do so:

  • Download a mouse pointer image file. Here's one for you.
  • Place the mouse.png file in your VLC Program files folder i.e. C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\
  • In step 7 of the desktop capture wizard—when you reach the Stream Output option step—add the following at the end:

    :screen-follow-mouse :screen-mouse-image=mouse.png

    mouse Stream Output In Generated stream output string and click stream

You can have all the fancy looking graphics as your mouse pointer.

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