The QuickTime video player that comes installed in OSX by default can also do screen recording. It does a decent job at screen recording and since it’s free and already on the system it is the best free software for doing screen recording on Mac OSX.
Features of the QuickTime screen recording software
- Option to choose entire screen or part of screen to record
- Option to use built in mic (if available), external (USB) mic or no audio at all
- Saves to .mov file formats which is recognized by most video editing software and youtube.
- Ability to hide or show mouse in recording. Ability to show mouse clicks when recording.
Using QuickTime as a screen recorder
Launch QuickTime
Start by launching QuickTime. Do this by either using something like Spotlight or Alfred and typing in QuickTime or going to applications then QuickTime Player
Setup the Recording
Start the recording process by first going to File -> New Screen Recording. This will open a new window. On the right side is a small arrow pointing down. By clicking this you can choose which audio input to use as well as if you want the mouse to be seen in the recording.
Click the red record button. You will now be presented with an option to record the entire screen or just a portion of the screen. To record the entire screen click on the screen one time. To record a portion, click and drag on the portion you wish to record.
Now that the stage is set, begin the recording by clicking the “Start Recording” button. If you’ve chosen to record the whole screen it will already be recording.
Stop recording
When the recording is going on there will be an icon that is a circle with a square in the center and it is located in the menu bar just to the left of where the time is shown. By clicking that button the recording will stop.
Once the recording has stopped the video is not yet saved. It’s now time to preview the video to make sure it turned out the way you wanted. Check that the audio came out right and the recording is correct.
Saving the video
After you have previewed the video and would like to save it there are two ways to save it. Either go to file save or close the video. By closing it you will get a dialogue box that asks if you wish to save it.
The only encoding option for saving is .mov file.
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