Want to use OBS to screen record your PC? Here is the beginner’s guide on using OBS Studio for screen recording in Windows 10 and 11.
When playing games, recording problem steps, or creating a simple how-to guide for your friends or family, the ability to record the screen is very helpful. For Windows, there are a lot of screen recorder software out there. In fact, you can even VLC media player as a screen recorder. But, if you want something powerful, customizable, easy to use, free, and open-source, then there is nothing better than OBS (Open Broadcasting Software) Studio.
OBS Studio is purpose-built software for screen recording and streaming. Most big and small YouTubers and Twitch streamers alike use OBS daily to record screen, capture, and stream games. A few of the best things about OBS are its vast community, ease of use, detailed documentation, and customizability. No matter how you want to screen record, OBS will make it easy.
That being said, if you’ve never used OBS, it can be a bit overwhelming due to the busy user interface. However, once you know your way around, OBS is the best software for screen recording.
In this simple beginner’s guide, let me show how to use the OBS Studio for screen recording in Windows 10 and 11.
Note: The steps below are demonstrated in Windows 10, but they will work in Windows 11 too.
How to screen record with OBS Studio
Follow the below steps closely to screen record using OBS Studio software.
Step 1: Download OBS Studio from the official website and install it. You can install it by double-clicking on the downloaded exe file and following the installation wizard.
Step 2: After installing, open the OSB Studio using the desktop shortcut or search for it in the Windows Start menu.
Step 3: As soon as you open the OBS software, it will take you to the Auto-Configuration Wizard. It will help you set up the initial configuration. Here, select the “Optimize just for recording, I will not be streaming” option and click the “Next” button. If you are wondering, you can always change it when needed.
Step 4: Here, OBS will automatically set up the video settings for optimal recording. Let the default options be and click the “Next” button.
Step 5: Click the “Apply Settings” button to set the changes.
Step 6: The above will take you to the OBS Studio’s main screen. Here we need first to create a new “Scene.” Click on the “+” icon under the “Scene” section to create a new Scene. In OBS, you can think of a Scene as a virtual template with specific settings. For example, you can create a scene for recording full-screen, a scene for recording a specific section, a scene for streaming, etc.
Step 7: Name the new scene anything you want and press “Ok.” Make sure the name is descriptive enough. A good title will help when you have multiple scenes.
Step 8: Next, we need to create a new “Source.” To do that, click on the “+” icon under the “Sources” section and select the “Display Capture” option. You can think of Sources as what you want to do in a Scene. Since we want screen recording, we selected the Display Capture option.
Step 9: In the Create Source window, select the “Create new” option, type a good descriptive name in the blank field, and click the “Ok” button.
Step 10: OBS Studio will now show a preview of the display capture. Click the “Ok” button. Optionally, if you don’t want OBS to capture the mouse pointer, uncheck the “Capture Cursor” checkbox.
Step 11: On the main screen, you can see what OBS is recording. Here, press the “Start Recording” button under the Controls section.
Step 12: As soon as you click the button, OBS Studio will start the recording process. You can also see the Red Record icon on the bottom bar. Minimize the OBS Studio to proceed with the recording.
Step 13: Once you are done with the screen recording, open or maximize the OSB Studio and click the “Stop Recording” button. If you want to stop recording temporarily, you can click the “Pause” button next to the Stop Recording button.
Step 14: As soon as you hit the Stop Recording button, OBS Studio will automatically save the recording as a video file in the “Videos” folder. Go to the “C:\Users\<Username>\Videos” folder to see the saved video.
That’s it.
It is that simple to screen record using OSB Studio in Windows.
I hope that helps. Do play with OBS and its plentiful settings so that you can customize the software how you want.
If you need any help, comment below, and I will try to help.
