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WM Capture 9 records videos
similar to a camera pointed to your screen or a portion of your screen. It
also records audio from your speakers or from an external audio source. No
video or audio data is downloaded from the Internet.
WM
Capture version 9 adds the following features
·
H264 video format, Intel Quick Sync (if computer
supports)
· H264 video format,
NVIDIA NVENC (if computer supports)
· AAC audio format
· MP3 audio format
· CPU monitoring
WM
Capture provides two recording modes: a conventional Screen Capture mode and an advanced recording mode which
maximizes your video capture performance , the Background mode.
This Quick Guide refers mostly to version 9 or higher.
WM
Capture is a "plug and play" program and after the installation
it should be ready for recording.
In
general, use the guides below in order to get the best quality recordings:
·
try to use the Background
mode on Windows 7, 8, 10 or the Windows
Basic (Aero disabled) mode on Windows 7
·
select the highest frame rate your system supports
(see below)
·
select the highest video bitrate
Recording guides
Note
that the quality of recorded videos depends primarily on the frame rate
(fps) that your system can sustain and the selected video bitrate (kbps). A
high frame rate makes a smooth motion video, a high bitrate makes a clear,
sharp video. While recording, WM Capture displays the message "Frame Rate too high" if
the selected frame rate is higher than the rate the system can sustain. If
this message appears repeatedly you may need to lower the frame rate from
Settings and/or the size of the recorded video window.
The table below shows
some tested frame rates for different video sizes and CPU performance when
either Background mode or Windows Basic mode (Aero disabled) are used.
|
Video Format
|
Video Size
|
CPU
|
fps
|
Usage
|
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MPEG-2
|
1920x1080
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i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
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30p
|
high quality movies, HD videos, games, DVD
video format
|
|
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1280x720
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i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
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30p to 60p
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|
|
lower
|
Any 2 or 4 cores
|
25p to 60p
|
|
H264
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1920x1080
1920x1080
lower
4K
|
i3/i5/i7
dual or quad core
i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
Any 2 or 4 cores
i7 Quad
i7 Quad, 4GB+
|
30p
60p
30p
120p
30p+
|
high quality movies,
HD videos,
games
|
|
Windows Media
|
1920x1080
|
i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
|
20
|
movies, webinars, web, documents, any video or
audio
|
|
|
1280x720
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i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
|
30 to 60
|
|
|
lower
|
Any 2 or 4 cores
|
25 to 100
|
|
Windows Media Screen
|
Up to 1920x1080
|
any
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10
|
slide shows, documents, slow moving webinars
|
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MPEG-4 (AVI)
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Up to 1280x720
|
i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
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15
|
small size videos, full size documents
|
·
MPEG-2 and h264 use progressive scan in all
cases (30p - progressive is equivalent to 60i - interlaced. Most HD movies
are broadcasted at 60i)
·
On older Windows 7 computers H264 Quick Sync installs
Microsoft MP4 feature (not recommended for recording)
Open WM Capture
On
Windows 7 and Vista WM Capture sets up your Windows desktop theme to Windows Basic. This is necessary in
order to maximize your computer performance for recording. Your regular
Windows desktop theme is restored when WM Capture closes. This is not done
on Windows 8/10.
Before recording,
mark the video area
You
can do this in two ways:
·
Automatic - using the Get Video button. This works with
motion videos only. WM Capture has motion detection capabilities and so it
can detect the motion area of your screen (a motion video for example).
Play your video, then click the Get
Video button. A semi-transparent window is overlapped onto the video
area. You can move or resize this window if you need to fine tune the
marked area.
·
Manual - using the Mark Video Window button. When you
click this button a semi-transparent window is displayed on the screen.
Move and resize this window to mark the recording area.
Begin
recording
Click the Record
button to begin recording. The video is now recorded, and a small Preview
window is shown on WM Capture main screen showing what is recorded.
Stop
recording (manual, time-out, size-out)
·
Once the recording begins the Record button turns to Stop and the Play button turns to Pause.
You can click Stop or Pause to Stop/Pause recording.
·
You can setup a Recording Time or a
Recording File Size in Settings. Recording stops when either one of these
values is reached.
Playback
recording
To play the last recording click Play. To open the storage folder and see all your recording
click the View button.
Note
that when using the Screen Capture recording mode you cannot open other windows which
cover the video window while recording. However, you can do this when using
the Background mode.
The Background mode is
particularly useful in the following situations:
· on
all Windows versions you can use the screen to run other programs while
recording without obscuring the recording area
· considerable
higher frame rates can be obtained and larger
video windows can be recorded (see the Video Format table above)
Setup
the Background mode
Click the Options
button on the main screen then click
Switch to Background mode. Or, in the Settings dialog click Enable under Background mode. In
the Background dialog that opens you can select a browser or other program
that you like to open while recording from the screen.
Open
another browser or program while recording (Background mode)
Click Browser on WM
Capture main screen to open another session of your selected browser or
open another program. The marked,
recording video continues to record even though it may be covered by the
new opened windows. If you want to hide the recording window use the Hide / Show buttons to hide or show
the window.
Tips for using the Background mode
·
Background mode is particularly useful when recording
large or full screen windows or when you need to use the screen to do other
things while recording. When recording full screen windows from browsers
start recording after the window is set to full screen. In this way the
proper window name is detected.
·
The recorded video
is all black, all white or shows a still image. Background mode may not work with web browsers utilizing hardware
acceleration. You can try using the WM
Browser
which is a reduced version of Internet Explorer installed with WM Capture. Below are a few hints for
disabling the acceleration:
Google Chrome
web browser: open Settings (or type chrome://settings in
the address bar), click ‘Show advanced settings’, uncheck ‘Use hardware
acceleration when available’.
Mozilla
Firefox web browser: open Menu, click Options,
click Advanced (or type about:preferences#advanced
in the address bar), uncheck ‘Use hardware acceleration when available’.
Internet
Explorer Windows 7: Open Tools, Internet
options, Advanced, check ‘Use software rendering instead of GPU’, restart
computer.
Windows Media
Player: Background mode cannot be setup
Microsoft
Edge, Internet Explorer Windows 8, 10: Background
mode cannot be setup
·
The
message "No window selected for Background recording" is
displayed. In this case there may be no visible window except the
desktop on the screen. If a window is present, click the caption (top) bar
of the window or restart WM Capture (don't click the main screen until the
recorder is ready).
·
The
window name was not detected, and no message is displayed. This
could happen if you switch the video to full screen while WM Capture is
recording. You need to start playing the full screen video first then click
the Record button if WM Capture main screen is visible or use the Start
Record hotkey to begin recording.
·
The recorded video rectangle is shifted upwards. In
some cases the recorded video rectangle has an offset equal to the size of
the taskbar. You need to move the entire marking rectangle upwards by the
same amount. Use one of the options Move
DOWN or Move UP under ?/Monitor Scaling.
·
Use the Show/Hide button on WM Capture main screen to Hide or Show the
recording window.
·
Avoid having multiple windows opened.
·
WM Capture main screen is not visible in
recording even if it overlaps the recorded video window.
To record full
screen motion video open Settings then check the Full Screen box. We highly
recommend using H264 at bitrates higher than 6000 kbps or MPEG-2
at bitrates higher than 8000 kbps and the Background mode. When recording
in Screen Capture mode use the hotkey to start/stop/pause recording. It is
a good idea to do a short recording first and check the recording quality
(see below why).
Important note: when using the Background mode start recording
after the video window was maximized to full screen. Switching from normal
to full screen while recording may not work.
Recording full screen videos is necessary when the broadcast is
really, a full screen or Full HD format. Currently most of external
computers monitors are Full HD resolution (1920x1080). For laptops the
usual resolution is 1366x768 however 1080 laptops are also becoming
popular. High Definition broadcasts are 720 or 1080 vertical lines of pixels.
A 720 video will fit both the laptops and the external monitors but there
is no reason to record a 720 video on a full screen 768 or 1080 size. This
puts unnecessary burden on the CPU. You should record full screen videos
and movies only if the broadcast is a 1080 format. Otherwise use the 720
format or resize the video to 720. The 720 videos can be recorded at 60p
(120i ) fps using MPEG-2.
Using the Hotkeys and Hide modes
Note:
when using the Windows Basic theme or the Background mode WM Capture main screen
is invisible to recording.
Setting
up Hotkeys
Click Settings
then click Hotkeys
on the upper menu to open the Hotkeys dialog. Here you can setup the
hotkeys you like to simulate the Record, Pause, Mute/Unmute microphone
functions. While recording you can use the FPS hotkey to show the actual frame rate.
Setting
up Hide modes
WM Capture main screen can be completely hidden when you check "Hide WM Capture window..."
or minimized in the taskbar when you check "Minimize WM Capture window..."
. When selecting the Hide mode you can also select a small "Mini Pane"
shown on the bottom of the screen while recording. This may be necessary if
you want to monitor CPU usage or recording frame rate. To enable/disable
this option use Settings, Tools, Video options.
Video
Format:
· MPEG-2 is
the standard video format used in all digital TV's, DVD's and Blue Ray.
Provides highest quality screen recordings for movies, videos, games,
including full HD (1920x1080). It is also used to record files that can be
burned on DVD's. Recorded file extension is MPG or DVD.MPG. To playback MPG
files use VLC Media Player or Windows Media Player. Note that some Windows Media Player versions display MPEG-2
recorded videos at 1/2 the original size specified for recording.
· H264/MP4 is
the video format used on all mobile devices and Apple computers. Provides
highest quality screen recordings for movies, videos, games, including full
HD and UHD (1920x1080 and higher). Recorded file extension is MP4. Your
computer must have installed Intel Quick Sync or NVIDIA NVENC. Quick Sync
is installed in most Windows 10 computers. If these features are not
available use the H264-AAC (MP4 Convert)
option.
· Windows Media
format is included in all Windows computers. It is used to record high quality
movies, videos, webinars, documents, Power Point presentations. Recorded
file extension is WMV. To playback use VLC Media Player or Windows Media
Player. The recorded WMV files are smaller than MPEG-2 files however
recording WMV format require higher CPU usage.
· Windows Media Screen is
included in all Windows computers. Used for recording slide shows,
documents, Power Point, webinars. The recorded files are very small when
compared with all other video formats. File extension is WMV. To playback
use Windows Media Player.
· MPEG-4 (AVI) format
is included in all Windows computers. It is used to record smaller window
size movies and videos. Slow moving videos like webinars, documents, Power
Point presentations can be recorded in full HD (1920x1080). Recorded file
extension is AVI. To playback use VLC Media Player or Windows Media Player.
· H264-AAC (MP4 Convert) option
can be used to generate MP4 videos. When this option is selected WM Capture
makes MP4 files by recording MPEG-2 files which are automatically converted
to MP4 when recording is finished.
Video
/ Audio Bitrate (kbps): the higher the bitrates the better
video/audio quality but the recorded file sizes are higher.
Frames/sec (fps): the higher the
number of frames per second (fps) the better video quality and smoothness
of high motion video recordings. Note that the number of captured frames
per second depends primarily on your computer performance characteristics
(speed, memory, CPU graphics, etc) and cannot always be setup to the
desired value. In order to achieve high frame rates select the Background mode on Windows 8/10 or Windows Basic mode (Aero disabled) on Windows 7
from WM Capture Settings. You can select a frame rate from the drop down
list or type a number in the Frame/sec box. The Video Format table above
shows some tested frame rates for different video sizes and different
computer configurations. Chopped video, audio out of
sync or chopped audio are some of the side effects of frame rates too high.
While
recording WM Capture displays the message "Frame Rate too high" on the top status window if the
selected rate is higher than the rate the system can sustain. If this
message appears repeatedly you may need to lower the frame rate and/or the
size of the recorded video.
With
the second monitor plugged in, open click Options / Monitor select and scaling on the main screen or
click Settings then click Select
Monitor. Select the monitor and make sure the marking window does not cover
both monitors. Before switching between the two monitors it may be a good
idea to reset the markers. Click the Reset
Markers button under Settings/Tools/Miscellaneous to bring the markers
on the initial position.
Important: WM Capture labels
the main monitor "Monitor 1" and the second monitor "Monitor
2". Monitor 1 is the monitor where WM Capture opens. This is also the
monitor called the ‘Main Monitor’ under Windows / Display Settings. Note
that this may be different than the monitor numbers shown when you click
“Identify” under Windows / Display Settings.
Important: when
using the Background mode you need to restart your computer after changing
monitor resolution or any time you change your Windows monitor
configuration (scaling, main monitor, screen resolution, etc).
WM Capture will automatically
setup the audio recording when installed. On Windows 7, 8, 10, Vista the
default audio driver is the Virtual-Audio Plus driver. You can also use the
Send-Capture driver however this driver does not work with
H264 format. These audio drivers and other options can be accessed from Settings
/ Audio Setup.
Important Note: Make sure your computer
audio is NOT setup on Surround or Quadraphonic sound. WM Capture can only
record stereo, 44100 or 48000 sample rates. See Troubleshooting
instructions if you need to change your audio settings
Recording a microphone or
other audio sources
To do this open Audio
Settings and uncheck the Sound-Capture and the Virtual-Audio Plus
checkboxes. Then open the Audio Recording Sources dropdown list and select one of the audio sources
listed. If no audio source is displayed make sure they're not disabled. On
Windows 7, 8 ,10, Vista right click the speaker icon on the taskbar then
click Recording Devices. Right click the Sound dialog to show the Disabled
and Disconnected devices.
The speaker audio can also be recorded by
using your computer internal recording software usually called "Stereo
Mix" (if available). When using the Virtual-Audio or the Sound-Capture
drivers the recorded audio volume is setup by WM Capture. You can lower or
mute the computer volume while recording. This is not true when using the
Stereo Mix option.
Dual Audio Recording
The Dual Audio option can be used to
record a second audio source in addition to the speaker sound. In most
cases this may be an internal or external microphone. To enable Dual Audio
recording follow the steps bellow. Your microphone must be setup as Default
Device in Windows Recording devices (right click the speaker icon on the
task bar then click Recording Devices or click WM Capture Tools / Audio recording options / Open Windows Sound to
access Windows audio settings). Here is how to setup Dual Audio Recording:
· In WM
Capture Audio Settings check the
Virtual-Audio Plus then the Dual Audio checkboxes.
· In the
Audio Sources drop down list
that opens select a microphone source (internal or external).
· Click
OK to exit.
The Mute/Unmute
button on the main screen or the hotkey can be used to mute/unmute the
microphone. Muting the microphone is sometimes necessary in order to avoid
the echo feedback between the speakers and the microphone. When enabling
this option a hotkey can be selected to mute/unmute the microphone and a
small button "M" is shown on the main screen. In order to enable
the mute/unmute option the microphone should be set as the Default Device
in Windows Recording Devices dialog. Click Tools / Audio recording options
/ Open Windows Sound to access Windows audio settings.
Changing the default MPEG-2
media player
Click View on the main screen then click Default player or VLC in the View dialog. VLC Media Player is
the default player for WM Capture recordings.
Settings Guide
The Options menu
·
Switch to Background mode: Use this
tab to quickly switch between Background mode and Screen Capture mode.
·
Monitor select and scaling:
Select the prime and second monitor.
·
WM Capture screen size: You
can toggle between a smaller and a larger WM Capture interface window.
·
Restore initial settings:
Restore all settings to their initial value at the time WM Capture was
first installed on your computer.
The Settings dialog
Tools (top menu)
Video Options
·
Show video preview: disable/enable the real time
video preview
·
Show time/fps while
recording: enable/disable a small marker for
recording time and FPS placed at the bottom of the screen
·
Reset markers: resets the screen marking
window to its initial coordinates
Audio Options
·
Audio Formats: use to select audio format
for audio only recordings
·
Audio Boost: raises audio recorded level
by specified number of dB (may distort)
·
Test speakers (Windows
7): check if the
computer audio is stereo with 44100 or 48000 sample rate
· Open
Windows Sound: opens the Windows Sound dialog
·
Setup
Storage Folder: Choose the folder on your PC where recorded files
are to be saved.
·
Setup Windows
theme:
Use this option to setup the desktop theme for Windows 7 computers (use
Windows Basic theme to increase the performance of your computer). Not
available for Windows 8,10.
·
Hide/Minimize
WM Capture:
Opens the Hide Mode dialog. This is useful to setup hotkeys and hide modes
for recording full-screen videos or games for example.
·
Scheduler: Opens the
Scheduler. For instructions to use the Scheduler click the Scheduler tab
then click Help in the Scheduler dialog.
·
Keep Alive: use this option to
prevent computer to go to Sleep or prevent screen savers to open while
recording.
·
Installed Video
Codecs: you
can select an already installed codec from your computer (not installed by
WM Capture).
·
Browser selection
for background mode: select browser or program that opens when you click
the Browse button
·
Miscellaneous/Install
Microsoft redistributable: install Microsoft Visual C++
redistributable 2005, 2010 or 2013. This may be necessary is some of the
Direct X components don’t work on a specific Windows configuration.
·
Miscellaneous/Run
diagnostics (Log File): use this option to reinstall WM Capture DirectX
components. The Log file can be email to us.
·
Miscellaneous
/ Disable
tooltips: Use this option
to disable/enable the tooltips
·
Miscellaneous/Disable updates:
Use this option to stop WM Capture look for updates.
Recommended Settings (top
menu): configure the Audio Settings and Video Settings for the
desired output quality and the speed of your PC.
Video Capture Options(top
menu):
·
Enhanced video mode
includes enhanced
recording features like dual monitor, pause, video preview. For H264 the
Enhanced video includes features like HIGH profile, HIGH level, auto
throttle.
·
Basic video is mostly
a compromise between quality and speed.
·
Video Preview – when this check
button is checked, a small video window on the main screen shows what is
being recorded
·
Resize video
option can be used to resize the recorded video and is available only with
H264 and MPEG-2 video formats.
·
Set Markers
option can be used to fix the recording area to a certain width and height.
Audio Settings: Set
the Audio
Bitrate for the recorded audio. In general, 128 Kbps is fine for most
recording, but higher bit rates are better, especially when music is
involved. Click Audio
Setup to manually set the audio driver to be used for
recording as well as the dual audio recording (if necessary).
Video Settings: Choose
the Video Bitrate,
Frames per second, and Video Format. The Recommended Settings
button will do this for you, but you can manually adjust these parameters
here if you like.
Recording Options:
- Record
Audio:
Turn on or off audio recording. This is useful for making "silent
movies".
- Record
Video:
Turn this option off if you want to make WM Capture into an audio-only
recorder.
Recording File Size / Time: This
lets you limit the time or file size for your recordings. Handy for
unattended recordings.
Marked screen region not
detected
Marked coordinates are out of the current monitor area. Maybe
a second monitor is used but is turned off. Disconnect the second monitor,
select Monitor #1 in Settings and reset the screen coordinates (under
Settings, Tools, Miscellaneous).
Video quality is choppy
To get the best quality video - especially on slower machines
- try the following:
1. Go to Settings, and make
sure you are using the MPEG-2 video format.
2. On
Vista and Windows 7 use Windows
Basic theme, the Background
mode or the “Best Performance” mode instead of “Best Appearance” mode. Windows Basic theme is the default
setting for WM Capture. To change Windows performance mode open Settings /
Tools / Windows Best Performance. On Windows 8, try to use the Background mode.
3. Try
recording from a smaller video window by resizing your video to about 1/3
of your screen (usually 640x480 or 1280x720 pixels) instead of using the
full screen. In most cases this won't affect the video quality (since the
original videos are scaled UP from smaller sizes to fit a full-screen
picture). This requires less computer power to capture, which will make for
smoother videos.
4. Use a
lower frame rate. For example 20 fps or even 15 fps.
I'm having trouble
recording audio (see Settings / Help / Audio Troubleshoot).
The recorded video is all
black or white
This occurs when a media player or a browser uses exclusively
GPU (overlay) playback. Some versions of Internet Explorer may be doing
this in which case you should use a different browser - Chrome, Firefox, Opera or WM Browser which is a reduced
version of Internet Explorer installed with WM Capture.
If this happens while
recording a DVD use a DVD player that plays DVD without using hardware
acceleration (for example VLC Media Player with disabled hardware
acceleration).
I can't play MPEG-2 files
created by WM Capture
Some older versions of Windows Media Player cannot
playback MPEG-2 files. In this case use the VLC media player.
MPEG-2 video sizes are half
the recorded size when played with Windows Media Player
This happens when MPEG-2 files are played with some versions
of Windows Media Player. Use a different media player (VLC for
example).
I get a "Cannot Run
Graph” error message
This error can also indicate a failure to setup recording. Some
of the reasons this error occurs are listed below
·
audio recording cannot be setup when
different programs try to take exclusive control of the audio device. In Windows 7/8/10 Sound dialog open the
Advanced tab and disable the Exclusive Control.
·
an audio source (like a microphone or
Stereo Mix) is disabled
·
video window size is too big, or the
video window extends on more than one monitor
·
DirectX failure. You need to have DirectX
version 9 or higher installed in order to run WM Capture. In order to find
out what DirectX version you have click the Start button, type dxdiag in the Search box the hit
ENTER. You can update your DirectX from Microsoft's site here.
Try to run WM Capture again.
I get a “Cannot install
... filter” error
This error indicates that the screen capture codec was not
installed in your computer. In some rare instances this may be the result
of very restrictive security software not allowing ActiveX components in
your system. However this problem can also occur on some custom Windows
installation (especially Windows 7). Make sure the file regsvr32 located in the folder
C:\Windows\SysWOW64 and the regsvr32 file located in C:\Windows\System32
have the same version.
I get “Recording error (x013). WM Capture will
close now”
This error indicates that recording could not be started in
less than 20 seconds for an unspecified reason. Most of the time this occurrence
shows that your system cannot handle the specified frame rate and/or the
size of the recorded video window. Lower the frame and/or the size of your
video. Also, disconnect the second monitor and use Windows Media video
format.
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