|
WM Capture records videos like
a camera pointed at 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 10 main and added features
·
UHD/2K/4k
recording
·
H264 video format,
Intel Quick Sync (if computer supports)
·
H264 video format,
NVIDIA NVENC (if computer supports)
·
Picture in Picture
(PIP) video playback and recording
·
Any kind of audio
sources and microphones, including Bluetooth, USB, resample audio rates
·
AAC and MP3 audio
formats
·
CPU loading
monitor
·
WM Converter Pro
WM Capture 10 provides two recording modes: a conventional Screen Capture mode and an advanced
recording mode which maximizes your video capture performance, the Background mode. This User Guide refers mostly to versions 10 or higher,
however many of the features are also supported by versions 8 and 9.
WM Capture 10 is a "plug and play" program and after
the installation it should be ready for recording.
Requirements
·
any Windows
versions from 7 to 11
·
no special
computer memory, speed, number of CPUs required for operating the program
·
see below Simple
recording guides for high quality recordings
In general, use the guides below to get the best
quality recordings:
·
try using the Background mode on Windows 8, 10,
11 or UHD monitors
·
always use Windows Basic mode (Aero disabled)
on Windows 7
·
select the highest
frame rate your system supports (see below)
·
select the highest
video bitrate
Simple recording guides
The quality of recorded videos
depends primarily on the frame rate (fps) 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 10 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. When using the regular Screen Capture mode, the recorded frames
rates may be lower (depending on the video window size and/or computer
speed).
|
Video Format
|
Video Size
|
CPU
|
fps
|
Usage
|
|
MPEG-2
|
1920x1080
|
i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
|
30p
|
high quality movies,
HD videos, games, DVD video format
|
|
|
1280x720
|
i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
|
30p to 60p
|
|
|
lower
|
Any 2 or 4 cores
|
25p to 60p
|
|
H264-AAC/MP4
|
1920x1080 (HD)
1920x1080
1280x720
2K/4K
|
i3/i5/ Dual core
i7 Quad core
i7 Quad core
i7 Quad, 8GB
|
30p
60p
up to 100p
30p
|
high quality movies,
HD, 2K, 4K videos,
games
|
|
Windows Media
|
1920x1080
|
i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
|
20
|
movies, webinars, web,
documents, any video, or audio
|
|
|
1280x720
|
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
|
10
|
slide shows,
documents, slow moving webinars
|
|
MPEG-4 (AVI)
|
Up to 1280x720
|
i5/i7 Quad 2.4 GHz
|
15
|
small size videos,
full size documents
|
·
MPEG-2 and h264 use progressive scan (p) in all cases
(30p - progressive is equivalent to 60i - interlaced. Most Internet HD
movies are broadcasted at 720/60p or 720/30p)
·
On some older Windows 7
computers H264 Quick Sync installs Microsoft MP4 (not recommended for
recording. Use MPEG-2, Windows Media, or MPEG-4 instead)
1.
Open WM Capture
No changes are made to your computer
settings when opening WM Capture.
(Note: on Windows 7 and Vista WM Capture sets up your Windows desktop theme
to Windows Basic. This is
necessary to maximize your computer performance for recording. Your regular
Windows desktop theme will be restored when WM Capture closes.)
2.
Mark the video area
You can do this in two ways:
·
Automatic -
using the Get Video button (see
image above). This works with motion videos only. WM Capture uses screen
motion detection and captures 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 (see the image below). 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.
3.
Begin recording
Click the Record button to begin recording. The video is now recorded,
and a small Preview window appears on WM Capture main screen showing the
actual recording.
4.
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.
5.
Playback the recording
To play the last recording click Play. To open the storage folder
and see all your recordings click the View
button.
Note: when using the Screen
Capture recording mode, you cannot open other windows covering the video
window while recording. However, you can do this when using the Background
mode.
(Shame on
Microsoft and Google for disabling the Windows features necessary to
support the BCK recording mode on Windows 11 after over 10 years of use.)
Due to these
changes, the Background mode is no longer available on Windows 10 and other
Windows versions.
To setup the Background mode
you need to disable graphics acceleration in your browser or use the Google
Canary browser which is set up by WM Capture to enable this mode. Detailed
instructions to disable graphics acceleration and how to install the Chrome
Canary browser can be found under Settings, Help, Useful tips, Disable
browser acceleration and under Options, Google Chrome Canary browser,
Installation details, respectively.
The Background mode is particularly useful in the
following situations:
·
while recording, you can use
your computer screen to run other programs and overlap the recording window
without obscuring the recording area
·
higher frame rates can be
obtained, and larger video windows can be recorded. (see the Video Format
table above)
·
recording UHD/2K/4K videos or
recording on 4K computers or 4K external displays
·
recording
and playing videos as Picture in Picture (PIP)
1. Setup the Background mode
Click Options then click Switch to Background mode. Or, in
the Settings dialog click Enable
under Background mode. When using the Settings, the Background dialog shows
a browser selection option. Here you can
choose a browser, or other programs that you like to open while
recording.
2.
Hide/Show the recording window
If you want to hide the recording window use the Hide / Show buttons to hide or show the recording window. (Note
that Hide makes the image invisible but keeps the video stream alive and it
is different than Minimize which kills the video stream).
3.
Open another browser or program while recording (Background mode)
Click Browser on WM Capture main screen to open the selected browser
or open another program. WM
Recorder continues to record in the background even though the image may be entirely covered by the newly
opened windows. This feature is only
available during recording.
Tips for
using the Background mode
Besides allowing recording a window
while using the screen for something else, the Background mode is
particularly useful when recording large or full screen windows. It is a
must when recording UHD videos.
·
Try minimizing other windows when setting up the
Background mode for recording one window image
·
When recording from a web browser, background
mode requires disabling the graphic acceleration. However, if you want to
keep the acceleration enabled in your browser, you can use the Chrome Canary version of the Chrome browser as your
recording browser instead of your regular browser.
·
WM Capture main screen is not visible in
recording even if it overlaps the recorded video window. We recommend to
keep it visible.
·
We got reports that the Background mode could not
be used with Microsoft Edge on some Windows 11 computers.
See below Troubleshooting the background mode
Rerouting
video and audio
Windows 11 and 10 allow now
rerouting installed audio devices such that different apps can use their
own selected audio device instead of a system default audio device. In
principle, any enabled audio device in Windows can be routed to any program
that uses audio. This feature allows recording a silenced
audio while listening to another.
Using this feature WM Capture
can now record video/audio from a web browser while the screen and the
speakers are used to play another video/audio from another browser. The
video is recorded hidden (invisible) using the Background mode while the
silent audio is recorded from a headphone device. This feature, available
with version 10.2.0.1 is shown in more detail in https://wmrecorder.com/update-10004.htm (WM
Capture updates).
Picture
in Picture (PIP) playback and recording (new feature)
Picture in Picture (PIP) is
only available with the Background mode. Click Settings, Tools,
Video options, Picture in Picture, Enable or Options, Picture in
Picture to enable PIP playback. Click Picture in Picture,
Record to
enable PIP recording. When you enable the PIP a Detach button is shown on the
Preview window on WM Capture main screen. When you click this button the
PIP playback window opens. Clicking the PIP video image opens a menu where
you can Hide/Show the main recording window, open another window (Browser),
minimize the PIP or Record.
Example of using the PIP play and recording
Watch this short video for an example of using the Background mode.
In this video, WM Capture uses the Background mode
and the PIP (Picture in Picture) play and record feature.
·
play your video, on WM Capture
main screen click Detach to create a PIP video,
·
click Hide to hide the actual
playing video,
·
click Record to begin recording.
·
while the video is playing and
recording in the PIP frame open the browser or other programs and use the
screen for doing something else.
Watch this video and see how this unique feature works.
Playing
or recording UHD (2K/4K)
videos depends primarily on your computer performance characteristics.
Features like I7, Quad core, 8 GB memory are minimum necessary. Below are
some hints about 4K playing and recording:
·
play the video you want to
record, make sure the video plays without stuttering. If it does stutter,
try to lower the size of the recorded video or use Windows Display settings
to select a lower screen resolution. For example, a 4k display can be
resized to a 2K display resolution (2560x1440
is the preferred size). A 2K video can be recorded at 50 fps even with a
medium cost and performance laptop connected to a 4K second monitor.
·
on WM Capture main screen
watch the CPU loading numbers and make sure, before you start recording,
CPU loading is below 50%
·
always use Intel Quick Sync
and the Background mode with your browser (Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi,
Firefox)
UHD recording (and playing) uses a lot of computer
memory. On Windows
versions before Windows 11 it may be necessary to clear this memory when a
recording is finished. WM Capture needs to manually close and restart when
a recording is finished. The program opens automatically after this. This
operation is done automatically when using the Scheduler to allow for
multiple scheduled recordings.
To enable/disable this feature open Options, Other utilities, Clear
memory.
Google Chrome Canary is a version of the Chrome
browser which can be installed and used for recording. Starting with
version 89, March 2021 the regular Google Chrome browser made changes that
block screen recording of most movies streamed from the Internet. The work
around is to disable the browser graphics (hardware) acceleration. Chrome Canary browser does not have these
limitations.
WM Capture can set
up this browser to work in both Screen Capture and Background modes with no need for
changing browser settings. You can continue using your regular Chrome
browser with no changes for your usual browsing and use the Chrome Canary for recording.
The Options menu
·
Switch to Background mode / Switch to Screen
Capture mode: select between Background and Screen-Capture recording
modes.
·
Picture in Picture (PIP): open the PIP mode for playback and/or recording.
·
Reroute audio: reroute the default playback device and the
Chrome browser to play audio through the speakers, WM Capture and Chrome
Canary browser tom play/record audio through a silenced devices like
headphones.
·
Google Chrome Canary browser: open, install create shortcut for the Canary
browser
·
Monitor select and scaling: use this to find out your monitor(s) settings
and select the main and the secondary monitor. We recommend not to change
the default values.
·
Restore initial settings: restore settings to their initial values when WM
Capture was installed.
·
Reset markers: restore all settings to their initial values
(needs restart)
·
Reopen last hidden window: use this to restore a hidden window that does
not respond to pushing the Show button. This situation could occur in the
Background mode.
·
Open Windows Sound: open the Window Sound dialog where you can see
or change your audio settings
The Settings dialog
Buttons:
·
Audio Bitrate: audio bitrate for
the recorded audio. Default, 192K
·
Audio Setup manually set the audio driver used for recording
as well as the dual audio recording feature
·
Video Bitrate, Frames/sec: video bitrate and number of frames per second for the video
format selected
·
Video Format: select a video format. Default
MPEG2 (this format is compatible with all Windows
computers)
·
Windows Sound: opens
the Windows Sound dialog for selecting and setting an audio source
·
WM Capture sounds: shows the audio sources and settings used by WM
Capture
·
Audio troubleshoot: shows audio troubleshooting instructions
·
Select monitor:
select the default monitor when using a second monitor
·
Reset markers:
reset the marked area of the screen to the default position and size
Recording
Options:
- Record Audio: turn on or off audio recording. This is
useful for making "silent movies” and then adding voice or music
using the Dual Audio mode.
- Record Video: turn this option off if you want to make WM
Capture into an audio-only recorder. The audio format can be setup
under Tools, Audio Options, Audio formats (MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV)
·
Resample audio:
used when audio sources used for recording do not have the Windows default
sample rates (44100 Hz or 48000 Hz). This option should not be changed.
·
Background mode: Enable/Disable requires
shutting down WM Capture
Recording File Size /
Time: This lets you limit the time or file
size of your recordings. Handy for unattended recordings.
Top menu settings
Tools
menu
Video Options
1. Show video preview
(playback only, no recording): disable/enable the real time
video preview window. This is a small video window on WM Capture main screen
showing the portion of the screen marked for recording.
·
Show mini pane while recording: a small pane placed at the
bottom of the screen showing recording time, FPS and CPU loading numbers
when using a hide mode for recording
·
Disable CPU monitor: CPU loading monitor (see
below)
·
CPU specs: your computer CPU
specifications. Some CPU versions show if Quick Sync is available.
·
Reset markers: reset 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 (may distort). If your recorded audio level
is too low or too high use WM Converter to compress to a higher or lower
level.
·
Test speakers: check if the playback computer
audio source is mono or stereo (WM Capture versions prior to 10 only check
for stereo 44100 or 48000 sample rate - Windows default audio for playback
and record)
·
Open Windows Sound: opens the Windows Sound
dialog (on Windows 10 it may take a while to open)
Setup Storage Folder: Choose the folder on your PC where recorded
files are saved. ANSI and UNICODE folder names and file names are accepted.
Scheduler: Open the Scheduler
·
Open now: opens
scheduler now
·
Open when WM Capture opens:
Open: click to enable this option
Record full time: record the
entire time set up in the Scheduler
Record only remaining time: record
time left from opening to the end of set up time
·
Close browser when recording times out
·
Reload web browser: WM
Capture Scheduler will try to reload the web browser if no video or audio
motion is detected over about 1 minute period
Hide/Minimize WM
Capture: Opens the Hide Mode dialog. Use this
feature to setup hotkeys and hide modes for hiding WM Recorder main screen
when using the Screen Capture mode. Not necessary
when using the Background mode. WM Capture main screen is not recorded in
this mode.
Keep Alive: use this option to prevent computer to go to
Sleep or prevent screen savers opening while recording.
Setup video detect
mode/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 on
Windows 8/11.
Video Codecs installed
on your computer: you can select a
previously installed codec on your computer (not installed by WM Capture).
Some of these codecs may not work.
Browser selection for Background
mode: select a browser or a program that
opens when you click the Browse button in Background mode. If no browser
was selected a Windows Explorer page opens.
Miscellaneous
Install Microsoft redistributable: install
Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable 2005, 2010 or 2013. 2005 if video
capture cannot be setup, 2010, 2013 if Virtual Audio driver cannot be
installed.
Run diagnostics (Log File): use this option to reinstall Windows DirectX components
required by WM Capture. The generated Log file can be emailed to us.
Disable tooltips: disable/enable showing tooltips
Disable updates: stop WM Capture looking for
updates.
WM Capture folders: open WM
Capture installation or setup folders
Recommended
Settings (top menu): configure
the Audio Settings and Video Settings for the desired output quality and
the speed of your PC.
WM Capture default settings use video
formats and bitrates that produce the highest recording quality. This may
lead to larger recorded files. You can overwrite these settings.
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 -
a small video window on the main screen duplicates the captured image and
what is recorded. In Background mode, a black or white image shows that no
window image was captured.
·
Resize video option can be used to resize the recorded video
while recording and is available only with H264 and MPEG-2 video formats.
·
Set Markers option can be used to set the recording area to
a specified width and height. You should move/resize the video window you
want to record to fit this area.
Playing or
recording videos could load up your CPU quite a lot depending on the video
size, video frame rate, HD, UHD formats, CPU performance characteristics and
a few other factors. When using Intel Quick Sync or Nvidia NVENC half of
the normal CPU loading is transferred to the GPU (hardware encoding) which
means, significant CPU loading reduction is achieved. WM Capture 10
displays the CPU loading as two percentage numbers:
program
loading (%), computer loading (%)
program
loading
is the loading produced by WM Capture at the current time
computer
loading
is the CPU loading produced by all running programs except WM Capture at
current time.
WM Capture program
loading, and computer CPU loading are displayed on the main screen as shown
below. Click the image to turn ON or OFF CPU monitoring.
Important:
When using the Quick Sync video format on some Windows 7 (single or dual
core computers, older computers) WM Capture loading may be much higher than
usual (normally below 10%). This is because this video format is not the
actual Quick Sync MP format but a Microsoft MP4 format which is quite slow.
Use MPEG-2 format in this case.
To record full screen motion video open Settings then
check the Full Screen checkbox. We recommend
using H264
at bitrates higher than 3000 kbps or MPEG-2
at bitrates higher than 8000 kbps and the Background mode. When recording
in Screen Capture mode use the hotkeys to start/stop/pause recording. It is
good to do a short recording first and check the recording quality (see
below why).
Important (for older versions): when using the Background mode start
recording after the recording 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 in a Fullscreen or Full HD
format. Currently, most external computers monitors are Full HD resolution
(1920x1080) or higher. For many laptops, the usual resolution is 1366x768,
however 1080 and 4K laptops are also popular. High Definition broadcasts
are 720 or 1080 horizontal lines of pixels. There is no reason to stride
and record a 720 video to a Fullscreen 768 or 1080 size. This puts an
unnecessary burden on the CPU. You should record full screen videos and
movies only if the broadcast is in 1080 format. Otherwise use the 720
format or resize the video to 720. The 720 videos can be recorded at 60p
(120i ) or higher fps using MPEG-2 or H264.
Using the Hotkeys and Hide modes
The Hide modes/Hotkeys dialog
Important: when using the
Background mode or Windows Basic theme (on Windows 7), WM Capture main
screen is invisible to recording. You can see a lot of recording
information here. There is no reason to hide the WM Capture main screen in
this case.
Setting
up the Hotkeys
Click Settings
then click Hide
modes/Hotkeys on the Top menu to open the Hotkeys dialog. Here you
can setup the hotkeys you set up to duplicate buttons for Record, Pause,
Mute/Unmute microphone. While recording, you can use the Mini Pane option (see below) to show the actual
frame rate achieved by your system and other useful information.
Setting
up Hide modes
WM Capture main screen can be completely hidden when you check "Hide WM Capture
window when recording" or minimized in the taskbar
when you check "Minimize
WM Capture window when recording". When
selecting a Hide mode, you can also select showing a small "Mini
Pane" at the bottom of the screen while recording. This may
be necessary if you want to monitor CPU usage, recorded time or recording
frame rate. To enable/disable this option use Settings, Tools, Video
options, Show mini pane. Note that when Hide WM Capture window mode is
selected no icon will be shown on the taskbar. The only way to make the
main screen visible is using the hot keys to stop or pause recording.
In Settings, click
H264-AAC (MP4). The dialog below opens. Click
Quick Sync /MP4 or NVENC (Nvidia) buttons and wait until a message is shown
above these buttons (this may take a few moments). A message lets you know
if your computer does not support these formats otherwise you should see the
message shown in the picture below. Even if the test failed,
you can still try to use the selected format.
The Quick Sync format should always be used for
recording UHD videos (video window size greater than 1920x1080). The NVENC
format does not always work on UHD videos, however it has better
performance (CPU loading, video quality) on HD or lower size videos. It can
record 720 videos at 60 fps with less than 20% CPU loading.
Below is a brief description of the
video/audio formats provided by WM Capture
·
MPEG-2 is
the standard video format used in all digital TV's, DVDs, 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 DVDs. Recorded file extension is mpg or dvd.mpg if the DVD mode
is selected. To playback MPG files use VLC Media Player, Windows 10 Movies
& TV (with MPEG-2 codec) or Windows Media Player. Note that some Windows Media Player versions display MPEG-2
recorded videos at 1/2 the recorded video size.
·
H264-AAC (MP4)
is the video format used on all mobile devices and all computer brands
including Apple. Provides highest quality screen recordings for movies,
videos, games, including full HD and UHD (1920x1080 and higher). With Intel
Quick Sync CPU loading is reduced by 50% File sizes are two to three times
smaller than MPEG-2 for similar quality. The recorded file extension is
mp4. Your computer must have installed Intel Quick Sync or Nvidia NVENC.
Quick Sync is installed on all Windows 10 and all Windows 11 Intel computers.
If these features are not available use the H264-AAC (MP4 Convert) option.
·
Windows Media
format is included in all Windows computers (except for some European PCs).
It is used to record high quality movies, videos, webinars, documents, and
Power Point presentations. The recorded file extension is wmv. To playback use VLC Media Player, Movies & TV, 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, slow motion webinars. The
recorded files are much smaller when compared with all other video formats,
but this format is not designed for high motion videos (movies). File
extension is wmv. To playback use Windows Media Player or VLC.
·
MPEG-4 (AVI) format
can be played back on all Windows computers. It is used to record smaller
window size movies and videos. Slow moving videos like webinars, documents,
Power Point presentations can also be recorded in full HD (1920x1080). The
recorded file extension is avi. To playback use
VLC Media Player, Movies & TV, or Windows Media Player.
·
H264-AAC (MP4 Convert) option can be used to generate MP4 videos. When
this option is selected WM Capture records MPEG-2 files which are
automatically converted to MP4 when recording is finished.
Video / Audio Bitrate (kbps): this is the number of kilobytes per second
(kbps)used to digitize a video image. As a rule of thumb, “the higher the
bitrates the better video/audio quality ”. The tradeoff is that recorded
file sizes are higher.
Frames/sec (fps): this is the
number of screenshots (frames) per second in a video stream. The higher the
number of frames per second (fps) the better the 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
set up to the desired value. To achieve high frame rates, select the Background
mode on Windows 8/11 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. Bouncy
video, out of sync audio 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.
Note:
in general, when recording using the Screen
Capture mode the frame is reduced if the computer cannot keep up with
the specified rate. The Background
mode however pushes the frame rate regardless of the computer performance.
This is done so the highest quality of the recording is achieved. Sometimes
this leads to higher CPU loading on slower computers.
Use the Monitor select dialog at startup to
select the monitor you like to use (only two monitors). You can also
click Settings then click Select
Monitor. Select the monitor and make sure the video 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 to their initial position.
It may be good to have one monitor
dedicated to recording and another for doing your work. This allows you to
open different windows on one monitor while recording on the other.
Note: WM Capture supports one external monitor shown
on Windows to the left or to the right side of the main monitor (not on top
or bottom).
Important: WM Capture labels the main
monitor "Monitor 1" and the second monitor "Monitor 2".
Monitor 1 is always 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.
WM Capture automatically sets up the audio recording when
installed for
recording the speakers sound. On Windows 7, 8, 10,
11, Vista the default audio driver
installed by WM Capture is the Virtual-Audio Plus driver. You can also use the Sound-Capture driver
however this driver does not work with H264-AAC (MP4) format (see also below). It also require use of Windows default
rates (44100 Hz or 48000 Hz). These audio drivers and other options can be
accessed from Settings, Audio Setup.
When using the Virtual-Audio or the
Sound-Capture drivers the recorded audio volume is setup by WM Capture
volume control, not by the computer volume. You can lower or mute the
computer volume while recording without changing the recorded sound volume.
However, in some Windows 10 builds this feature MAY NOT work.
Important:
Make sure your computer audio is NOT set to Surround or Quadraphonic sound.
WM Capture can only record stereo. See Troubleshooting if you need to
change your audio settings.
Important:
Any stereo or mono playback, microphone, internal or external audio source
listed under Windows Sounds dialog can be used for recording. Audio devices
with sample rates different than Windows default (48000Hz or 44100Hz) are
automatically resampled. The same applies for microphones whether internal
or external. This includes Bluetooth and USB devices. Sound-Capture driver
cannot be used with resampled audio sources and microphones but only with
Windows default settings.
The speaker
sound can also be recorded by using your computer internal recording software usually called "Stereo Mix" (if
available). The recorded sound volume follows the playback volume when
using the Stereo Mix.
Recording
a microphone or other audio sources
To do this open Audio Settings and uncheck the Virtual-Audio Plus or the
Sound-Capture 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 are not disabled. Open the Windows
Sounds dialog then right click to show the Disabled and Disconnected
device.
Changing
audio sources
It’s good (but not always necessary)
to close and restart WM Capture when changing Windows audio sources,
especially when changing the internal default Windows playback source with
an external Bluetooth or USB source. After you close WM Capture, play a sound
on your computer to make sure the new source is playing the sound.
Sometimes, trying to enable a microphone on a Bluetooth source with
multiple playback options disables the audio. Make sure the new playback
and/or microphone sources function ok before restarting WM Capture.
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 below. Your microphone must be
set up as Default Device in Windows Sound Recording devices. In the Sound
window click your microphone then click Set Default. Follow the steps below to setup Dual
Audio Recording:
·
In WM Capture Audio Settings check the Virtual-Audio Plus then check the Dual Audio checkboxes.
·
In the Audio Sources drop down list select
your 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 to avoid the echo
feedback between the speakers and the microphone. When enabling this
option, a hotkey can also be selected to mute/unmute the microphone. To
enable the mute/unmute option the microphone should be set as the Default
Device in Windows Sound, Recording Devices dialog. Click Settings, Windows Sound to access
Windows audio settings. Or open Windows Sound dialog from Windows Sound
settings.
Changing the default media player
Click View on the main screen then click Default player or VLC in the View dialog. If available, VLC
Media Player is the default player for WM Capture recordings.
Marked
screen region not detected
Marked coordinates are out of the
current monitor area. Maybe a second monitor was used but was turned off.
Disconnect the second monitor, select Monitor #1 in Settings, and reset the
screen coordinates (under Settings, Tools, Video options, Reset Markers).
Recorder
video is choppy
To get the best quality video -
especially on slower machines - try the following:
- Make sure the CPU is not overloaded.
- Use MPEG-2 or H264 video formats.
- 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 or
higher versions, try to use the Background
mode.
- Try recording from a smaller video window by
resizing your video window (usually 1280x720 pixels) instead of using
the full screen. In most cases this won't affect the video quality
(since the original streaming movie videos
are scaled UP from smaller sizes to fit a full-screen picture). This
requires less computer power to capture. (click here
for more about this)
- Use a lower frame rate. For example, 20 fps
or 15 fps.
Trouble
recording audio (see Settings / Help / Audio Troubleshoot).
“Cannot
install Virtual Audio Capturer” error message
Run x86_2010 and x86_2013 redistributable from WM Capture,
Settings, Miscellaneous, Install Microsoft Redistributable
The
recorded video is all black or white
This occurs when a media player or a
browser uses (graphics) hardware acceleration. Disable graphics (hardware)
acceleration (see Settings, Useful tips)
For DVD recordings use a DVD player
that plays DVD without using hardware acceleration (for example VLC Media
Player with disabled hardware acceleration (Tools, Preferences, Video – Use
GDI video output).
Cannot
play MPEG-2 files created by WM Capture
The default Windows 10 player (Movies
& TV) does not include MPEG-2 codecs in some cases. It offers a free
download codec which should be installed. This is also the case with some
older versions of Windows Media Player cannot playback MPEG-2 files in
which case use the VLC media player.
MPEG-2 video sizes
are half the recorded size when played with Windows Media Player
Use a different media player (VLC for
example).
"Cannot
Run Graph” or “Cannot install ...
filter” error
messages
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.
·
a selected audio
recording source like a playback, microphone or Stereo Mix is disabled or
not set as Default
·
video window size
is too big, or the video window extends on more than one monitor
·
Run x86_2005
distributable from WM Capture, Settings, Miscellaneous, Install Microsoft
Redistributable 2005
·
DirectX failure.
You need to have DirectX version 9 or higher installed to run WM Capture.
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 reinstall WM Capture codecs as follows
·
close WM Capture
·
right click WM
Capture desktop icon to open the installation folder (usually C:\Program Files
(x86)\WM Recorder-2\WM Capture 10) then open the Bin9 folder)
·
find file
_install_all.bat, right click and Run as administrator
Run WM Capture again.
“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 try to disable audio recording in Settings. If video records ok, make
sure the Virtual-Audio Driver Plus is utilized (under Audio Setup).
Troubleshooting the background mode
·
Avoid having
multiple windows opened. Only one window should be
used for recording. Open a new window or drag the video window tag out of a
multiple tag browser.
- If
using Chrome Canary browser try
to open this browser from the help Options menu instead of the desktop shortcut.
·
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 Google Chrome Canary (see Options, Google Chrome Canary). Or you can disable the browser
acceleration (see Settings, Help, Useful tips)
·
The
message "No window selected for Background recording"
is
displayed. In this case there may be no visible
window except the desktop. If a window is present, click the caption (top)
bar of the window or restart WM Capture. You can also try Options, Wakeup.
·
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.
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