|
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.
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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