Here’s a guide on how to record screen with audio on Windows 11 PC/laptop using Xbox Game Bar or OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software).
Starting from the Windows 10 Version, Microsoft includes a built-in software for screen recording, namely Xbox Game Bar, so users don’t have to rely on third-party software to record their screen.
When recording screen with audio on Windows 11 PC/laptop, you have several options. If you just want to do a basic screen recording, you can get it done using the Xbox Game Bar overlay.
Or if you want more control and customization, then a third-party screen recorder like Open Broadcaster Software or OBS would be a better fit.
Difference Between Xbox Game Bar and Third Party Screen Recorder Apps
There are some notable differences between the original Game Bar and/Special GPU software third party software when it comes to recording your screen.
The difference is mainly in how they operate and what you can do with them. On the one hand, we have the Xbox Game Bar, which comes pre-installed, which means you don’t need to download it.
Xbox Game Bar Pros:
- light
- does not require complicated settings, so it is always ready to use
- The interface is easy to use and does not require special knowledge
Disadvantages of Xbox Game Bar:
- Very little control over quality and usability
- Lacks key features like support for advanced encoder
- Runs as a background app even when you are not using it, increasing the CPU load unnecessarily.
Advantages of third-party screen recorder software:
- Much more control over recording quality
- You can micro-manage every aspect of your recording from choosing bitrate and resolution to frames per second.
- You get the option of using an Nvidia or AMD encoder if you have a GPU which produces much better results.
Disadvantages of third-party screen recording software:
- But external software also requires a complicated and difficult setup process. this software is more difficult to use, so if you are not familiar with it, you may get less good results.
- And lastly, you will need a high spec computer to record high quality videos using third party software.
Now that you understand the difference between using Xbox Game Bar and third-party software for screen recording, the choice remains yours.
This article covers both methods, so pick one depending on which compromise you want to make and the hardware you have.
How to Record Screen with Audio Using Xbox Game Bar
Xbox Game Bar is the default Windows background app that acts like an overlay. While in the game or application window, you can press windows+g on the keyboard to open the Game Bar overlay.
The overlay consists of the “Game Bar” which will be in the top center area of your screen. This is the main control menu and there will be several widgets for various purposes.
To start recording the screen, first launch the game or app that you want to record. Once the game or application is open, press windows+g on your keyboard to open the Xbox Game Bar.
In the upper left corner of the screen, there will be a widget named “Capture”. This is the widget that you should use to record the screen.
Also read: How to Record Screen in Windows 11
But before you record the screen, make sure that Audio Recording is enabled. To confirm that, click the “Gear” or “Settings” icon located on the horizontal “Game Bar”. This will open the Game Bar Settings window.
In the settings window, select “Capturing” from the left pane and you will see “AUDIO TO RECORD” in the right pane. From there select “Games” if you only want to record your game/app and microphone.
You can also select “All” which will allow you to record any audio source like browser or Spotify app along with your game/app and microphone.
Once you have enabled audio recording, it is time to record your screen. You can do it by clicking on the circle with the e dot icon from the Capture widget or by pressing windows+ALT+r on your keyboard.
Once you start recording, you will see a new little widget named “Capture Status”. This window will show you the current recording duration.
If you want to stop recording, you can do so by clicking on the blue circle with the white square or by pressing windows+ALT+r again.
This widget will also have a button to mute or enable your microphone while recording your screen. Once you stop recording, you will receive a notification saying “Game clip recorded”.
Now to view your recorded clips, click on the “Show all captures” option on the Capture widget. This will take you to the directory where all your recorded clips are stored. By default, the Xbox Game Bar saves clips in the following directory.
C:Users*your user name*VideosCaptures
How to Record Screen with Audio Using OBS Studio
There are many good screen recording software out there that you can install to record your computer screen with audio.
OBS or Open Broadcaster Software is one of the best third-party applications for this job and we highly recommend you to give it a try.
Some of the reasons to choose OBS over other third-party screen recorders are:
- This app is completely free
- Easier to set up and use
- light software
- This provides a high level of control over the recording quality
You can download this software by visiting the site obsproject.com/download. Once you are there, click on the “Download Installer” button.
Also read: 3 Best Free Broadcasting Software For Windows PC
Now, before you record your screen, you have to go through the process of configuring your recording quality. To do this, first, click “File” from the toolbar located on the upper left side of the window, then select “Settings”.
When the Settings window opens, select “Output” from the left pane. After that, change the “Output Mode” in the right pane from “Simple” to “Advanced”.
After selecting “Advanced” you will get a lot of new settings to use. First, switch to the Recording tab by clicking the “Recording” button between “Streaming” and “Audio”. After that, change the Encoder to your GPU’s encoder.
Now you will have more settings to change. Start by setting your Speed Control to “CBR”. Set the Bitrate of your video using the text box called “Bitrate”, which is located just below the Rate Control.
Bitrate means the amount of information that will be recorded every second while you are recording your screen and audio. Generally, 4000 Kbps to 6000 Kbps is the sweet spot for recording up to 1080p 60fps.
After that appears “Presets”. It’s easy, set it to “Quality” if your computer can handle it. Otherwise, set it to “Performance”. Under “Presets” there will be “Profile”. Leave it as it is. Finally, click “Apply” in the lower right corner.
If you don’t have a dedicated GPU or your computer installed, try using the “x264” encoder instead of the GPU encoder. Although it may not be able to give similar results.
When you use “x264” encoder, use the following settings. Keep the Bitrate around 2500. After that set your “CUP Usage Preset” to “veryfast”. Finally in the “Profile” settings, set it to “baseline”. Click “Apply” to save your settings and continue.
After that switch to the Video tab by selecting “Video” from the left pane. From there make sure the “Base (Canvas) Resolution” is set to the resolution of your current monitor.
You can use “Output (Canvas) Resolution” to change the resolution of your screen recording. We do not recommend going beyond the maximum resolution of your monitor. And finally set the “Common FPS Values” as per your wish which in this case is 60.
You have to complete the configuration process by setting up the audio recording. Select “Audio” from the left pane. Then, under the “Global Audio Devices” section use the “Desktop Audio” setting to select your default desktop audio device, which is generally labeled as “Speakers (Driver Name)”.
After that, if you also want to record your comments, use the “Mic/Auxilary Audio” setting to select the microphone that you have plugged into your computer.
If you scroll down, you can also enable the Hotkeys switch to enable Push-to-mute and Push-to-talk for desktop and mic audio.
Now it’s time to record but unfortunately unlike Xbox Games bar, you can’t just open OBS and start recording with a single click.
You have to set “Scene” and add the video source, i.e. app or game to the Scene to record it. But before that, make sure you have run the game or application.
On the main OBS screen, under the Scenes section in the lower left corner, you will see “Scene” is already there. Right click on it and select “Rename”.
Change its name to something like “Screen Capture” which will later help you recognize this scene.
After you’ve renamed your Scene, it’s time to add the source. Click the “+” at the bottom of the “Sources” section to add a video source and you will see lots of options. Depending on what you want to record, choose the one that best suits your needs.
The “Game Capture” option is most suitable for recording game videos. You can also try “Window Capture” to capture a specific window or “Display Capture” to record anything and everything on your screen. Give it the name you want and click “OK”.
Another window will appear named Properties for “Game Capture”. From there, set the “Mode” to “Capture specific window”.
After that, use the “Window” menu to select the app/game window you want to record and click “OK”.
You will notice that a game/app window will appear on the OBS home screen. Now everything is ready and you can start recording by clicking on the “Start Recording” button located at the bottom right side of the window.
Once you have finished recording your screen, you can stop recording by switching back to OBS and pressing “Stop Recording”. To view your recordings, click “File” from the toolbar and select “Show Recordings”. There he is.
That’s how to record screen with audio on Windows 11 PC/laptop using Xbox Game Bar or OBS Studio. I hope this article helped you! Thank you for visiting and don’t forget if you find this article useful, please share it with your friends too.
