Bandicam settings - Video


Use the Video tab to set recording shortcuts, effects, and video and audio formats.

Video tab recording controls, presets, and format settings
  1. Record/Stop Hotkey: Choose a hotkeyview to start or stop recording. » Bandicam shortcuts list
  2. Pause Hotkey: Set a shortcut to pause and resume recording.
  3. Show mouse cursor: Include the mouse cursor in the recorded video.
  4. Add mouse click effects: Display mouse click effects in the video.
  5. Add webcam overlay: Include your webcam image in the video.
  6. Record Settings: Configure sound, webcam, mouse, keystroke, logo, text, and recording options.
  7. Presets: Choose a preset video and audio format.
  8. Format Settings: Adjust the video and audio format.

Recording settings - Sound

Sound recording devices, microphone filter, and secondary sound options
  1. Record sound: Include audio in the recording.
  2. Save audio tracks while recording: Save a separate WAV or MP3 audio file alongside the video.
  3. Speakers: Select a speaker device. Click Setting for Windows sound settings.
  4. Microphone: Select a microphone and adjust its volume. Click Setting for Windows sound settings.
  5. Filter: Convert microphone audio to mono or adjust noise suppression.
  6. Secondary Sound Device: Add another sound device if needed.
  7. Two Sound Mixing: Combine the primary and secondary devices into one audio track.
  8. Push-To-Talk or Push-To-Mute: Use a hotkey to record or mute the secondary sound device.

» Record computer sound and your voice


Recording settings - Webcam

Webcam overlay, separate MP4 recording, and preview settings
  1. Add webcam overlay to video: Include your webcam image in the recorded video.
  2. Save webcam recording as MP4: Save the webcam recording as a separate MP4 file.
  3. Overlay settings: Choose the webcam and adjust its background, shape, position, and size.
  4. Webcam preview: Preview the webcam on screen and set a shortcut to show or hide it. Available only in Game Recording mode.

» Webcam overlay guide


Recording settings - Mouse

Mouse cursor size, click and highlight effects, and click sounds
  1. Show mouse cursor: Include the cursor and adjust its size.
  2. Add mouse click effect: Set the size and colors of left- and right-click effects.
  3. Add mouse highlight effect: Adjust the highlight size, color, and opacity.
  4. Play mouse click sounds while recording: Enable sounds for left or right clicks.

» Mouse effects guide


Recording settings - Keystroke

Keystroke overlay
  1. Add keystroke to video: Show keyboard input in the video. Available only in Screen Recording mode.
  2. Settings: Choose the font size and position.

» Keystroke overlay guide


Recording settings - Logo

Logo overlay
  1. Add logo overlay to video: Include a logo image in the video.
  2. Settings: Choose an image and adjust its opacity, position, and margins.

» Logo overlay guide


Recording settings - Text

Text overlay
  1. Add text overlay to video: Include text in the recorded video.
  2. Text list: Add, edit, or delete text overlays and check the preview.

» Text overlay guide


Recording settings - Options

Recording priority, player, screen capture, countdown, and auto-pause options
  1. Recording priority: Choose Normal, High, or Highest. Higher priority may reduce dropped frames.
  2. Play sound effects when the recording starts or stops: Play a sound when recording starts or stops.
  3. Open video player after recording: Open the Bandicam player when recording ends. This option does not work in Game Recording mode.
  4. Use enhanced capture method: Improve screen recording performance. » Capture method optionsview
    • Auto select method (default): Automatically choose the capture method.
    • Method 1: Available on Windows 8 and above.
    • Method 2: Available on Windows 10 and above.
  5. Exclude Bandicam windows from recording: Keep Bandicam visible on screen but exclude it from the video. » Exclude Bandicam windows
  6. Hide main window during recording: Hide the main window when screen recording starts.
  7. Show countdown timer before recording begins: Choose a countdown from 1 to 10 seconds. The default is 3 seconds.
  8. Auto-Pause Recording: Pause after the selected period of mouse and keyboard inactivity and resume when activity is detected.
  9. Skip recording while frame is not updated: Skip unchanged frames in Game Recording mode. Turn this off when recording microphone audio or a webcam overlay.

Format settings - Presets

Use Presets to quickly select a video and audio format. » How to make 1080p/720p YouTube videos

Video format preset menu

Format Settings - Video

The Format Settings window for Video allows users to change the Video Size, FPS, Codec, Bitrate and Quality.

Chapters:
0:47

Best video codec for game or screen recording

3:47

How to record a video with a smaller file size

5:21

How to record a video with better quality



File type, video size, FPS, codec, quality, and audio format
  1. File Type

    Choose AVI or MP4 as the recording file type.

    • AVI : The video file recorded by Bandicam is saved as an .avi file.
    • MP4 : The video file recorded by Bandicam is saved as an .mp4 file.
  2. Video - Size
    • Full Size: The recording target will be saved in the original size. For example, if your recording target is 1024*768, the recorded video size will be 1024*768.
    • Half Size: The recording target will be saved in half the size. For example, if your recording target is 1024*768, the recorded video size will be 512*384.
    • Fit Width: If you set the width to 1024, the width of the recorded video will always be 1024.
    • Fit Height: If you set the height to 720, the height of the recorded video will always be 720. If you want to upload 720p videos to YouTube, set the height to 720.
    • 320*240: The size of the saved recording target will be 320*240. For example, if your recording target is 1024*768, the recorded video will be 320*240.
    • Custom: You can set your preferred recording video size.
  3. Video - FPS
    • FPS (frames per second): With a higher FPS, you can get a more natural video (smooth motion). 30 FPS is good for recording videos. Movies are normally 24 FPS and TV is 30 FPS. You can set the FPS value up to 1,000 on Bandicam.
    • [VFR/CFR]: If you click the [...] button, you can choose the 'VFR or CFR' option.
  4. Video - Codec

    Codecs are a type of video compression format. If you use a higher compression codec, you can get a small video file, but the video quality might be poor.

    • AV1: Compresses video efficiently to reduce file size. Performance depends on the encoder and hardware.
    • HEVC (H.265): Compresses video more efficiently than H.264, but may not work with some players or editors. Performance depends on the encoder and hardware.
    • H.264: H.264 is one of the most popular codecs for the recording, compression, and distribution of high definition videos. This codec allows you to record the target at high speed, with a high compression ratio and excellent quality.
    • XVID: Compresses video using MPEG-4 Part 2. Performance depends on the encoder and hardware.
    • MPEG-1: An older video compression format. Use it when required by your playback software.
    • Motion JPEG: Compresses each frame as a JPEG image. It can be useful for video editing, but produces large files.
    • YV12: Saves uncompressed video with reduced color detail. Files are large, but smaller than RGB24.
    • RGB24: Saves uncompressed video with full RGB color information, producing very large files.
    • External Codec: If you click the [...] button, you can use the VFW (Video for Windows) codec.
    • VBR/CBR: VBR (Variable bitrate) allows a higher bitrate to be allocated to more complex segments of media files, while less space is allocated to less complex segments. If you check VBR, you can get a better quality-to-space ratio compared to a CBR (Constant bitrate) file of the same data.
    • Bitrate (kbps): Bitrate represents the amount of information. If you uncheck VBR, you can choose bitrate (3.5 Mbit/s: Standard-definition television quality, 9.8 Mbit/s: DVD, 8 to 15 Mbit/s: HDTV quality).

    Related FAQs


  5. Video - Quality (%)

    Choose the recorded video quality. Higher values generally improve quality and increase file size.

Format Settings - Audio

The Format Settings window for Audio allows users to change the Audio Channels, Frequency, Codec and Bitrate.

  1. Audio - Codec
    • AAC: Audio codec used for MP4 recordings.
    • MP2: MP2 (MPEG-1 L2) is a lossy audio compression format and is used as a dominant standard for audio broadcasting. Most media players, including YouTube, support the MP2 audio format.
    • MP3: MP3 (MPEG-1 L3) is one of the most popular audio codecs. MP3 files use lossy compression, which compacts audio drastically, and MP3 is generally more efficient than MP2 at the same bitrate.
    • PCM: PCM (Pulse-code modulation) is an uncompressed audio format and is used as the standard form for digital audio in computers and various Blu-ray, Compact Disc and DVD formats. Other uses include audio for digital telephone systems. You may check the "Save as original format" option to save multi-channel and high-definition audio (96KHz or more.)

    » How to choose the best audio codec

  2. Audio - Bitrate (kbps)

    Higher bitrates generally improve audio quality and increase file size. Available values depend on the codec.

    • AAC: 48-448 kbps
    • MP3: 32-320 kbps

    For reference:

    • 96-128 kbps: Smaller files with lower audio quality.
    • 192 kbps: A balance between audio quality and file size.
    • 256 kbps: Higher audio quality with larger files.
    • 320 kbps: The highest available MP3 bitrate.
  3. Audio - Channels
    • Stereo: Uses two audio channels, left and right.
    • Mono: Mono sound is single-channel. It is used for radiotelephone communications, telephone networks, etc.
  4. Audio - Frequency (Hz) Also known as the sampling rate, frequency is the number of samples per second.
    • 22,050 Hz: Used for lower-quality PCM and MPEG audio
    • 32,000 Hz: Used for television sound in some countries
    • 44,100 Hz: Used for Audio CDs, also most commonly used with MPEG-1 audio (VCD, SVCD, MP3)
    • 48,000 Hz: The standard audio sampling rate used by professional digital video equipment