Last updated: 2026-01-13

For most people in the U.S., the easiest way to screen record—especially with your camera, good audio, and guests—is to use StreamYard’s browser-based studio and download the recording afterward. If you only need solo, one-off clips or highly customized local capture, native tools, OBS, or Loom can also work.

Summary

• Use StreamYard when you want fast, high‑quality, presenter-led recordings (solo or with guests) without installing software.
• Use native Mac/Windows tools for quick, solo captures without overlays or layouts.
• Use OBS for deeply configurable, hardware‑tuned local recordings.
• Use Loom for fast, single‑user async clips with instant share links for teams.

What is screen recording and what do you actually need?

When someone types "how to screen record," they usually don’t want a dozen apps and file formats. They want something that:

• Captures what’s on screen clearly.
• Includes their voice (and sometimes camera).
• Doesn’t crash or require a YouTube‑length tutorial just to get started.

Screen recording simply means capturing video of your screen, often with system audio, microphone audio, and optionally your webcam.

Where things differ is workflow:

• Native tools (Mac, Windows) are great for quick solo captures.
• StreamYard gives you a browser studio: layouts, branding, multi‑participant recording, local multi‑track files, and exportable video—without installing software.
• OBS gives you full control over encoding and scenes but asks more from your hardware and your patience.
• Loom focuses on quick async clips with a shareable link and lightweight viewer.

If you care about presenter‑led content, high‑quality output, and reusing the footage across many channels, a studio workflow like StreamYard tends to pay off quickly.

How do you screen record on Windows 11 (including system audio)?

On Windows 11, you have a couple of built‑in options plus browser‑based studios.

Option 1: Use the built‑in Windows tools

Windows 11’s modern path for screen recording runs through the Photos/Clipchamp experience.

Basic built‑in flow (no install):

1. Press Windows key and search for Clipchamp (pre‑installed on many Windows 11 machines).
2. Open Clipchamp and choose Create a video.
3. Click Record & create → Screen and camera.
4. Select the screen or window, then choose whether to include camera and microphone.
5. Hit Record, perform your demo, then stop.
6. Trim if needed and export the video.

Microsoft also documents a Snipping Tool method for simple recordings that’s enough for quick captures but limited for longer, polished content. (Microsoft Support)

Built‑in tools are fine for short, solo videos. Once you want multiple people, reusable branded layouts, or separate tracks, they start to feel cramped.

Option 2: Screen record in the browser with StreamYard

If you’d rather skip installs and still look professional, you can record your screen directly in the browser using StreamYard’s studio.

A simple workflow:

1. Create a free account at StreamYard.
2. Click Create → Recording to open a studio without going live.
3. Choose your camera and microphone.
4. Click Share → Screen and pick your window, tab, or full display.
5. Arrange your layout so the screen is prominent and your camera is picture‑in‑picture.
6. Check that screen audio and microphone audio levels look good—the two are independently controllable.
7. Hit Record and walk through your demo.
8. Stop recording and download the file from your dashboard.

On paid plans, you can enable local multi‑track recordings, which give you separate files for each participant’s audio and video—useful if you plan to edit in tools like Premiere or Final Cut later. (StreamYard Support)

For most Windows 11 users who want more than a quick clip, this browser‑based studio route is simpler than juggling desktop encoders and audio routing.

How do you screen record on macOS with microphone audio?

macOS has one of the cleaner built‑in flows for basic screen recordings, but it still leaves a gap once you want layouts and guests.

Option 1: Use macOS’s built‑in screen recording

On recent versions of macOS, you can trigger the native recording overlay with a single shortcut.

To make a basic screen recording on Mac:

1. Press Shift + Command (⌘) + 5.
2. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion.
3. Click Options to pick a microphone if you want narration.
4. Click Record.
5. When finished, click the Stop button in the menu bar.
6. The recording appears as a thumbnail; click to preview and save it.

Apple documents this workflow—including how to select microphones and defaults—on its support page. (Apple Support)

This is perfect for simple walkthroughs, but it doesn’t give you overlays, guest video, or speaker‑focused layouts.

Option 2: Use StreamYard for presenter‑led Mac recordings

If you’re on a Mac laptop and want to level up your recordings without installing software, a StreamYard studio works the same way it does on Windows:

1. Open your browser and enter your StreamYard studio.
2. Choose your mic and camera.
3. Use Share → Screen to pick a window, browser tab (great for web apps), or full desktop.
4. Pick a layout that keeps you visible—your audience sees a human guiding them, not just a cursor.
5. Add branded overlays, logos, or lower thirds if you want to match your channel or company branding.
6. Keep presenter notes open in the studio so you have a script only you can see.
7. Record, then download the finished file and any local tracks if you enabled them.

Because everything runs in the browser, this workflow is friendly to typical Mac laptops and avoids the classic “I just broke my audio by installing a virtual driver” problem that can happen with complex setups.

How do you record multiple participants with separate tracks?

This is where “how to screen record” turns into “how to run a remote show and still have clean audio for editing.”

Imagine you’re recording a product walkthrough with two PMs and a designer, and you know you’ll want to cut it into social clips later. The key needs are:

• Everyone’s camera.
• A shared screen or two.
• Clean, separate audio tracks.
• A layout that looks intentional, not like a random video call screenshot.

Using StreamYard for multi‑participant recordings

At StreamYard, this is a primary use case: you open a studio, invite guests, and record without going live.

Key capabilities that help here:

• Multi‑participant studios: bring several guests into one recording session.
• Multi‑participant screen sharing: guests can share their own screens for collaborative demos.
• Local multi‑track recordings: each host/guest can be recorded on their own device, producing separate high‑quality audio and video files per participant. (StreamYard Support)
• Layout control: switch between screen‑first, speaker‑first, or tiled views.
• Both landscape and portrait outputs: you can frame your content so it’s reusable for YouTube, LinkedIn, and vertical platforms from a single session.

Free users get a capped amount of local recording each month, while paid users can record locally without a set hour limit, within the constraints of their devices. (StreamYard Support)

For many creators and teams, this studio‑style recording is simpler than trying to stitch together audio from multiple call apps and screen captures.

Comparing OBS and Loom for multi‑participant workflows

You can approximate this workflow with other tools, but the path is less direct:

• OBS can capture multiple sources and scenes, and it’s widely used for both recording and live streaming. (OBS Project) To get multiple remote people in, you typically combine OBS with another app (video calls, NDI, virtual cameras) and manage all the routing yourself.
• Loom focuses on one primary recorder sharing their own screen with a camera bubble and link‑based sharing; it’s not built around multi‑guest live studios in the same way. (Loom Pricing)

For most people who just want “bring my guests in and record us with a shared screen,” the dedicated browser studio in StreamYard is the most direct route.

OBS vs StreamYard: which recording workflow should you choose?

If you’re more technical, you might be weighing OBS against StreamYard. The right choice depends on what you value more: control or speed and collaboration.

When OBS is a good fit

OBS Studio is free, open‑source desktop software for recording and live streaming. (OBS Project) You install it on Windows, macOS, or Linux and build scenes from sources like:

• Display capture (entire screen).
• Window capture (a single app). (OBS Quick Start)
• Webcams, images, and more.

You can:

• Tune encoders and bitrates.
• Choose formats like MP4 or MKV (MKV is recommended to avoid corruption on crashes). (OBS Wiki)
• Drive overlays and plugins.

The trade‑offs:

• You manage CPU/GPU load and disk space yourself.
• There’s more setup and a steeper learning curve.
• Multi‑participant recordings require external tools and routing.

OBS is useful if you love tinkering, demand precise control, and are okay spending time on configuration.

When StreamYard is a better default

A StreamYard studio takes a different angle: instead of a blank canvas with dozens of encoder options, you get a curated browser‑based environment that focuses on presenter‑led content.

From a recording perspective, you can:

• Capture screen + camera with fully controllable layouts.
• Control screen audio and microphone audio independently.
• Apply branded overlays, logos, and lower thirds while you record.
• Invite guests and record local multi‑track files suitable for post‑production.
• Keep presenter notes visible only to you.
• Shape sessions for both landscape and portrait reuse from the same recording.

Because it all runs in the browser, you avoid the heavier hardware demands of a desktop encoder and reduce the risk of “it worked on my machine yesterday but not today.” Many creators and teams prefer trading some low‑level control for that kind of reliability.

And unlike user‑based pricing models, StreamYard pricing is per workspace, which tends to be more cost‑effective once you involve a team. Loom, by contrast, uses per‑user pricing for its paid plans. (Loom Pricing)

Quick screen recordings and instant sharing with Loom

Sometimes you just want to answer a question with a 2‑minute video instead of a 10‑paragraph email. That’s where Loom can be handy as part of your toolkit.

How Loom handles screen recording

Loom offers screen and audio capture on macOS, Windows, and through a Chrome extension. (Loom Screen Recorder) A typical workflow looks like this:

1. Install the Loom desktop app or Chrome extension.
2. Click the Loom icon and choose Screen only or Screen and camera.
3. Pick your microphone and whether to include system audio.
4. Hit Start recording and walk through your explanation.
5. Stop recording; Loom automatically uploads the video and gives you a shareable link.

On its dedicated screen recorder page, Loom notes that free recordings are 720p, with upgrades available for HD or 4K quality. (Atlassian Loom Screen Recorder)

The main strength here is link‑first sharing inside tools like Slack, Jira, and email—less so multi‑person, layout‑driven production.

Where Loom fits alongside StreamYard

If you already plan to run your main demos, webinars, and series in a StreamYard studio, Loom can still sit alongside as a quick‑note tool for internal communication.

Typical split:

• StreamYard: flagship content, public‑facing demos, interviews, courses, multi‑participant sessions, branded layouts.
• Loom: ad‑hoc updates, quick bug reports, async feedback, internal walkthroughs.

Because Loom’s free tier has time and video‑count limits, many teams end up upgrading or leaning more heavily on studio recordings they can repurpose across channels. (Loom Help)

How should you choose the right screen recording setup?

Here’s a practical way to decide what to use without overthinking it.

Ask three questions:

1. Is this content one‑off or reusable?

   • One‑off internal walkthroughs: native tools or Loom are fine.
   • Reusable content (courses, public demos, social clips): a studio‑style workflow like StreamYard pays off quickly.

2. Is it just you, or are there guests?

   • Just you: native tools, Loom, StreamYard, or OBS all work.
   • Guests or panel: StreamYard’s multi‑participant studio is typically the most straightforward.

3. How much do you want to edit later?

   • Light trimming: any tool works.
   • Heavy editing and remixing: StreamYard’s local multi‑track files or OBS’s local recordings paired with an editor are useful. (StreamYard Support)

In practice, many teams end up with a simple stack:

• StreamYard for anything that might go public or be reused.
• Loom or native tools for throwaway internal clips.
• OBS if someone on the team enjoys deeper tinkering or heavy gaming‑style recording.

What we recommend

• Default to StreamYard for presenter‑led, high‑quality screen recordings—especially when you have guests, need separate tracks, or plan to reuse content.
• Use native Mac/Windows tools or Loom for quick solo clips that don’t need branding or multi‑participant layouts.
• Bring in OBS when you specifically need deep encoder control and are comfortable managing hardware and settings.
• Keep your workflow outcome‑focused: choose the simplest tool that reliably produces the quality and flexibility you need, then standardize on it for your team.