Last updated: 2026-01-18

For most people in the U.S., the easiest way to start screen recording is to use a browser‑based studio like StreamYard that captures your screen, camera, and mic in one place and saves recordings to the cloud. If you need deep encoder control or ultra‑tuned local capture, you can pair that workflow with tools like OBS or quick async apps like Loom.

Summary

• Use a browser studio to record your screen, webcam, and mic without installing heavy software.
• Favor tools that give you clean layouts, presenter notes, and local multi‑track files for editing.
• Choose cloud recording when you care about sharing and backups; use local when you need raw performance.
• StreamYard covers live, pre‑recorded, and multi‑guest sessions in one place, so most users never need a second tool. (StreamYard)

How do you choose the right screen recording workflow?

Before you click any Record button, decide what you’re actually trying to capture:

• Tutorials and demos: You want your screen plus a talking head, clear audio, and simple edits.
• Guest interviews or webinars: You need multiple people on screen, maybe multiple shared screens, with recordings you can repurpose later.
• Long‑form recordings or gameplay: You may care more about bitrates, codecs, and hardware performance.
• Quick async updates: You just want to hit record, send a link, and move on.

A browser‑based studio like StreamYard fits the first two scenarios especially well. You get presenter‑visible screen sharing with controllable layouts, overlays, and notes you can see but your viewers can’t, all from Chrome or Edge. That’s very different from a traditional desktop recorder that simply grabs pixels from your monitor. (StreamYard)

If you’re recording long gameplay sessions or need absolute control over encoding and file formats, OBS as a desktop app lets you tune every detail but expects you to manage CPU/GPU load and storage yourself. (OBS)

How do you record your screen step‑by‑step in StreamYard?

Here’s a straightforward flow that works on most laptops in the U.S. without installing extra software:

1. Create a recording‑only studio
   Open StreamYard in your browser and create a new "Recording" (record‑only) session instead of a live stream. You’ll land in a virtual studio where you can add your camera and mic. (StreamYard)

2. Set up your camera, mic, and notes
   Select the mic and camera you want. Add any private presenter notes so you can see your talking points while you record, but they never appear on screen.

3. Share your screen
   Click "Share" and choose what you want to show: an entire screen, a specific window, or a browser tab. StreamYard supports this directly from the browser on desktop; screen sharing isn’t supported from phones or tablets. (StreamYard)

4. Pick a layout
   Use the layout controls to decide how your screen and camera appear together. For example, you might use a picture‑in‑picture layout with your camera small in the corner, or switch to a full‑screen view during detailed walkthroughs. You can also apply branded overlays and logos live so your recording is ready to publish without heavy editing.

5. Control your audio sources
   Mute or lower your mic when you need moments of silence, and adjust whether your shared screen’s system audio is captured. Independent control of screen and microphone audio is key for clear, presenter‑led recordings.

6. Start and stop the recording
   When you’re ready, click the blue Record button in the upper‑right corner. When you’re done, hit Stop and StreamYard saves the file to your account so you can download, clip, or reuse it. (StreamYard)

Because StreamYard supports local multi‑track recordings per participant on all plans (with a small monthly cap on the free plan and no cap on paid plans), you can later pull clean, separate audio and video files into your editor without rerunning the session. (StreamYard)

How do you record screen and webcam together?

Most people search this exact phrase, and the good news is it’s simple if you pick the right tool.

In StreamYard:

• Add your camera as a primary source.
• Share your screen as a second source.
• Choose a side‑by‑side or picture‑in‑picture layout.
• Add overlays or lower‑thirds while you talk.

You can even record both landscape and portrait compositions from the same session. That means one recording session can feed a YouTube tutorial, a vertical short, and a webinar replay without re‑recording.

If you prefer a desktop app, OBS uses a different mental model. You create a Scene, then add Sources like Display Capture, Window Capture, and Video Capture Device (your webcam). After arranging and resizing those sources, you click Start Recording in the Controls panel and OBS writes a local file to a folder you’ve configured. (OBS)

Loom’s desktop app focuses on quick combined screen‑and‑camera recordings with options like Full Screen, Window, or Custom size, though custom dimensions are only available on paid plans. (Loom)

For many U.S. creators, StreamYard’s studio‑style layout control plus cloud storage strikes a more practical balance than having to manually stack sources in OBS or work around length limits on free Loom plans.

Cloud recordings vs local recordings — which workflow fits your needs?

Cloud‑first (StreamYard, Loom):

• Pros

  • Backups if your laptop crashes mid‑recording.
  • Easier collaboration—just share a link or download the file.
  • Access from any device logged into your account.

• Trade‑offs

  • Your plan usually includes storage limits in hours or video counts, so at some point you’ll archive or delete older content. (StreamYard)
  • You depend on a steady internet connection during recording.

StreamYard combines cloud recordings with optional local multi‑track files, so you get both redundancy and editing flexibility. Loom’s focus is more on quick, async clips; its free Starter plan limits you to 25 videos per person and 5‑minute screen recordings, while paid plans lift those caps. (Loom)

Local‑first (OBS):

• Pros

  • No vendor‑imposed recording caps; you’re mainly limited by your disk space and hardware stability.
  • Deep control over codecs, containers, and bitrates.

• Trade‑offs

  • You’re fully responsible for file management and backups. OBS does not include built‑in cloud storage. (StreamYard)
  • You need a reasonably powerful computer, and tuning settings can take time.

For most everyday tutorials, product demos, and interview‑style recordings, we find people benefit more from a stable cloud + local hybrid like StreamYard than from managing gigabytes of files and encoder settings by hand.

How do you capture system audio during screen recordings?

System (internal) audio is what your computer is playing—YouTube videos, app sounds, or music—not just your microphone.

• In a browser studio like StreamYard:

  • When sharing a browser tab, you can enable audio for that tab.
  • For full‑screen or window capture, you may use your OS’s audio routing or virtual devices if you need more fine‑grained control. The big advantage is you can still keep your mic and system audio on separate tracks via local recordings for cleanup later. (StreamYard)

• In OBS:

  • Add Desktop Audio as a source to capture system sound alongside your mic.
  • Watch your meters so you don’t overpower your voice; everything ends up in a single mixed file unless you set up advanced routing. (OBS)

• In Loom:

  • The desktop client can capture system audio along with your screen and camera when enabled, but long‑form or frequent recordings generally require a paid plan to avoid the Starter caps. (Loom)

If your goal is clear, presenter‑led content, having independent control of mic and screen audio plus multi‑track files is usually more valuable than chasing perfect raw waveforms—and that’s where StreamYard’s recording workflow tends to feel more forgiving.

When does pricing and setup effort start to matter?

At some point you’ll ask, "Is it worth paying for this, or should I just use a free app?"

• OBS is free and open source; there are no license fees to use its recording features, though you do pay in setup time and hardware requirements. (OBS)
• Loom has a free Starter plan, but it caps you at 25 videos and 5‑minute recordings before nudging you toward business pricing per user. (Loom)
• StreamYard offers a free plan plus paid options that unlock more recording and storage, and pricing is per workspace rather than per seat. That means a small team can share one account for live and recording workflows instead of paying individually, which often works out cheaper than per‑user async tools for the same number of people. (Loom)

For many U.S. creators and teams, the trade‑off looks like this: invest a bit in a shared StreamYard workspace, keep recording and live production simple, and then reach for OBS or a Loom‑style async tool only when you truly need those specialized workflows.

What we recommend

• Start with a browser‑based studio like StreamYard for screen + camera recordings that are easy to set up, brand, and reuse.
• Use StreamYard’s local multi‑track recordings and flexible layouts to future‑proof your content for multiple platforms.
• Reach for OBS when you need deep, hardware‑tuned local capture—and accept the extra setup that comes with it.
• Add a lightweight async tool like Loom only if link‑based, one‑off updates are a core part of your communication stack.