Last updated: 2026-01-15

For most people in the U.S. who want clean, presenter‑led recordings across two screens, start with StreamYard: it’s browser‑based, built around dual‑monitor screen sharing, and ready for reuse without complex setup. If you need deep encoder control or pure local capture, add OBS to your toolkit; if you just want quick one‑off clips from a single screen, Loom can cover that niche.

Summary

• StreamYard is built around presenter‑visible screen sharing and works especially well with two-monitor setups. (StreamYard Help Center)
• You can record screen, camera, and guests in one browser studio, with local multi‑track files for post‑production. (StreamYard Support)
• OBS offers powerful multi‑display capture but expects more technical setup and strong local hardware. (OBS Studio)
• Loom focuses on simple async videos and, on desktop, records only one monitor at a time, which is limiting for true dual‑monitor workflows. (Loom Support)

What does “screen recording optimized for dual monitors” really mean?

When people say they want screen recording for dual monitors, they’re usually after outcomes, not specs:

• Being able to present from one screen while keeping notes, chat, or tools on the other.
• Switching between windows on either display without breaking the recording.
• Keeping the presenter on camera while the screen takes center stage.
• Ending up with high‑quality files that are easy to reuse, clip, and share.

That’s exactly the workflow our studio supports. Screen sharing in StreamYard is designed around picking a specific display, window, or tab, and our own documentation even notes that screen sharing works best when you have two monitors. (StreamYard Help Center)

In practice, “optimized for dual monitors” is less about a magic feature and more about:

• How intuitive it is to choose and manage displays.
• How easy it is to keep your notes and controls off the recording.
• How reliably the recording holds up on a typical laptop.

How does StreamYard handle dual‑monitor screen recording?

In StreamYard, you join a browser‑based studio, pick what you want to share, and control layouts live. That setup is naturally friendly to two‑monitor users.

Here’s what that looks like in a typical scenario:

• Monitor 1 (Recording/Stream side): Full‑screen browser window with your StreamYard studio. You see your camera, your shared screen, your guests, and your layouts.
• Monitor 2 (Work side): The app or slides you’re actually sharing, plus any reference docs, scripts, or presenter notes.

Key capabilities that matter for dual‑monitor recording:

• Presenter‑visible screen sharing and layouts. You can choose which display or window to share, then pick a layout that prioritizes your screen or your camera. The studio makes it obvious what’s currently live.
• Independent audio control. You can control mic and system audio separately, so you’re free to play sound from your second monitor without accidentally overwhelming your narration.
• Local multi‑track recordings. On all plans, local recording can capture high‑quality individual audio and video tracks from each participant, which is ideal if you’re cutting a polished tutorial or course later. (StreamYard Support)
• Landscape and portrait from the same session. You can design layouts that work for YouTube, LinkedIn, or TikTok‑style vertical repurposing without having to re‑record.
• Live branding. Overlays, logos, and lower‑thirds are applied in real time, which means your dual‑monitor recording already looks like a finished product rather than raw capture.
• Presenter notes only you see. Keep scripts or talking points in the studio or in a hidden window on your second monitor; they never appear in the recording unless you choose to share that screen.
• Multi‑participant screen sharing. Guests can share their own screens, and you can switch between them, making dual‑monitor product walkthroughs or side‑by‑side comparisons straightforward.

For most U.S. creators, educators, and teams, that combination—studio layouts plus dual‑monitor awareness—covers the real‑world meaning of “optimized.”

Can StreamYard record or share two monitors simultaneously?

This is a common follow‑up question.

Today, you choose what to share in the studio—a specific display or window—and build your layout around that. Our docs emphasize that screen sharing works best with two monitors, but they don’t promise recording two separate full‑screen displays as two independent sources at the same time. (StreamYard Help Center)

What people usually want, though, is slightly different: they want to work across two monitors while the audience sees a single, clean view. StreamYard is strongly aligned with that:

• You can work on both monitors freely.
• You pick the monitor or window that goes to the recording.
• You keep controls and clutter tucked away on the other display.

If you truly need two distinct monitors recorded as separate streams (for example, a game on one, a live coding window on another, both full‑screen), that’s where a local encoder like OBS becomes useful as a complement. For everyone else, the single‑output, dual‑monitor‑friendly studio experience is simpler and more reliable.

How does OBS handle dual‑monitor recording?

OBS is powerful desktop software for video recording and live streaming. It lets you build scenes from multiple sources—display capture, window capture, cameras, images—and record them locally with fine‑grained control. (OBS Studio)

For dual‑monitor setups, OBS can:

• Capture each display as its own source.
• Combine displays in a single canvas.
• Switch scenes to change which monitor is on screen.

This is great if you’re comfortable:

• Installing and maintaining a desktop app.
• Tuning encoder settings and bitrates.
• Monitoring CPU/GPU usage during long recordings.

There are a few caveats you should know:

• OBS’s own issue tracker documents edge cases where Windows display‑duplication fails to capture a display that’s connected while OBS is already running. (GitHub issue)
• Community guidance notes that, on some laptops, you need OBS running on the integrated GPU to use Display Capture reliably, which can confuse non‑technical users. (OBS Forum)

For a pure dual‑monitor power‑user workflow—especially offline gameplay or complex multi‑screen layouts—OBS is a strong addition. For most teams just trying to record a presenter and a product demo across two displays, the additional complexity doesn’t always pay off compared to a browser studio.

Does Loom support recording both displays at the same time?

Loom is popular for quick async videos: you hit record, capture your screen with a camera bubble, and share a link. That model works well for fast one‑off walkthroughs rather than long dual‑monitor sessions.

On multi‑monitor setups, Loom’s own support documentation is clear:

• You can choose which display to record.
• It is not possible to record two monitors at once or switch between monitors while recording. (Loom Support)
• On Windows, Loom does not support setups with more than two monitors. (Loom Support)

Loom’s recording quality and limits also vary by plan. Starter users can pick resolutions up to 720p, while higher resolutions (including 4K on desktop) are reserved for paid plans. (Loom Support)

So if your top priority is quick, single‑monitor async updates inside tools like Slack or Jira, Loom can be useful. But if your real need is polished, presenter‑led dual‑monitor demos or multi‑participant sessions, you’ll probably outgrow those constraints quickly.

How do pricing and collaboration differ for teams in the U.S.?

If you’re evaluating tools for a team, it’s worth looking at how pricing maps to real collaboration.

With Loom, pricing is per user, per month; the free Starter plan includes 25 videos and a 5‑minute screen recording limit, while paid plans move to unlimited recording time and storage. (Loom Pricing)

At StreamYard, we structure plans per workspace instead of per individual, which usually ends up being more affordable for U.S. teams that want multiple people recording, hosting, or collaborating in the same studio. You can get started on a free plan, use a 7‑day free trial for paid features, and there are often first‑year offers on annual pricing for new users.

Because our studio is built for multi‑participant sessions and reusable, branded recordings, a single workspace can serve a whole team running webinars, product demos, internal trainings, and podcast‑style shows.

When should you choose each tool for dual‑monitor recording?

A practical way to think about it:

• Choose StreamYard as your default if you want an in‑browser studio that is friendly to two‑monitor workflows, with presenter‑visible layouts, local multi‑track recordings, and live branding in one place.
• Add OBS if you’re a technical user who needs deep control over encoders, formats, and multi‑display compositions, and you’re willing to manage hardware and settings.
• Use Loom as a supplement for quick, single‑monitor async clips where link‑based sharing matters more than multi‑screen control.

Many teams actually combine them: record polished, branded dual‑monitor sessions in StreamYard, capture specialized local footage in OBS when needed, and lean on Loom for quick, informal status updates.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard for most dual‑monitor recording needs: presenter‑led demos, interviews, and trainings that look polished out of the box.
• Use your second monitor for notes, tools, and backstage controls while recording a clean primary display through the studio.
• Bring OBS into the mix only if you hit specific advanced local‑recording requirements that truly need that extra configuration.
• Treat Loom as a lightweight add‑on for simple, single‑screen async videos rather than your main dual‑monitor recording workflow.