The laptop I’ll be recording them with is running Windows 11 Pro.

Not loving the ‘Camera’ app that comes stock with Windows.

Tried recording just with my cellphone, but ran into issues with audio quality and battery life. I have an old webcam, and just ordered a tiny bluetooth microphone that I’m hoping to either plant near or literally pin onto the prof if they’re cool with it.

Not looking for anything fancy… ability to choose both video and audio device, record/pause, and save so that I can upload to YouTube and forward it to the class. (side question… best video format for this?).

Not really familiar with this kind of software… I recall one of my gaming buddies being a fan of OBS Studio, but unsure if that’s just on-screen capture for gaming/streaming or if it can do webcam-only too - DL’ing right now to experiment. In the mean time, taking all suggestions!

Thanks, all!

Edit -

Took about 5 mins to get all the shit on my wishlist figured out in OBS (https://obsproject.com/), and if my dumb ass can figure it out that quick, that is some GOOD software!! Kinda wish I’d have tried first before asking, but was not expecting it to be that easy. I’ll leave the thread up just incase its helpful for someone else later.

  • @Kethal
    2•4 months ago

    It’s easy enough to record using Zoom. Start a meeting with only yourself. I’ve used OBS too and it’s fine, but not necessary if you’re just looking to record something simple.

    You’ll almost certainly want something to edit the videos. Rather than trying for a perfect take, if i flubbed something I would start over from a convenient place and edit out the bad part. I hated Adobe Premiere. Reaper isn’t really ideal for this stuff, but at least it isn’t Premiere. I dont remember if OBS had anything. LightWorks was OK.

    You’ll want a good mic. Although lapel mics are ideal for your use, Bluetooth tends to suck. This webcam has an OK mic. https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/webcams/c920s-pro-hd-webcam.960-001257.html

    For unrelated reasons, I had an audio interface (Scarlett 4i4) and a cardiod mic (MXL 770). The Scarlett is very nice. I don’t love the 770, but it’s better tham a webcam. These are not critical but if you plan to do this a lot, these would make it sound noticably better, and maybe someone has a better mic recommendation, and again lapel would be perfect for lectures. Somewhere I got a baffle like this for $20 to $30. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1116780-REG/primacoustic_p300_0101_voxguard_vu_vocal.html

    It makes a difference and for a low price it’s nice to have if you aren’t using a lapel mic. I wouldn’t pay $100 for one.