I need to screen-record some material but don't want it to take up too much space. I've used QuickTime in the past, but the files just end up being ridiculously large. Are there any better options? 

- From Reddit

Similar to the Reddit user above, many Mac users want to record some activities on the screen while using the PC, but they have never found the best recording tool for them. This article brings you 3 solutions on how to screen record on Mac, and each method can help you capture any event on your Mac screen, even including audio and webcam.

Before knowing the detailed solution steps, let's figure out what you can do by screen recording on Mac. Keep reading!

Ⅰ. What Can You Do by Screen Recording on Mac

By learning how to screen record on Mac, you can do the following tasks below:

🎞️Recording Social Media Videos

When you come across your favorite video on social media platforms but find no channel to save it, learn how to screen record on Mac for YouTube, how to record Instagram Story, and how to record screen for Facebook can facilitate you to watch your favorite video content anytime.

🎥Capture Streaming Content

With screen recording, you can use the tool to record streaming videos like movies and TV shows and also record the latest live content from your subscribed streamer on live streaming platforms like Twitch and Vimeo.

🏹Record Gameplay

If you are an experienced gamer, you can always record Resident Evil 4 or other gameplays and use a tool to create your gameplay videos. You can share your great battle scenes in the game with your friends or share the techniques with players worldwide on other media platforms.

📞Capture Video Calls and Zoom Meetings

If you need to have a video call or online meeting with your colleagues in a different location at work, then you can use your Macbook to record Zoom meetings or the whole communication process. This will not only help you record the whole workflow and review the key points of communication at all times but also share the video content with colleagues who can't attend the meeting.

📗Record Online Classes

If you are a student, recording online classes or tutorials that you have access to allows you to record the entire class and keep it as a video learning resource that you can revisit at any time during the review process.

📌Record PPT Presentation

For the colleagues or students who can not attend your live presentation, you can use a screen recorder for Mac to record Powerpoint presentation with audio and video for sharing with them.

In addition to the above examples of several common scenarios that require screen recording, once you master how to screen record on Mac, you can actually record any activity on your screen, whether it's an active window, an application, or anything else you want to capture.

Ⅱ. What to Prepare Before Starting Mac Screen Recording

Before you are ready to learn the four methods of how to screen record on Mac, you will need to refer to the instructions below to prepare for each of them so that you don't get stuck following the tutorial.

Materials

🔎Prepare a properly running iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac mini.

In order to help all Mac users solve the problem of screen recording on Mac, EaseUS provides 3 different screen recording tools. All common Mac models on the market at present can find at least one screen recording tool that can work on them.

Stable Connection

🔎Connect External Appliances to Your Mac, like a microphone or face cam.

If you plan to screen record Macbook Air with Sound, please ensure the microphone is connected stably and set up successfully. Likewise, if you want to record your screen with a face cam, then you need to make sure your webcam stays clear during recording.

Tools

🔎Download or Find EaseUS RecExperts, QucikTime, or ScreenShot on your Mac

These three tools are the screen recording assistants for the three methods that will be introduced below. You can read the specifics below first, choose the approach you think is the best for screen record on Mac according to your exact needs, and download or find the corresponding tool on your Macbook.

Of course, we have also provided you with a brief comparison table so that you can quickly understand the effectiveness and difficulty of operation of the 3 methods.

Methods Effectiveness Difficulty
EaseUS RecExperts  High - Screen Record on Mac with audio/video via 2 clicks Super easy
QuickTime Medium - Offers basic recording functions Easy
Screenshot Medium - Extremely simplified operation but no advanced function Easy

Ⅲ. How to Screen Record on Mac using Free Mac Screen Recorder

🛠️ What to Prepare:
Download and install EaseUS RecExperts
Your Mac runs macOS 10.13 or later
Enough disk space to save your recording

When it comes to how to record screen on Mac, EaseUS RecExperts comes to our mind certainly. As one of the best Mac screen recorder software on the market, this program offers a wide range of advanced tools to improve your recording experience. 

This software is very easy to use because of its friendly UI and intuitive workflow, and even a 6-year-old child can operate it quickly. With its help, you are able to capture any area of your Mac screen flexibly, like the entire screen, custom region, etc. And, it enables you to record screen on Mac with audio (system sound or microphone) simultaneously without installing any plugins. Most importantly, there will be no watermark on your recording!

To conclude, this Mac screen recording tool is suitable for all levels of users and can help deal with most of your daily recording needs!

Now, let's look at the tutorial about how to record a Mac screen:

Step 1. Download and launch EaseUS RecExperts on your Mac. To capture the whole screen, click on the "Full Screen" button from the main interface. If you want to customize the recording area, choose the "Region" button. 

main interface mac

Step 2. To record the screen with audio, hit the Sound icon from the bottom left side of the toolbar. The audio resources can be your external sound or system audio. Based on your needs, enable the target option. 

system sound

Step 3. Before capturing, you can change the output format of the recorded video by clicking "Settings" from the main interface. Then, scroll down the menu of Output format for Video. Choose the output type as you like. 

mac change output format

Step 4. Once done, click the REC button to begin recording. It captures anything displayed on your Mac screen. When you are done, click the Stop button. Then you can watch the recorded video from "Recordings". 

screen record on mac

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Ⅳ. How to Screen Record on Mac using QuickTime

🛠️ What to Prepare
Install QuickTime Player X or higher
Your Mac is running OS X Yosemite (10.10) or later versions
Enough disk space

QuickTime Player is one of many popular video players for Mac users. However, in addition to playing videos, it also doubles as a Mac screen recorder! If your needs are simple and you just need to grab a video recording of your Mac's desktop, this freeware has you covered. Moreover, if you don't know how to enable screen sharing on Mac, you can use this tool to capture what you want and share easily. 

This is, however, a very simple solution with almost no bells or whistles. You can't, for example, easily record your Mac's internal sound in your video. So, remember that it is suitable for those with basic recording needs.

If you want to know the steps about QuickTime screen recording with audio, just take a look at the following guide: 

Step 1. Launch QuickTime Player on Mac. Navigate to "File" > "New Screen Recording".

Start recording

Step 2. Then, a screen capturing window appears, and you can set more options from the arrow-down menu. For instance, choose audio resources and so on. 

Choose audio source

Step 3. When you are ready, you can click the Record button on QuickTime to start capturing.

Step 4. Once you want to stop, you click the Stop button. Or click the "Command-Control-Esc" button. The video is saved on the Mac desktop originally. 

LEARN MORE

🔗Sometimes, you might find that the screen recording on Mac is not working via QuickTime for some reason. At that time, you can choose to screen record on Mac without QuickTime.

Ⅴ. How to Screen Record on Mac using ScreenShot

🛠️ What to Prepare:
Your Mac is running Mojave OS or a more recent macOS
Enough disk space for saving recorded files

ScreenShot is another program that helps you capture screen on Mac. It is a pre-installed screen capture tool on your Mac, which enables you to take a snapshot of your screen. Also, you can easily use this freeware to screen record Mac with shortcut. However, similar to QuickTime, it offers basic tools, and you cannot schedule recording, edit reading in real-time, and more. So, it's usually used widely in dealing with simple tasks.

Before recording, you need first to make sure you have enough disk space to save your recordings! When you are ready, just follow the below steps to start and stop screen recording on Mac by pressing a few keys on your keyboard.

Step 1. Open the window or application you want to capture on your Mac, then press Shift + Command + 5 (or use Launchpad) to open the Screenshot and display the tools.

Mac keyboard

Step 2. Next, select your recording areas, like Entire Screen or Selected Portion, on the floating toolbar. If you choose to record a portion of your screen, you need to click and drag the edges of the box around what you want to capture.

Mac screenshot toolbar

Step 3. Click Options to choose microphone settings if you want to record the screen with audio.

Step 4. When you are ready, click on Record to start your recording. 

Step 5. To stop the Mac screen recording, click the square in circle icon at the top.

Stop Mac recording

Tip
For detailed tutorials, you can move to Apple's official document to learn more information: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac

Ⅵ. What's the Best Way to Screen Record on Mac

The three methods mentioned above are all feasible when you need to screen record on Mac computers. But they are not completely the same. Based on different prerequisites and demands, different solutions are recommended. To help in decision-making, we compared these solutions and selected the best option for different groups of people.

Methods No time limit Auto-recording Customize watermark No lag No black screen Noise reduction
EaseUS RecExperts ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
QuickTime Player ✔️ ✔️
ScreenShot ✔️

Based on the comparison information, we suggest you select your tool as below:

👉🏻EaseUS RecExperts: This solution is most suitable for those people who want an advanced and easy-to-use screen recorder to make a high-quality screen recording video. Especially those who want to record a 4K video, screen record on Mac without lag (especially when recording gameplay), and record without a black screen, etc.

👉🏻QuickTime Player: Suitable for those who need basic screen recording and video editing functions, especially those who have no much experience in this field.

👉🏻ScreenShot: Best for those who only need to record the screen without any extra demands.

Do you think this post is helpful in screen recording on Mac? If so, share it with your friends now!

 

Ⅶ. How to Fix Common Problems from Recording Screen on Mac

Here are some troubleshooting tips for screen recording on Mac.

1️⃣Screen recording on Mac not working?

Generally, you can use the ScreenShot app (Shift + Command + 5 hotkeys) to record your Mac screen. If it doesn't work, make sure to enable the screen recording feature by:

  1. 1. Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight Search. Then, type System Settingsand press Return.
  2. 2. Scroll down to click on Keyboard from the left menu. Then, click on the Keyboard Shortcuts button on the right side.
  3. 3. Click on Screenshots in the pop-up window. Check the keyboard shortcut next to Screenshot and Recording Options.

2️⃣Screen Record on Mac Lag?

Does a lag issue appear while recording gameplay? This is normal because the game may have taken up too much space on your Mac already. Then, how to screen record on Mac without lag? You may try a lightweight third-party screen recorder on your Mac. We suggest you try EaseUS RecExperts.

3️⃣Screen Record on Mac Black Screen?

Sometimes we suddenly find that the screen recording window turn dark. This could happen because of many reasons. To Screen Record on Mac without a black screen, you can turn off all other apps and programs before recording the screen.

4️⃣Screen Record on Mac Background Noise?

If you recorded the microphone along with the screen recording, it is likely that you hear the breathing and other environmental noises when replaying the recording. If you want to screen record without background noise or external audio, try to record the screen without recording the microphone.

5️⃣Screen Recording Can't be Saved on Mac?

If you can record your screen but cannot save the recordings on your Mac, use Disk Utility to repair any inconsistencies with the storage by:

  1. 1. Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight Search. Then, type Disk Utility and press Return.
  2. 2. Click on the First Aid option in Disk Utility. Click on Run to start First Aid.
  3. 3. Click on Continue to confirm your action. Close the window and try again.

Ⅷ. How to Screen Record on Mac FAQs

Check more information related to this post.

1. How do I record my computer screen?

There are many ways to record your computer screen. But the methods vary based on different running systems.

On Windows computer(Use Xbox Game Bar):

Step 1. Press the Windows + G key to wake Xbox Game Bar.

Step 2. Click on the Record button or press the Windows + Alt + R key to start recording.

Step 3. Hit the Stop Recording button to finish.

On Mac computer(Use QuickTime Player):

Step 1. Launch QuickTime Player and navigate to File > New Screen Recording.

Step 2. Click the red button to start recording.

Step 3. Once you want to stop, click the Stop button or press Command-Control-Esc.

2. How do you record a video on a Mac?

If you don't want to download and install anything, QuickTime can help. In the QuickTime Player app on your Mac, choose File > New Movie Recording to start recording quickly.

3. How do I record videos on my Mac without QuickTime?

If you don't want to use QuickTime, try third-party tools like EaseUS RecExperts. To record video on your Mac, just follow the steps below:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS RecExperts on your Mac and click on Full Screen or Region.

Step 2. To record the screen with audio, hit the Sound icon from the bottom left side of the toolbar.

Step 3. Click the REC button to begin recording. When you are done, click the Stop button. Then you can watch the recorded video from Recordings.

4. What can I use instead of QuickTime on my Mac?

There are many tools you can use instead of QuickTime on your Mac. Here's a list:

  • EaseUS RecExperts
  • OBS Studio
  • VLC Media Player
  • ScreenShot app (Shift + Command + 5 hotkeys)

Conclusion

This post gives you three feasible ways to screen record on Mac. Troubleshooting tips are also given. With the third-party program EaseUS RecExperts, you can record the screen on Mac devices (MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac...) with one click. After recording, you can also edit and manage all the recordings as you wish. Tell us if you have more ideas about screen recording on Mac.

If you find this post helpful, don't hesitate to share it with your friends and followers.

 

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Updated by Melissa Lee

Melissa is a sophisticated editor for EaseUS in tech blog writing. She is proficient in writing articles related to screen recording, video editing, and PDF file conversion. Also, she's starting to write blogs about data recovery, disk partitioning, data backup, etc.

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Written by Rel

Rel has always maintained a strong curiosity about the computer field and is committed to the research of the most efficient and practical computer problem solutions.

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