AutoScreenRecorder 3 Answers

 General

AutoScreenRecorder has two versions, which one is right for me?

AutoScreenRecorder 3.1 Pro is the advanced version of AutoScreenRecorder with all the necessary tools included for your recording needs. It's fully functional for 15-days and requires to pay fees to get licensed.

AutoScreenRecorder 3.1 Free is a completely free program. It doesn't need a license key and has no expiration date. However, it has limited functionality comparing to the Pro version.

How do I add AutoScreenRecorder to start with Windows automatically?

There are two ways to do this.

[#1] Add when you're installing.
You can re-install AutoScreenRecorder and check "Start automatically when Windows starts up" in the "Destination Location" dialog box. If you reinstall in the same directory, all AutoScreenRecorder settings will not be changed.

To remove the program which was added by this way, remove the program shortcut in the following folder according to your OS,
     [Windows 95/98] {windows folder}\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
     [Windows NT] {windows folder}\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
     [Windows 2000/XP] {windows drive}:\Documents and Settings\{your profile}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

[#2] Add after you've installed.
You can click "Add to Startup" on the "Advanced" tab.

To remove the program which was added by this way, [E.g. AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro]

(1) Press [Windows+E] to show Windows Explorer and find the installed folder where AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro is running from.
     E.g. C:\Program Files\Wisdom-soft AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro
(2) Double-click "Remove AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro from Startup.reg" to set.    

What are the known issues concerning AutoScreenRecorder?

Click here for known issues.

Do you have a step-by-step guide on how to use the features?

Yes. Click here for step-by-step guides.

 Overall Operations

How do I show the main window again?

When the main window is not visible, to show it, you can do any of the following,

How to start AutoScreenRecorder without showing the main window (silent start)?

What's the difference between 'Record Now' and 'Stand By'?

Pressing the 'Record Now' button to record immediately using the current settings. 

Pressing the 'Stand By' button to get ready. The AutoScreenRecorder icon will appear in your Windows system tray.


You can press your hotkey on your keyboard to actually start recording.

Note: To end the program, you need to Exit the program. To Exit means you actually close out the application. To do that, click the "Exit" link in the "Tools" group on the main window. Clicking the top right "x" button on the title bar will not close out the application, that only sets it to the "Stand By" mode.

What is a hotkey?

A hotkey is like a shortcut key, a combination of keyboard strokes that you press on your keyboard to do a task. E.g. the hotkey combination "Ctrl+C", pressing the Ctrl key and "C" key together on your keyboard, is commonly used to copy.

In AutoScreenRecorder, by default, to start recording, the F9 key is the hotkey. That is, you can press "F9" on your keyboard, not on the screen, to start capturing.

If you want to change this key, you can click the hotkey button on the screen and choose any function key or other key combination.

 Recording

There are four factors determining your video size (AVI).
 
(1) Recorded screen size. The bigger the screen, the bigger the size. In most cases, you don't need to record the full screen to get the best video quality. Most video sources broadcast at no more than 640x480 pixels. This means that you can record at 100% (rather than 200% or full-screen), and get great quality. Plus, recording from a smaller video rectangle ensures that AutoScreenRecorder uses less CPU power, and this makes smaller files and greatly reduces the chances of dropped frames and choppy recordings.

(2) Codec (compressor/decompressor) or Compressor. Codec is used to compress video files. AVI is a common "container format" that many different codecs can use. They all result in a compressed AVI video. Generally speaking, 'Microsoft Video 1' has good quality, but the size is large. Some new codec from Microsoft and others, such as XVID, offers smaller size and good quality video. They are mostly free.
You can download a codec package to install, then re-start AutoScreenRecorder (Exit and re-launch). The newly installed codecs will be available from the codec list on the "To" tab.
Note: not all codecs are compatible with AutoScreenRecorder.

(3) Codec native Quality ratio and Image quality factor (1-100).
To adjust codec native quality, click "Codec Option..." on the right.
On the other hand, you can adjust the recording image quality. The higher the image quality, the bigger the file size. Greater than 90 is considered as high quality. In many cases, it's not necessary. Only some codec (compressors) use this value.

(4) Frame rate -- how many frames are save in a second or minute. The higher the frame rate, the bigger the video size. A higher frame rate (between 15 to 50) would help smooth playback, but it has a larger video file size. Larger than 20 is not recommended for normal recording. You can go as low as 1 frame per minute.

If you also convert to a Flash movie file, you can use "Auto-scale" to scale down the Flash movie size.

We recommend that you pick a codec, frame rate and image quality to record a short video, say 1 minute (use the Auto-stop feature) and check the file size of the recorded file. Then you may calculate how much disk space is required for a longer recording.

Note 1: An AVI file cannot exceed 2GB in size. For a long recording, it can be saved to multiple 2G AVI files. By enabling multiple 2G files (click "AVI File Options..." on the "To" tab), you can keep recording as long as your storage disk space allows.
Note 2: When playing the recorded video, make sure the video is not zoomed or resized. Please set the player to 100% or original size, not the player window size to make sure it keeps the video quality.

How to record sound?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

How to record a movie / video screen?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

How come double-click doesn't work when recording?

You can enable double-click by checking "Enable double-click (slow recording)" in the "Recording options" group on the "Advanced" tab. Because enabling double-click will slow down the recording, it is not recommended to check this on until you have to.

What is the image quality factor and how do I use it?

The video image quality factor from 1 to 100, with 1 as the lowest (smallest file size) and 100 as the highest (largest file size). Generally speaking, 80 is an OK quality factor.

If you have a special codec, please make sure to download the player pack as well. If you're not sure, you can use "Microsoft Video 1" as the codec to record.

Click here for more on video quality and size.

Note 1: High image quality (>90) also means slow recording and large video file size. Only some codec (compressors) use this value.
Note 2: When playing the recorded video, make sure the video is not zoomed or resized. Please set the player to 100% or original size, not the player window size to make sure it keeps the video quality.

What is frame rate and how does it work?

Frame rate is the number of still frames displayed per second or FPS. This defines how many pictures (frames) per second a video file contains.
The lower the frame rate, the longer you can record and smaller video file it will make. For video/motion recording, we recommend 8-12 fps, and for demo instructions, 3-10 fps.

AutoScreenRecorder allows to use "frames per minute" as the frame rate. This is for long recording but you need to keep the video size down. E.g. if you set 6 frames per minute, it will save only 6 frames in a minute (1 frame per 10 second) to the video file. This is will keep your long recording file size small.

Note: The higher the frame rate, the smoother the playback will appear but the more processing power and larger file size is required.
15+ fps is considered a high frame rate. A typical value from 8 to 24 fps is used for most purposes. Higher than 20fps is not recommended for normal recording. The North America TV system (NTSC) frame rate is approximately 30 fps and PAL is 25 fps.

My recorded sound gets choppy, why?

The sound is captured while recording. When the PC needs power to process video recording, it could be that sound doesn't get recorded real-time. 

Reasons:

1. When your PC is busy saving video, it doesn't have much time to save audio. E.g. if you set frame rate at 15, your PC will try to save 15 images per second. The time left for saving the audio is reduced.

2. Some Codecs have low sound quality.

3. Recording volume (not Playback volume) maybe too high.

To solve reason #1, #2, you may check the following,

• Reduce the recording screen size, or a powerful machine to record.
  It takes long time to record full-screen. Choose, "Rectangular area" on the "From" tab and only take the needed part of the screen. Adjust the image quality and frame rate factor to be not too high.

• Check "MCI Recording" on the "Sound Recording Options" dialog box.
  It has better sound quality for some sound cards.

• Make sure there's no unnecessary programs running on your PC except AutoScreenRecorder and the target app.

• On the "To" tab, select Codec: "Microsoft Video 1" to try first.

To solve reason #3, you may check the following.

When recorded sound is too loud, it also makes the sound choppy when played back.

• Use the sound recorder to record and test the volume first. Sound recorder can be run from the "Sound Recording Options" dialog.

• Check out the difference between the "Recording Control" volume and "Volume Control" volume.

  • "Recording Control" volume is what's recorded. To get there, click the "Select an Audio Input Device" from the sound options dialog. Make sure the sound volume control title says "Recording Control". This is where you select to record and the volume controls recording.

  • "Volume Control" volume is what you hear. To get there, from the Recording Control dialog above, choose the "Options-->Properties" menu. Then on the "Properties" dialog, choose "Playback" radio button, and click "OK". Now the title bar should say "Volume Control". This is where you select and adjust the sound you hear.

We recommend that you pick a screen size, frame rate and image quality to record a short video, say 10-30 second (use the Auto-stop feature) and check the recorded file to find an optimal combination for your PC.

How do I cancel while recording?

Before recording: Right-click the mouse button or press the Esc key to cancel .
During recording: Press the Cancel hotkey you setup to cancel.

Is it possible to change the recording area after the recording has started?

Yes. During recording, you can move the recording area by moving the recording corner handles (flashing).

My video quality seems low, how come?

How come there is a "zap!" sound at the end of my recorded AVI file?

This is an issue on some sound cards. It may be some difference in the sound card.
You may try one of the following ways,

How do I get rid of the red text on my recorded video?

Xvid has a status window showing up each time I record. How to get rid of that?

For some Xvid versions, there is a status window show up by default each time you record. Here is an example.

You can turn it off by doing as shown in the screenshot,

 Timed recording, auto-recording, sound recording

What are ways to cancel auto-stop when it has started?

The same way as regular canceling. Also you can press the Stop button to save the recording so far to a video file.

I want to record my PC screen at midnight, is it possible?

Yes. You can use the AutoScreenRecorder scheduled recording feature.

What is recurring recording?

You can check "Recurring" in the "Use timer" group on the "From" tab to start recording periodically.

It is available only when 'Active window', 'Fixed area', 'Specific window' or 'Full screen' is selected. When checked, 'Start at' is not available.

You can set to record weekly, days in a week, or choose a day in the month, at certain intervals.

How do I set up to record automatically when a user logs in to a PC?

You can use the Timer feature to set up your PC to record automatically when a user, such as an employee or your child, logs in to a PC, or just to monitor your PC activities.

To set up,

(1) Make sure AutoScreenRecorder will start automatically when your Windows startup or logged in. Click here for how.
(2) On the "From" tab, pick "Record What" from "Active window", "Fixed area", "specific window", or "Full screen".
(3) Check "Use Timer". Then, check "Start at" and pick any date/time before s/he will login. Check "Auto-stop" in case you want it to stop automatically after a certain length of recording.
(4) Change any options you want on the "To" tab.

The setup is now complete. You can exit AutoScreenRecorder, and close your Windows.

 Saving / Flash movies / Playing

What is the automatic file naming feature. How do I use it?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

When I choose to save into a Flash movie file, how many files are generated?

AutoScreenRecorder will generate the Flash movie file (.SWF) after the AVI file is recorded. Along with the Flash movie file, an HTML file is also created that you can use to publish the SWF file to the internet.

So, if your file name is "MyScreen_01", the files created are:

• MyScreen_01.avi

• MyScreen_01.swf

• MyScreen_01.htm (may be .html, depending on the "HTML File extension" option you choose on the "Flash File Options" dialog on the "To" tab.)

How do I publish the recorded Flash movie (SWF) to my website?

Here are the steps to publish the Flash movie (SWF) to your HTML page, Eg. MyWeb.htm,

• Modify your HTML page
  The generated .htm (or .html, Eg. AutoScreenRecorder_01.htm) file has the HTML code you need to publish to the web. You can use the file directly, or copy & paste the HTML code to your HTML page, MyWeb.htm.
  

• Upload the HTML page and SWF file
  Upload the SWF file to the same location as that of MyWeb.htm. If you changed the Flash file location, make sure the HTML code in MyWeb.htm points to that location.

Do I need to buy the Flash program in order to view the recorded Flash movie file?

No. An AutoScreenRecorder generated .SWF file is a fully functional Flash movie file. It only requires a Flash viewer to view on the internet. The viewer is free and automatically downloaded by your browser.

How to re-generate the Flash movie?

Open the AVI in AutoScreenRecorder Video Editor. Double click the video or click the Edit button on the toolbar to show the Video Editor Dialog to trim if you need.

In the Video Editor, choose "Export to SWF..." from the "File" menu.

How come Windows Media Player can't play my recorded AVI file?

It might be the codec (compressor) you selected ( on the 'To' tab ) to record is not supported by Media Player.

Codec is used to compress video files. AVI is a common "container format" that many different codecs can use. They all result in a compressed AVI video. Generally speaking, 'Microsoft Video 1' has good quality, but the size is large. Some new codec from Microsoft and others, such as XviD, offers smaller size and good quality video. They are mostly free.

You can try the following to get around,

(1) Save the AVI again from AutoScreenRecorder Video Editor, using another codec.



(2) Download the codec patch for Media Player and install.

(3) To find the AVI file codec information, right-click the file in Windows Explorer.

I got some problems running a big SWF file. What are the limitations?

It does have some limitations in the SWF file when converting an AVI to SWF file.

Here are some highlights from Adobe, the standard holder,

• The entire video file must fit into the local memory of the playback system.

• After approximately 120 seconds of continuous video playback, users may experience audio synchronization problems.

• File length is limited to a maximum duration of no greater than 16,000 frames.

Click here for details. (Look for "Embedding video within SWF files")

How to use Movie Maker and how do I convert an AVI file to WMV?

Windows Movie Maker is a free program from Microsoft to make movies and DVDs. It comes with your OS package and you can install, or you can download the latest version online. Once it's installed on your PC, you can launch it from the Windows Start or run it directly from AutoScreenRecorder Pro found in the "Tasks" panel.

Click here for more on how it works.
 

To convert an AVI file to WMV, here are two ways,

[1] Use Windows Movie Maker

(1) Run Movie Maker from AutoScreenRecorder's Tasks panel or from your Windows.
(2) Import your recorded video clips (AVI) into the Movie Maker's collection.
(3) Drag your clip to the timeline window at the bottom of the Movie Maker.
(4) Click "3. Finish Movie" in Movie Maker, and choose "Save to my computer".

[2] Use Windows Media Encoder 9

You can use the free Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9 to convert AVI files to WMV format. You can download Windows Media Encoder 9 and use it for free:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx

Here is a screenshot where in the Media Encoder you can convert your AVI files:
 

 Video Editing

How to trim my recorded video?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

How to re-record sound?

Open the AVI in AutoScreenRecorder Video Editor.

Choose "Remove Audio" from the "Edit Audio" menu, that will clear the current audio on the video.

Choose "Add Audio Wave File..." from the "Edit Audio" menu and add your .WAV file to the video. If you need a new sound file, choose "Record Sound..." and record your sound. You may want to choose "Select Audio Input Device..." to make sure the sound source, such as from your speakers or microphone.

Can I extract a part of video, sound or images from the video?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

How come my file is bigger after I saved from Video Editor?

It's because the video may be not compressed. It is a known issue before version '3.0.309 Pro'. From version '3.0.311 Pro', a dialog box is added to show the available codec and you can pick to compress again.

Using this flexibility, you can choose a different codec to compress your record video later to find which one works better for you or, compress again when a new codec is available. More...

How to create a long video or DVD from my recorded video clips?

You can use Microsoft Movie Maker that comes free with your Windows, to create a long video or DVD. Click here on how to use Movie Maker.

[On Windows XP]
(1) Make sure you have the latest version of Movie Maker installed. Click here to download.
(2) Run Movie Maker and import your recorded video clips (AVI) into Movie Maker's collection.
(3) Split clips into multiple pieces and recombine them in any way you want at the bottom of the Movie Maker window.
(4) Click here to see how to save to another format.

[On Windows Vista]
Because Windows Vista comes with Window DVD Maker, click here to make your DVD.

[On Windows 7]
Movie Maker does not come on the OS DVD of Windows 7.
Instead, it's free and you can download from the Microsoft "Windows Live Essentials" site.
It has been enhance for video editing and publishing.

 Others

I'm a developer, how to use AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro from my program?

To run AutoScreenRecorder from your program, you can find AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro program location in Registry. You also can use commend line switches to run AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro from your program.

[To find AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro program]

Key    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wisdom-soft\AutoScreenRecorder\Options
Item  Program

[Command line switches]

To run AutoScreenRecorder without human intervention, in the "Record What" group, you can choose "Active window", "Fixed area", "Specific window", or "Full screen". And you can use Auto-stop to stop automatically. Also, check "Hide the main window on startup..." on the "Advanced" tab if you don't want to show the main window.