So, you want to screen record YouTube videos on your computer. Technically, it’s easy. However, from the legal standpoint, there are a couple of nuances you should keep in mind. Let’s start with these nuances and then move on to the technical part of the tutorial.

Things to keep in mind before recording videos on YouTube

YouTube is rather strict about copyright law. That means it’s forbidden to bluntly copy content from YouTube for further usage and distribution. On the other hand, if your purposes are creative or educational – meaning that you’re only using fragments of the original video and add your comments, teaching elements, research findings, or criticism – the copyrighted materials may be considered acceptable based on the doctrine of fair use.

This is exactly why many reaction videos and memes are remaining unpunished by the platform.

We also suggest that you read the 4 factors of fair use. These factors elaborate on the doctrine and explain, for instance, that you can’t gain profit from the video you produce by recording someone else’s video on YouTube. You also can’t prevent the copyright owner from gaining profit from their original work.

That being said, we have no right to provide any legal advice on copyright law. So, if you’re in doubt, you should talk to your lawyer.

How to record a YouTube video using VSDC Free Screen Recorder

If you’ve decided to proceed, you should first download the VSDC screen recorder. It’s a completely free screen recorder for Windows that allows for saving recorded videos in high quality.

Once you have a clear idea of what exactly you need to record, open the video at the required moment, select the highest quality, check the sound and subtitles. Then follow the suggested steps below.

Step 1. Select the area you want to capture

Launch the VSDC Screen Recorder on your PC. The VSDC dashboard is very straightforward: all the key tools are accessible right on the main panel.

The four screen capturing modes help you select the area on the screen you want to capture. The bottom-left button activates the full-screen capturing mode; the rest of the options allow you to select the desired area either manually or via resolution-based presets.

Quick tip. By default, all screen recordings are saved in the original resolution, at a 30 fps rate and about 50% of the original quality. These parameters are considered optimal, so they are pre-selected by default. If you want to change them, open the settings, switch to Export, and set the desired configuration.

Step 2. Record the video from YouTube

Once you’ve selected the screen capture area, all you need is to hit Start recording – then hit the play button on YouTube.

If you want to record the video in a full-screen mode, select the full-screen capturing mode first and hit Start recording; then open the full-screen playback mode on YouTube and hit Play.

Quick tip. You can record a YouTube video and your webcam video at the same time – which is quite handy if you’re creating a reaction video. To do that, enable the camera feature on the dashboard before starting the recording. Read a more detailed tutorial here.

Step 3. Watch the result and make edits

Once you stop recording, the video goes straight to the folder indicated on the panel. You can open the output folder right from the program.

To cut out the unwanted pieces of footage, you can use the VSDC Free Video Editor. It will also work well if you need to place text, add music, overlay an image or another video. Find a list of video editing guides here.

Download VSDC Free Screen Recorder

If you need to record your computer screen, chances are, you’re working on a gameplay, software tutorial, reaction video, or business presentation. This means at some point, you might also need additional features, such as drawing or the ability to connect your webcam and microphone. VSDC Free Screen Recorder has it all, and it allows for saving output videos in ultra-high quality.

Below, we’ll show you how to record your computer screen in VSDC. Feel free to watch the video tutorial or jump straight to the text guide.

Before getting started, make sure to download the latest version of VSDC Free Screen Recorder to your computer.

Decide if you want to record the entire screen or a part of it

VSDC Screen Recorder enables you to record your computer screen using 4 different screen capture modes. Once you’ve launched the program, you’ll see these modes right at the top left corner of the dashboard.

The default mode enables full-screen capturing; the remaining modes enable you to capture a selected area of the screen. We’ll show you the difference between these modes below.

How to record the entire screen

To record the entire computer screen, keep the default capturing mode activated and hit Start recording when you’re ready. As soon as you see the indication that the recording has started, minimize the recorder’s window to remove the dashboard from the screen.

Keep in mind that when you select the fullscreen mode, everything on the screen, including the taskbar at the bottom or the browser tabs at the top, will be recorded.

How to record a part of your desktop screen

If you want to record a part of your computer screen, you can manually draw the capturing frame on the screen or select one of the resolution presets with a right mouse-click. Once you’re ready, hit Start recording to begin capturing the area within the frame.

Notice that you can stop recording using the corresponding icon at the top or the Stop recording button on the main dashboard.

How to record the area around your cursor

The last mode enables you to capture a custom-size area around your cursor. This means you can set up the resolution of the capturing frame and that frame will be following the cursor during the recording process. This is what the resulting video will look like:

Want to make your cursor invisible in the output video? Then disable cursor visibility using the corresponding button on the dashboard. This feature works for all screen capturing modes. This is a great example of how to draw on a screen while recording.

Use the highlighter while recording your computer screen

While you’re recording your screen, you can use the drawing tool to drive the attention of your viewers to the important details and highlight certain areas, objects, or buttons. To activate the drawing tool, hit the pencil icon at the top, then select the color and thickness of the drawing line.

Keep in mind that the drawing tool is designed for highlighting what’s important in the moment. That’s why the lines disappear in a couple of seconds after you finish drawing.

VSDC enables you to connect a webcam, microphone, and external devices (such as a gaming console or another PC) so that you can record video and audio using several devices simultaneously. If you’d like to learn more about these features, read our guide to recording screen and webcam video at the same time or the guide to recording a gameplay.

Enjoy the result of your screen recordings

Once you’ve finished recording your screen, hit Open output folder to view the result. By default, the video will be saved in the MP4 format and placed in the folder named \Videos\VSDC Free Screen Recorder. However, you can change that and select any other location on your PC.

To change the quality of your screen recordings, open Export settings from the dropdown menu before you start recording and select the desired resolution and frame per second rate. You can also move the output quality slider from 50% to 100% if you want to save the video in the same quality the original picture had.

Your next steps

By now, you should have a clear idea of how to record your computer screen, and hopefully, you’ve already created at least one video. Next, you may want to edit your screen recording, cut the unwanted pieces, add music, captions, and such. Feel free to figure things out by yourself or look through our detailed guides in the F.A.Q. section

Download VSDC Free Screen Recorder

If you want to screen record your gameplay or any other video from your TV, you can do it using an HDMI cable, a video capture device, and a free screen recorder from VSDC. This approach will work if you’re using a PlayStation, an Xbox, other game consoles, or literally any video device supporting HDMI.

Essentially, all you need to do is connect the device you’re using as a video source to the video capture device using an HDMI cable; then, plug the video capture device into your PC, launch the screen recorder, and start playing the video.

In the tutorial below, we’ll break the process down into smaller steps you’ll be able to follow.

Step 1. Connect video capture device to your PC

There’s no lack of HDMI video capture devices for any budget on the market. To send HDMI video output to your PC, you can use even the most affordable capture cards because for this purpose, you’re using it merely as a connector to your PC.

Got your video capture device handy? Great, now connect it to your computer and prepare the HDMI cable.

Step 2. Connect the video source and capture card

The next step is to connect the original source of the video, be it your game console or TV, to the capture device. It’s quite a no-brainer: find the HDMI port on your device first and connect the cable; then plug the other end of the cable into the video capture device. That’s it.

Step 3. Launch VSDC Screen Recorder

Now, you may want to start screen recording once the game or the video is in progress, however, we suggest launching the screen recorder in advance to make sure that the recording devices have been identified correctly.

Once you launch VSDC Screen Recorder, hit the gear wheel to open the settings and proceed to Mixer. Under the Camera settings, you should see the name of your video capture device being selected.

Notice that if you want to record a video from your webcam simultaneously, you can do it too. Hit the Enable camera button on the dashboard, and when you start capturing the video, you’ll have your facecam in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 4. Start recording

By default, VSDC will be capturing the video in a full-screen mode – in other words, your entire screen will be recorded. Once ready, just hit Start recording. The red line at the top will indicate that the recording is on: on the right, you’ll see the timer and on the left, you’ll see your screen resolution.

If you want to change the resolution of the output video, you can do it before starting the recording: open the settings menu, switch to Export, and choose the desired parameters.

Step 5. View the result

When you’re finished, hit Stop recording and make a click on the Open output folder button to see the result.

The output file will be saved in MP4 format. To cut out the unwanted footage, add text, music, and transitions, you can use the VSDC Free Video Editor. Read more tips for editing a screen recording in our dedicated tutorial.

If you want to record your computer screen and a webcam video at the same time, that’s easy. And the best part, if you’re on Windows, you only need one program to do it all: VSDC Free Screen Recorder. This tool will be a great fit for software tutorials, reaction videos, gameplays, and such.

In this short guide, we’ll show you how to record yourself and your screen at the same time using VSDC. You can download the latest version of the software from the official developer’s website.

Step 1. Launch VSDC Screen Recorder on your PC

Once you’ve installed the program and launched it on your computer, the screen recorder dashboard will pop up on your desktop:

The VSDC interface is rather intuitive, so you will be able to figure it out even if you are a complete non-techie. Before you start recording, however, there are two things you should check. First, make sure there’s a webcam connected to your computer. Second, decide if you want to record the entire screen or a part of it.

Step 2. Select your screen capturing mode

If you want to record the entire desktop screen, select the fullscreen mode – it’s the bottom left option among the screen capturing modes, and it’s activated by default when you launch the program. If you want to record a part of your screen, you can either manually draw the capturing area or select a resolution preset with a right mouse-click.

Your choice will depend on the type of video you’re recording and the working area on your desktop screen. For example, some people prefer leaving the taskbar or the browser tabs out of the picture, so they prefer selecting the screen capturing frame manually.

Step 3. Enable your web camera and microphone

If you have a web camera and microphone already connected to your computer, VSDC will automatically detect them, so there’s nothing else you need to do. Just hit the Enable camera and Enable microphone  buttons on the dashboard.

Once you do that, the webcam video will pop up in the bottom right corner of the screen capturing frame. Have a good look at it to check your position, the background and all the details you may want or not want to be in the video.

Notice that you can flip the webcam video or tweak its settings, namely resolution and fps. To do that, hit Settings on the dashboard, select Mixer from the dropdown menu, and click on the gear wheel in front of your web camera.

Once ready, hit Start recording. Keep in mind that you can turn both the microphone and webcam on and off while recording by clicking on them on the dashboard.

Once you stop recording, the resulting video will be saved in the default folder: \Videos\VSDC Free Screen Recorder. If you want, you can change the output folder by opening the Common settings → Output folder → Change.

Record your webcam and screen video for free

Now that you know that VSDC allows you to capture video from your desktop screen and webcam simultaneously, go ahead and try it for yourself. Then check our tips for video editing a screen recording to find out how to cut out excessive pieces of footage, add captions and background music, change speed, and blur the unwanted areas on the screen.

Download VSDC Free Screen Recorder