# Forum > News > Community Chat > Polls >  Screen Recording Suite Of Choice ?

## Jaladhjin

So I'm aware Fraps has a pretty devout following..

Looking for convenient options to make small videos & ideally YouTube integration too for easy uploading..

Just wanting to do guides.. don't know how to edit or anything so i won't get very far into that at the moment..

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## Jadd

I find ShareX is easier to use than OBS, and it works perfectly for how I use it. I press the hotkey to select my recording region, do some stuff for the video, then click stop. It'll then automatically upload to my Dropbox and put the link on my clipboard. Simple.

It doesn't currently have YouTube support, which is fine for me, since I rarely ever use it. Most of the videos I record are sent privately (just using the Dropbox link it gives me,) and I have no reason to publish them on a public platform such as YouTube. _However,_ on the odd chance I do want to send it to my YouTube channel, I'll simply upload it via. boxConnect. It's able to transfer the video straight from my Dropbox to a number of video sharing platforms, including YouTube, with no more than a few clicks - no additional software downloads or bandwidth whatsoever.

I should note that ShareX does not support recording from DirectX devices, however most gaming computers these days should not suffer any noticeable effects on framerate. Of course this also means fullscreen games are not supported (although windowed fullscreen will work fine.)

I'd highly recommend it, since it also supports uploads of various file types to a number of hosts. I've saved myself quite a few separate software installs by using it - Dropbox, Google Drive, puush, OBS, etc.

And the best part: it's totally free and open source.

Good luck!

--

Edit: Fraps is shit - they use an outdated file format and their own shitty encoding. If you don't end up using ShareX, I'd recommend OBS or Dxtory using x264 or x265 encoding (depending on the resources you can afford to spare.)

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## Wetop

ShareX has so many features, I love that little program. 

Altough for video recording i use OBS or Nvidia Shadowplay.

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## CreativeXtent

xsplit all the way!

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## Lynical

OBS is the best. and shadowplay is good too if you have nvidia.

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## Jaladhjin

> Dxtory using x264 or x265 encoding (depending on the resources you can afford to spare.)


This was actually one of the first suggestions I had gotten.. a strong contender for classy recordings :-D




> ShareX has so many features, I love that little program. 
> 
> Altough for video recording i use OBS or Nvidia Shadowplay.


Agreed on ShareX being handy as can be.. I came to it about 6 months ago from SnagIt.. I was pretty happy there too but ShareX offered more features.. quicker access to some features I valued..




> xsplit all the way!


Funny you mention this one it also got suggested to me by someone else as well..

I decided to give OBS a try.. not a fan.. granted my inexperience may be a major factor in that frustration..

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## Nyarly

How come shadowplay is not in the poll?

i paid for 2 years of xsplit, then discovered shadowplay, then i'm not using xsplit anymore (except for broadcasts)


We stopped using fraps at work because it makes unreal engine crash, and breaks the steam overlay on some games, and make our unity devs crazy.
So I wouldn't recommand fraps.
Play.tv (same as shadowplay but for AMD gpu) is shit though.

So OBS when shadowplay isn't available.
I didn't know about sharex...

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## Jaladhjin

I uhh.. didn't actually know about Shadow Play :-/

This is the life of someone that doesn't own a lot of hardware..

I buy like a poor person.. lots of machines with Intel video.. it's just awful..

I could just lie & say oh whoops yeah I forgot to add that one thought I did mah bad.. buuut that's not my style :-D

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## Parog

Play.tv does not behave like shadowplay does. 

I've used DxTory for several years now, nothing used to beat it at capturing + encoding while using very low resources. Nvidia's Shadowplay outperforms it. Not at single fps lag/lock while recording at 1080p @ 60 FPS. It also looks better in general and leaves files much smaller than DxTory could at this quality. (Example vid: BFH - Battlefield Hardline Hotwire ownage 1080p 60 fps! - YouTube -- Make sure you choose the 1080p 60FPS)

Nowadays, if you have Nvidia, use Shadowplay. Otherwise, use DxTory. You can use both of these to capture and any other program like OBS, for streaming if you prefer that. Using anything else for recording is literally a waste of resources ( Although ShareX is REALLY handy and my choice in general if I don't need to record Direct X )

As far as XSplit goes -- I was given a 4 year key once and was really grateful for it, but their database was leaked within the last few years and a lot of streamers have gotten "hacked" and doxed because they use the same password everywhere. If you have a friend that tried XSplit, pass the word along to never use that password again.  :Smile:  

Before Shadowplay came along, I used DxTory as a raw virtual webcam feed, and used that source when streaming to make sure OBS didn't make me lag from capturing. All in all, OBS and other streaming specific software is still good, but you should not use them for capturing the game play you're streaming if you value keeping a steady FPS in-game.

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## GoXLd

My life for the FastStone Capture  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## DvASystems

Install a big harddrive and get DxTory.

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## Cubensiss

Here is what i use:
*
Shadowplay for recording gaming:*

Insane Quality
Runs on the gpu, and thus wont slow your pc while recording

*Sharex for everyday screen capture and recording:*

Simply just handy as can be, got all imagineable functions, like being able to record something, edit it, upload it, and share it with someone in under a minute, litterally great software.

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## Kirito223323

In my opinion OBS is best program i have ever seen. You need to test these programs yourself and then choose one of them. People can only suggest you what is better in their opinion.

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## Gseller

2 programs i never heard before, thank you , i will test OBS

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## Parog

> In my opinion OBS is best program i have ever seen. You need to test these programs yourself and then choose one of them. People can only suggest you what is better in their opinion.


Aside from personal opinions, there's factual information about how the different technologies work and why some of them are MUCH better than others. Cubensiss summed it up nicely. Those 2 programs are all that should be used unless you feel like using outdated and outperformed technologies. There's a point at which there's no reason to even test technologies other than to understand how bad they are, like ball tracking mice. 

OBS (When using an alternative capture method like DxTory to cam feed, or much better if you have an NVidia card; ShadowPlay.) is good if you want more customization over your stream overlay, but it shouldn't be used to do the actual capturing/recording unless you feel like dropping FPS in spikes. (And no there's no way around that, unless you plan on using another computer entirely to do the recording, at which point you're better off just using ShadowPlay *to capture* and saving your money.)

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## SK Bot

I guess in the end it will mostly boil down to personal preference and what your needs are. not all the listed software provide the exact same features.

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