For recording videos from your Laptop or Desktop webcam using VLC Media Player, you will have to use the Capture Device feature present in VLC’s Media menu. This special feature will allow you to select your webcam as your capture device and then stream what is captured to a file. Basically, you’re telling VLC to capture your webcam video and save it into a file.
This is a really simple way to record video using the already present webcam in your machine. This feature also allows you to specify advanced options like the ratio of the videos width and height, and the total size of the video. The quality of the video depends upon the specifications or Megapixels, and other built-quality of the webcam that you have.
We will be using the “Open Capture Device” feature which is accessible from “Media > Open Capture Device”. In the options we will be choosing “DirectShow” feature which will allow us to select our webcam as our video recording device.
If you did not get that, then follow these detailed steps:
- Go to Media > Open Capture Device [CTRL + C].
- In Capture Mode, make sure “DirectShow” is selected.
- In Video device name, choose your webcam: HD WebCam.
- Optional:
- For Audio, you can specify “Microphone” or “Stereo Mix”. Microphone is your default mic and Stereo Mix is the sound that your device is playing. Just leave it to “Default” option if you are unsure.
- Other optional fields that you can specify are the video size and advanced options such as “Picture aspect-ratio”.
- After setting up the options, choose “Stream”, hit next and you reach “Stream Output” step.
- Hit next in Direct Show (dshow) options.
- In “Stream Output” be sure “File” is selected in “New destination” and hit add.
- Browse and give a file name and extension for container. Hit save.
- Choose a video profile. The default one works great. Hit next.
- In the final step hit “Stream”, VLC will minimize and your webcam will begin recording.
- The moving time counter tells us that the video is recording. Hit “Stop” button in VLC to stop recording. The video will be saved as a file you specified before.
View Comments (43)
Wowo I did noit know VLC can record a computer screen. I usually use AceThinkerFree Online Screen Recorder to do that.
Hello,
The several recommendations work for me:
1.) Capture, stream, then record, (full options, no live feed)
2.) Capture, stream, check box Display locally, then record, (full options and live feed)
3.) Capture, play, then record, (default options, filename, and AVI format, live feed)
At first the recorded video was very lagging, but changing live-caching from 300 to 100 seemed to fix it.
The video was also very pixelated, but changing the resolution to 1080 fixed that.
I’m trying to get as good video quality I can get with Windows 10 Camera application. I’m not sure if I’m there yet.
One thing I’m having trouble with is changing the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9, (like Windows Camera App uses). I tried this in Advanced Options, and also by editing the command options :aspect-ratio-16\:9
I also tried using :dshow-size as a command option, but this always gives me a Capture Failed error: “your camera does not support the required parameters”. And I’ve tried various parameters that my camera supports.
…the closest I got was a stretched image. Can anyone tell me the correct way to do this?
It would be great to figure out this last piece of the puzzle.
Thanks!
Like others I had this going great .. yesterday... tried again today and no matter what I do I cannot get a video image - sound records fine, media info show exactly the same details - but no image - not one thing has changed...very frustrating
HI.. It really works.. but a little issue.. the recorded video plays quickly (playing forward with a considerable speed ).. i cannot handle it .. any clarification????
This tutorial does not at all deal with VLC on a Mac, which does not have a Media menu. I found instructions elsewhere which fill that gap, though VLC does not recognize either my built-in microphone or the one on my webcam. I can select them, but when I try to record it throws an error message.
Hi - Oddly, these steps worked the first time I attempted them, then did not work again -- that is, the video capture part did not work. The active light on my MS Surface Tablet lit up, but no video -- audio only. I retried multiple times. No idea what when awry.
But ...
VLC does have another way to do this I found completely by accident -- Follow the steps up to the "choose stream" part. Choose instead PLAY. VLC will close the dialogs and *should* show you the camera input. Now, from the PLAYBACK menu, select the RECORD option. When I do this, VLC records to a file using defaults (AVI - which I'm fine with), and names the file some default name. I can finish by clicking on the STOP button, then rename the file as I wish. So, you loose some control over formatting and filename, but at least it can be done if the above steps for some unknown reason stop working as they did for me.
Thanks for the instructions. I didn't realize it was recording because it didn't show the live feed. Is there a way to do that while recording?
On the stream destination click box Display locally
Hi. I've found this very easy to set up and use. The videos are fine when I play them using VLC media player. But when I play them in a media player other than VLC there is no sound. Am I missing something?
Thanks.
Did you try it in any other video player besides media player?
I've figured it out. There's a codec missing in the version of Windows Media Player I was using. Thank you and apologies for wasting your time.
Yes. I have the same issue if I use the Films & TV app on my laptop (windows 10).
I can't figure out how to find the file. Also, do I need to specify "stream" or "play" when opening the capture device?
The file will be in the location that you browse to and save your file. You need to choose "Stream".
Well, please forgive me if I raise a very long-standing problem under this head. All I'm trying to do is to use an oldish digicam in lieu of a webcam on the media player.
For your understanding the computer is a Dell desktop with both XP and 8.1 operating systems (media player on both, and Pinnacle Studio under XP). Digicam to computer data transfer is Firewire to a PCI card, and I've been through the necessary routine of downloading the appropriate s/w for the card under 8.1.
Digicam output to Studio is as it always had been, ie OK.
The media player problem I'm facing is the same whether using the older VLC software on XP or that recently downloaded on 8.1. I do not have the tech terminology but taking Audio first it is being captured with some sort of echo, quite unuseable. The problem with the video may be caused by the same incompatibility - the picture is broken into largish blocks, within each of which are horizontal bars.
I think I've been duly diligent in running all sorts of options in the browser to try and find a solution (what I think is essentially the same problem appearing as long ago as 2009). Anyway I've ended up here as my last throw of the dice.
Surely after going on a dozen years someone has found the solution and posted the instructions for fixing it? If you're reading this (and hopefully "Admin" is) could you kindly point me to it? Or do I walk away from this otherwise valuable programme and try and find something which does what this claims to do without hassle?
Thank you.