How to do a screen recording on Windows 10 and 11 with audio

Windows 10 or 11: what actually differs

The recording itself works the same way on both. Two things are worth checking first.

Your Windows 10 version. Director needs Windows 10 version 2004 or newer. To check, open Settings > System > About and look at Version under Windows specifications. If it is older, run Windows Update first. Any Windows 11 version works.

The names of a few Settings screens. The sound and display settings live in the same place on both (Settings > System > Sound and Settings > System > Display). These differ:

The rest of this guide applies to both.

Voice, internal audio or both

A screen recording can carry two kinds of sound. Decide which one you need before you start, so you do not have to record twice.

• Microphone. Your voice, from the mic on your headset, your webcam, your desk or your laptop.
• System audio (internal audio). The sound your PC plays, such as app sounds, music in a browser tab or a video you show on screen. A screen recorder with internal audio captures it straight from Windows, not through the mic, so it sounds clean.

Use the microphone alone for a voice-over tutorial where nothing else makes sound. Use both for a demo of an app with sounds, or a clip you talk over. Use system audio alone when the viewer should hear only what the PC plays.

With both on, Director mixes them into the same MP4. Record a short test where a sound plays while you talk. If the PC’s sound drowns out your voice, lower the volume of the app that plays it and test again. If you record a call or a meeting, ask the people in it first, because their voices end up in the video too.

How to do a screen recording on Windows with audio, step by step

1. Pick what to record. Click Choose what to record and pick a whole screen, so the zoom can follow your cursor. You can pick a single window instead when the rest of your desktop should stay out, but then the zoom does not follow the cursor.
2. Choose the shape. Pick 16:9 for YouTube and websites, or 9:16 for Shorts, Reels and TikTok. A guide on screen shows what will be inside the frame.
3. Choose resolution and frame rate. 1080p at 60 fps suits most tutorials and demos. On an older PC or a laptop that struggles, choose 720p or 30 fps. For slides and code, 30 fps looks clean.
4. Turn on your audio. Turn on the microphone for your voice and system audio for the PC’s sound. You can have both on. If you want your face in the video, Director’s webcam bubble puts your camera in a rounded square, recorded into the same file, and you can drag it anywhere.
5. Start. Press CtrlAltP. Director shrinks to a small monitor in the corner that stays out of the video.
6. Talk and show your screen. Add zooms and pauses with the hotkeys below while you talk.
7. Stop. Press CtrlAltP again. The MP4 is already saved in your Videos folder, under Director, with the audio and every zoom in it. There is no export step.
8. Review the take. It opens in Director’s editor on a timeline. Move or stretch a zoom, spotlight or note block, delete one with the Del key, then press Re-export to write a new MP4 next to the original. The editor does not edit audio, so get the sound right while you record.

Director saves an H.264 MP4 with the graphics card’s hardware encoder, which keeps the recording light on the processor. Today everything runs on your PC.

Where your screen recording is saved, and how to stop it

All three folders are inside Videos, which you find in the left pane of File Explorer. Game Bar and the Snipping Tool come with Windows. To see what Game Bar can and can’t do, read how to use the Windows Game Bar screen recorder.

Hotkeys to use while you record

They work in any app, so you never click back into Director.

• CtrlAltZ zooms in on the cursor and follows it. CtrlAltX zooms back out.
• CtrlAltS spotlights the area around the cursor. CtrlAltD turns it off.
• CtrlAltT adds a short text note that fades after about six seconds.
• CtrlAltN drops a marker. Press it at the start of each step. When you stop, Director lists the markers with timestamps. Give each chapter a clear name, check that the first starts at 0:00, and paste the list into the YouTube description.
• CtrlAltJ pauses and resumes. The video continues exactly where you stopped, with no gap. To keep a password out, press it before you type and again after.

CtrlAltF fast-forwards at 3×, but only when you record without a microphone and without sound effects. In a take with your voice, keep the waits short instead. For a big mistake, stop and record the video again.

Recording on a laptop

A laptop records the same way, but four things need attention.

• Power. Plug in the charger for anything longer than a few minutes. On battery, Windows can slow the processor and graphics to save power. Turn off battery saver and set the power mode to best performance (see the table above for where it lives).
• The built-in mic. It sits next to the keyboard and the fan, so it picks up both. A headset or a USB mic sits closer to your mouth and hears less noise. If you use the built-in mic, type between sections, not while you explain.
• Built-in speakers. They sit right next to the mic. When system audio is on, wear headphones, or the mic records the PC’s sound a second time as an echo.
• A small screen. Text that looks fine on a 13 or 14 inch screen is tiny on a phone. Raise the scale in Settings > System > Display, enlarge web pages with Ctrl and +, and zoom in on small details with CtrlAltZ. On a 1366x768 screen, record at native resolution or 720p.

Use a mouse if you can. A trackpad moves the cursor in small, uneven jumps that viewers notice. Keep the vents clear too, on a hard, flat surface, because a hot laptop slows down. If you also use an external monitor, read how to record one monitor when you have two screens.

Get clean sound

• Keep the same distance from the mic. Drift away and your voice gets quieter. Lean in and the p and b sounds pop.
• Record in a quiet room with soft surfaces. Curtains, carpets and furniture absorb sound. Bare walls and glass bounce it back as echo.
• Silence notifications. Turn on Focus assist or Do not disturb before you press CtrlAltP, so a chat ping stays out of the video.
• Close what you do not need. Heavy apps and browser tabs compete with the recording, and their sounds can end up in system audio.
• Record a 30 second test. Listen with headphones and watch it on a phone. Check that your voice is clear, the smallest text is readable and the cursor is easy to follow.

Fix common problems

No sound from the PC

Check that system audio is on in Director. Then open Settings > System > Sound and confirm that Windows plays through the output you expect, such as your speakers or headphones.

Your voice is missing or too quiet

Check that the microphone is on in Director and that the input in Settings > System > Sound is the mic you speak into. Then check that apps may use the microphone (Privacy > Microphone on Windows 10, Privacy & security > Microphone on Windows 11). If the level is low, raise the input volume there and record another test.

Echo

Wear headphones when system audio is on. Echo usually comes from speakers the mic can hear, or from a room with bare walls.

The recording stutters

Change one setting at a time and test again. Drop from 1080p to 720p, switch from 60 to 30 fps, close more apps and plug in the charger. If an older graphics driver is the cause, update it from the website of your graphics card’s maker. For more fixes, read how to screen record without lag on Windows.

Text looks small or blurry

Raise the display scale and record again. If it still looks soft, read 7 fixes for a blurry screen recording.

Read next

Director is in private testing on Windows 10 and 11, with a waitlist. To pick a frame rate, read 30 vs 60 fps for screen recording. For every key in one place, see screen recording hotkeys on Windows. To pause while a page loads, read how to pause a screen recording on Windows.