NVIDIA Screen Recorder Review: Best Option for Game Player

NVIDIA screen recorder is often referred to as NVIDIA ShadowPlay. For gamers, it is the preferred solution for recording and capturing game footage, and in this REVIEW, we'll take you on a journey to explore exactly what it does, the pros, and cons, and how to use it. Several shortcuts that will make your operations easier will also be listed. After reading this article, you will have a comprehensive understanding of NVIDIA ShadowPlay.

Part 1. What Is NVIDIA Screen Recorder

As we have already mentioned in the previous section, NVIDIA screen recorder aka NVIDIA ShadowPlay, its core purpose is to record game footage, adjust computer settings, and help users update their graphics card drivers. Xbox on Windows is very similar in function and nature.NVIDIA ShadowPlay uses the H.264 video codec to capture high-quality, dynamic gameplay. While recording, you can also live stream the gameplay on platforms like Twitch.

Part 2. What Can NVIDIA Screen Recorder Do for You

The above paragraph is just a summary of what NVIDIA ShadowPlay means. The only information you have is that this tool can record games and can also be used for live streaming. Too brief and general.

We need more detailed knowledge. In this section, we will take you through the main features, pros, cons, and usefulness of NVIDIA ShadowPlay.

Main Features

• Record Gameplay

NVIDIA ShadowPlay is the perfect feature for those who want to record great moments. It supports recording gameplay footage in 4K HDR and even 8K HDR quality. You can record up to 20 minutes long gameplay.

• Screenshots

NVIDIA ShadowPlay can take snapshots of your gameplay. You will get photos with high definition. However, this feature is rather basic and doesn't have many options.

• Instant Replay

You can press a hotkey to allow NVIDIA ShadowPlay to record in-game moments in the background. This way you won't miss some of the highlights that happen unexpectedly.

• GPU Enhanced Encoding

NVIDIA ShadowPlay comes with hardware-accelerated video encoding technology. This technology ensures that the quality of the video you record is absolutely crystal clear.NVIDIA also transfers the encoding work to the GPU to ensure that the recording doesn't affect the performance of the game too much.

Should You Choose It or Not

NVIDIA ShadowPlay is free and easy to use. You can also adjust the parameters according to your usage habits to record the exciting moments in the game. And you can also use it to stream gameplay on platforms like Twitch. Performance-wise, it's well worth trying.

But it's a bit tricky to configure. And if you are not a NVIDIA graphics card user, you won't be able to use this tool.

Part 3. How to Record Screen with NVIDIA

If you have decided to use NVIDIA ShadowPlay, come to this section. We will teach you how to record screens with NVIDIA here.

NVIDIA Screen Recorder Hotkey

NVIDIA ShadowPlay supports you to manipulate it using shortcut keys.

In this subsection, we will show you all its available NVIDIA shadowplay hotkey combinations in a table.

How to Enable NVIDIA Screen Recorder

To use NVIDIA ShadowPlay on your computer, you'll have to complete a few preparatory steps first. Next, let's look at how to enable the NVIDIA screen recorder.

Step 1. Open your browser and search for Nvidia ShadowPlay. Visit its official website. Click the Download button on the top-right corner. Thus, you will download GeForce Experience on your computer.

Step 2. CFinish the installation. Then, you can press the Alt + Z key to launch Nvidia ShadowPlay.

How to Record Screen with NVIDIA

After you have NVIDIA ShadowPlay ready on your computer, you can start recording.

In this subsection, we will teach you how to use NVIDIA ShadowPlay.

Step 1. Go to the official NVIDIA website and download the GeForce Experience application. Install it on your computer and log in using your NVIDIA account credentials.

Step 2. Once logged in, the main interface will appear, displaying your installed games and supported applications.

Step 3. Click on the Open in-game overly icon to activate the in-game overlay menu. This is where you’ll find access to ShadowPlay features.

Step 4. Inside the overlay, choose from options like Instant Replay, Record, Live Streaming, and Screenshot. You can also customize the recording resolution, frame rate, audio input, and hotkeys.

Step 5. After adjusting your settings, press the assigned shortcut key or use the overlay controls to begin recording your screen or gameplay session.

Part 4. Best Alternative to NVIDIA Screen Recorder

If you feel that NVIDIA ShadowPlay's screen recording and editing capabilities are not comprehensive enough, try some of the other best game recorders on the market.

Of all of them, we highly recommend the FVC Screen Recorder, which can record any video footage from your computer screen and webcam, as well as capture sound from the microphone and system speakers. It has a simple interface and very few recording steps. Once you're done recording your video, you can also use the editing tools on the platform to improve your work.

Here is how to record a gameplay with FVC Screen Recorder.

Step 1. Download and install FVC Screen Recorder on your computer.

Open it and choose the Game Recorder.

Step 2. Click Select the game to choose the gameplay you want to record. You can also enable the Microphone, System Sound, and Webcam options.

Step 3. Finally, click the REC button to start recording.

Part 5. FAQs of NVIDIA Screen Recorder

Conclusion

In this article, we start with a brief introduction to the NVIDIA screen recorder concept, features, pros, cons, and usability. All in all, it's free and easy to use, and it's a very good game recorder for those who have an NVIDIA graphics card. You can learn how to use it to record footage here. However, it lacks some advanced editing features. Therefore, we recommend using the FVC Screen Recorder, which is more versatile and easier to configure, as an alternative to the NVIDIA screen recorder.