Record an app session in Win10

[John]

I discovered this cool trick in Win10 to record the activity of a window to a MP4 file. Nothing to buy, just a hidden option intended for gaming.

How to Record Video of an App in Windows 10

[Mike Lobanovsky]

Yes, that's a very cool option and the quality and record speed are exceptionally high.

You seem to also have a discrete nVidia graphics card installed in there. Then, if you video driver is new enough and you have nVidia GeForce Experience installed, it can also provide you with an option to record the entire screen in full HD. Try to press Alt+Z and see if it brings up a HUD like this:

(Alt+F9 will start/stop screen capture even when the HUD is invisible, but use it to locate the Gallery folder where your mp4 videos are going to be stored)

[John]

Here is the info on the nVidia graphics chip in my laptop.

Hint: Don't try to record a VB6 IDE session. You system will go nuts.


NVIDIA System Information report created on: 01/30/2019 17:16:16
System name: LENOVO-LAPTOP

[Display]
Operating System:   Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
DirectX version:   12.0
GPU processor:      GeForce MX130
Driver version:      391.25
Direct3D API version:   12
Direct3D feature level:   11_0
CUDA Cores:      384
Core clock:      1108 MHz
Memory data rate:   5010 MHz
Memory interface:   64-bit
Memory bandwidth:   40.08 GB/s
Total available graphics memory:   10173 MB
Dedicated video memory:   2048 MB GDDR5
System video memory:   0 MB
Shared system memory:   8125 MB
Video BIOS version:   82.08.73.00.20
IRQ:         Not used
Bus:         PCI Express x4 Gen3
Device Id:      10DE 174D 39CE17AA
Part Number:      2702 0000

[Components]

nvui.dll      8.17.13.9125      NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
nvxdplcy.dll      8.17.13.9125      NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
nvxdbat.dll      8.17.13.9125      NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
nvxdapix.dll      8.17.13.9125      NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
NVCPL.DLL      8.17.13.9125      NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
nvCplUIR.dll      8.1.940.0      NVIDIA Control Panel
nvCplUI.exe      8.1.940.0      NVIDIA Control Panel
nvWSSR.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Workstation Server
nvWSS.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Workstation Server
nvViTvSR.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Video Server
nvViTvS.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Video Server
nvDispSR.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Display Server
NVMCTRAY.DLL      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Media Center Library
nvDispS.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA Display Server
PhysX      09.17.0524      NVIDIA PhysX
NVCUDA.DLL      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA CUDA 9.1.84 driver
nvGameSR.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA 3D Settings Server
nvGameS.dll      23.21.13.9125      NVIDIA 3D Settings Server

[John]

I checked into the benefits of upgrading to Windows 10 Pro from Home which came with the laptop. I don't see any value for me upgrading and paying $99 to do so. One feature of Pro was to connect to a corporate network which would be nice but I can do that for free on my Linux laptop which also happens to be providing the Windows networking services for my new Windows 10 laptop. (WIFI only)

[Mike Lobanovsky]

Animated Julia Fractal Demo.mp4 (5289.54 kB - downloaded 7 times.)

I wouldn't call it a particularly high-res capture...

Your config does include NVIDIA User Experience Driver components. So, do Alt+Z and Alt+F9 hotkeys work for you as they do for me? (the site wouldn't permit me to attach my ca. 40MB large full screen live HD capture here)

[John]

Do I press Alt-Z once I'm in the game recorder? Pressing Alt-Z from anywhere else doesn't seem to work for me.

[Mike Lobanovsky]

Do I press Alt-Z once I'm in the game recorder?

No. For me, it's a system wide hotkey that pops up the heads-up display (HUD) as shown in my Reply #1 above from anywhere I am.

Pressing Alt-Z from anywhere else doesn't seem to work for me.

I see. It means the functionality of your User Experience and my GeForce Experience is somewhat different.

[John]

I was just looking for an equivalent feature in Windows that I already have in Linux. I'm happy with the 'game' screen video capture function even though it is limited with the apps it works with.

My new laptop serves two purposes.
1. Replaces my Win7 development VM (32 bit)
2. Gives me a modern and respectable demo platform for Windows based projects I have going.

Linux is still my main squeeze.