How to Record Screen on Windows 8/8.1 [Two Simple but Efficient Ways]

Computers have already integrated into people’s daily life and it’s hard to imagine the world without computers. In the working field, computers are the indispensable working tools to improve efficiency. In the daily life, a great deal of entertainments are provided by or related to computers. Nowadays, with the use and popularization of computers, it’s unavoidable to record screen activities for multiple purposes.

Let’s set some examples, your online courses will expire soon but you don’t have enough time to finish them. Your computer breaks down and you want to demonstrate the malfunction to the technical staff. You happen to find some interesting movies and good music and you want to watch or listen them offline. These sticky issues can be easily solved with a screen recorder. As a Windows 8/8.1 user, you may ask that is there any enforceable solution to record screen on Windows 8/8.1? The answer is certainly yes. To help Windows 8/8.1 users handle these problems, here this article will give you a clear guidance on how to record screen on Windows 8/8.1.

To begin with, you should have a clear understanding of available tools for screen recording.
1. The built-in recording function of computer on Windows.
2. The third-party screen recorder software.

Detailed operation and comparison will be listed below.

1. The built-in recording function of computer on Windows 8/8.1

Pros: No download. Capture with the full screen.
Cons: Only be recorded in the form of pictures. Audio and Webcam are not available.

Window 8 has improved a lot of features to bring better experience for users including the new main page, the smaller random-access memory and shorter boot time. Although Windows 8 doesn’t have a built-in video screen recorder, it has a hidden screen capture tool called Problem Steps Recorder, which can help you save a lot of time when you are trying to figure out the technical problems to your friends or family. Here are the operations in detail.

-> By pressing the Win icon + R on the keyboard, the hidden function will show up beyond the desktop.
-> Continuing to input psr.exe in the dialog box, you can also change the store paths in the interface.
-> Then you can pause and resume it. During the recording, you can also make annotation if possible.

The only shortcoming is that the resulted files are images not videos, the whole operations can only be demonstrated with pictures instead of videos.
See also: 5 best screen recorders for Windows 8

2. The third-party screen recorder software on Windows 8/8.1

Pros: Convenient and simple operations. More output formats and more flexible features
Cons: Need to download the installer

If you prefer a video-form demonstration of your content, turn to the third-party sodtware.There is a large amount of software on the market to satisfy diverse needs of users. Free, open source and paid, each of them has its own advantages and shortcomings. When you try to figure the suitable one out, you may concern more about the performance, compatibility and features. Based on high performance and versatile characteristics, we pick one out from the best screen recorders for Windows list, which meets all of the requirements listed above for your reference, and that is RecMaster.

To help you know better on how to record screen on Window 8/8.1, here you can free download RecMaster and do as the following instructions.

Step 1. Download and install the RecMaster
Official website provides two versions accessible for Windows 8/8.1 or above and Mac OS x10.11 or above respectively. Now choose the Windows version and download from this article directly. Complete installation with the wizard and do as follow.

Step 2. Choose the proper mode
Built with five recording modes – Game Mode/Full Screen/Custom Area/Webcam/Audio Only, RecMaster is highly adaptable meet your multiple requirements. Game Mode is designed for high-paced game movement saving with webcam and narration. Full screen and Custom area is for general onscreen activities capture with changeable recording region. If you want to create video from your webcam or produce audio files, simply turn to Webcam or Audio Only mode.

Step 3. Change the format and do more personalized operations if necessary
RecMaster is equipped with three video formats MP4/AVI/FLV, and you can optionally select the suitable one according to your real demand. Moreover, video quality and frame rate are depended by your own decision. But there is one thing to be mentioned: the higher parameter you set, the larger file size you will get. For highlighting or showing the mouse track, click the settings button where you can edit diverse mouse effects.

Optional: Use the Task schedule function while recording if needed
Task schedule function is extremely important if you don’t have enough time to monitor the whole process. In the Task schedule interface, all you need to do is to set up the start time and the end time and it will launch automatically. Note that the duration of two tasks can’t overlay each other when you employ the task schedule function. For example, if you choose one task from 9am to 12am then the other task can not be carried out from 10 am to 11 am in the same day.

Step 4. Start the recording
With all preparations done, click the REC or use HotKey Alt+1 to start the recording. Use some arrows or callouts to point out or circle important information which can be found in annotation window. Press Stop button to manually end the task. If you want to review, edit and rename the file, directly open the Recording lists and then you can operate these options.

Key features of RecMaster:
● Five recording modes for Windows 8/8.1 user with different recording needs.
● Flexible settings and user-friendly operation to create screencast in one-click soulution.
● Additional features like annotation, editing, task schedule to make productive video.
● One-click upload to YouTube and Google Drive.

In conclusion
After reading this article, you must have a clear comparison between the two ways on how to record screen on Windows 8/8.1. Considering the performance and comprehensiveness, we would like to recommend RecMaster to you to record the PC screen. We believe with the participation of RecMaster, screen recording will never be a problem to you. Come and have the pleasing recording experience with RecMaster.

Related Guides:
How to Record Screen on Windows 10
How to Record Screen on Windows 7
How to Record Screen on Windows XP