How long can you screen record on mac

Screen recording allows you to capture what is happening on your screen for future playback. Whether you're watching a presentation or webinar that you might want to view again or you're putting together a video game tutorial, capturing what happens on your screen can have a number of important uses.

Before starting your screen recording, however, you will want to make sure that it will capture everything you need. How long can you screen record for? The answer may lie in your screen recording software.

How Long Can You Screen Record?

With the right screen recording software, you can screen record indefinitely. As long as the action continues on your screen, you can continue to capture it. However, that does not necessarily mean that you can always capture hours upon hours of footage. Take into consideration:

1. File size.

Large files are clunky, hard to send, and difficult to store. The longer you screen record, the longer your file will be, which can cause problems with future playback.

2. Resolution.

You can record your screen in various resolutions, depending on the settings on your monitor and your video recorder. If you screen record at a high resolution, you may find that your file size increases more quickly.

3. Available storage.

How much data can you store? Some free screen recording software will limit the size of the file you can save to the platform. In other cases, the limitations of your storage solution may limit your recording.

Check the specific limitations of your screen recording software before you begin recording, and make sure you have a backup solution if needed to allow you to continue capturing your screen for the time you need.

Editing for Conciseness

In many cases, after you capture a long screen recording, you may want to edit it for conciseness. Keep your audience in mind as you decide how you want to edit your video. Keep in mind:

1. Viewers may not have limitless time.

In many cases, your viewers will have only a specific amount of time to sit down and watch your video. If your video takes longer than they anticipate to watch, or if it gets boring, they probably won't watch it until the end.

2. You may want to edit out duplicate content or dead space.

You're playing a video game, working on a tutorial. Unfortunately, you die the first three times you take on a specific boss. Perhaps you're screen recording a webinar, but the finished product has a lot of dead time in it: the time when nothing is happening. Not only can that content cause your viewers to get bored and fall away, but it can also decrease the overall perceived value of your content--and extend your file size.

3. Upload time matters.

Many people watch videos from their mobile devices, often while on the go. If it takes your video more than a few seconds to load, they may decide to do something else with their time instead--and that may leave you without the video views you were hoping for. The larger your file size, the longer your upload time. And the greater the likelihood that your viewers will decide to go with something else, instead.

Conclusion

Screen recording offers a number of key benefits. You can screen record indefinitely on many free screen recording platforms. That does not necessarily mean, however, that you want to put those videos up fully intact. Learn more about our screen recording and video editing software options and how they can help you take your video to the next level.

• To screen record on Mac, use the Screenshot Toolbar or QuickTime Player.
• Both built-in apps allow you to turn on your Mac's internal microphone to add narration.
• You can also third-party screen recording apps like Apowersoft Screen Recorder, Snagit, and Loom.

Say you want to capture something on your Mac screen — but a screenshot just won't do it.

That's when screen recordings come in handy. You can record a video of your Mac's screen using either the Screenshot Toolbar tool, or the QuickTime Player app, both of which come pre-installed on your Mac.

How to screen record on a Mac using the Screenshot Toolbar

Again, remember that this method is only available if you're running macOS Mojave or newer. If you're not sure what version of macOS you have, read our article on how to check your macOS version and install any needed updates.

Once you're ready to record:

1. Press Command + Shift + 5 on your keyboard to open the Screenshot Toolbar.

A toolbar with a number of icons and options will appear at the bottom of the screen. You're looking for the icons that have the record symbol (a solid circle) over them. One will record a video of your entire screen, and the other will let you select a specific section of the screen to record.

2. Pick which recording type you want — and if you picked Record Selected Portion, highlight the part of your screen that you want to film — and then click Record. If you want to cancel a screen recording before it begins, press the Esc key.

3. Your screen recording will start immediately, and capture everything on your screen (or in the selected section) and any audio playing. When you're done, click the stop button in the menu bar on the top of the screen.

By default, your screen recordings will be saved to the desktop as .mov files. You can change this by opening the Screenshot Toolbar and clicking Options — see below for more details.

How to screen record on a Mac using QuickTime Player

This is the method you'll want to use if you're running an older version of macOS. If you go through these steps while running macOS Mojave or newer, it'll just lead you back to the Screenshot Toolbar.

1. Open the QuickTime Player app on your Mac. You can find it in your Applications folder, or by searching for it.

2. Click File in the menu bar at the top of your screen.

3. Click New Screen Recording and wait for a dark gray recording window to appear.

Select the "New Screen Recording" option. Devon Delfino/Insider

4. Click the red record button, then click anywhere on the screen to start a fullscreen recording, or drag your mouse to record only a specific section.

How to record audio in screen recordings

When you're recording your screen using QuickTime, you can also choose to record sounds, such as your own voice for narration. 

1. Open the QuickTime Player app on your Mac.

2. Click File in the menu bar at the top of your screen.

3. Click New Screen Recording and wait for a dark gray recording window to appear.

4. Click the down arrow next to the red record button to expand the dropdown. Then, click on Internal Microphone under "Microphone."

QuickTime will give you less options, but still lets you narrate the recording. Apple

Once you stop recording, your new video will open in QuickTime automatically. From here, you can watch, edit, and share it.

How to screen record with third-party apps

The beauty of recording your screen on a Mac is that you're not stuck with the built-in tools. There are plenty of third-party options you can use to capture your screen and even add narration.

Apowersoft Screen Recorder

Apowersoft Screen Recorder is free and easy to use. It's a browser-based app, meaning you have access to unlimited screen recording without having to download anything. 

Apowersoft Screen Recorder has flexible controls, allowing you to pause and resume recording easily, schedule your screen recordings, and select specific portions of your screen that you wish to capture.

Snagit

If you're going to make an instructional video, then Snagit is the best choice. On top of allowing you to capture everything to your screen, it allows you to add visuals during editing to make your videos more interesting. 

It also has templates that help simplify the video creation process, allowing you to record tutorials, presentations, seminars, and other types of helpful videos in minutes.

Furthermore, Snagit allows you to instantly share your video to several platforms, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, and email, for easier feedback and collaboration. It's not free though, and you'll have to pay $62.99 to start (a free trial is available).

Loom

Loom allows you to capture both video and audio using its desktop app or Chrome extension. 

Once you capture the video, you can store it in Loom's native cloud storage so it doesn't take up space on your Mac, create a link, and share it with others right from your dashboard. And you can trim away any unnecessary segments to make the video focused, concise, and professional.

You can use Loom for free, but you'll be limited to recording five-minute videos. You can record for an unlimited amount of time starting from $8.00 per month with the Business plan.

Devon Delfino is a Brooklyn-based freelance journalist specializing in personal finance, culture, politics, and identity. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Business Insider, and CNBC. Follow her on Twitter at @devondelfino.

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