QuickTime has screen recording feature, which you can totally depend on for Mac screen capture.
Regardless of your Mac model, desktop or laptop, you must need to record the screen of it for different reasons from now and then. Even you haven’t had such requirement before, knowing how to record Mac screen is also a basic skill that you should master in case under some accidental circumstances, you are not equipped with such skill to quell something.
The simplest way to capture Mac screen is to utilize the macOS-bundled screen recorder whose name is QuickTime. This versatile media player, similar to top-notch VLC, provides screen recording feature to meet the potential video capture needs. With it, you can select any specific region or the whole desktop to record, with audio coming from mic or not. Internal system sound cannot be grabbed due to the copyright and piracy issue. However this is a workaround…
We suggest using the app called Soundflower (download here). It was designed to address this particular issue. Please also refer to this tutorial to set up Soundflower properly. Once you selected Soundflower as an input device, select it in ManyCam’s Audio settings as a microphone and you’re good to go. IShowU Audio Capture is an extension to OS X used by iShowU Studio and iShowU Instant to record audio from your computer. This new-and-improved audio driver replaces Soundflower and provides a bunch of new features and improvements in order to make recording audio more stable and easy to do. Download Installer Catalina - Go Here.
In the the panel that appears on the right, select 'Built-in Output' AND 'Soundflower (2ch)' then hit the button with the gear icon bottom left and select 'use this device for sound output' (you should still be hearing your iTunes output - it is now going to both Soundflower and the built-in speakers) Then In Quicktime: create a new audio. Soundflower, for example, is an open-source utility for Mac OS, designed to create a virtual audio output device than can also act as an input. It is great that you can capture the sound from outside sources as well as audio streams using the utility, but you have to download Soundflower from a reputable source and install it correctly. There are also many Soundflower-alike virtual audio drivers, such as Blackhole and Loopback. Final Words All in all, QuickTime player is a nice choice if you are going do some basic recording without internal sound.
How to Use QuickTime Player to Record Mac Screen
The workflow is quite easy and you can follow the steps below:
Step 1: Open up QuickTime, navigate to File menu on the top toolbar and click “New Screen Recording”.
Step 2: The related screen recording prompt will pop up. For macOS Mojave or Catalina users, a brand-new Screencast app shows up (which can also be called out by pressing Shift-Command-5). While for earlier system users, it’s the QuickTime-style “Screen Recording” control.
Step 3: Define the target recording area through ready-made options (shown below) and mouse. Then set the Microphone source, Save to path, Timer, and others like whether to Show Mouse Clicks or not during recording.
Earlier Screen Recording panel works a little bit different. By clicking the down arrow, you are only given Microphone and Options. Recording region selection is available after tapping the record button.
Step 3: Start and end QuickTime screen recording. Note that the stop button is located in the menu bar.
Step 4: Utilize the thumbnail to trim, save, or share.
Many users get troubled in stopping the QuickTime capture, like they don’t know “how to stop QuickTime screen recording” or the “stop button on menu bar can’t stop recording” exactly. In view of this, you are suggested to try button and shortcut methods back and forth. Below are some shortcut details for QuickTime screen recording on macOS 10.15 & 10.14.
Action | Shortcut |
New screen recording | Control-Command-N |
Open Screenshot app | Shift-Command-5 |
Capture the entire screen | Shift-Command-3 |
Capture a portion of the screen | Press Shift-Command-4 to select |
Capture a window or the menu bar | Press Shift-Command-4 -> Space bar to choose with camera pointer |
Capture a menu and menu items | Press Shift-Command-4 to choose the menu item with pointer once you opened the menu. |
Capture the Touch Bar | Shift-Command-6. |
Stop the Recording | Command-Control-Esc |
Why do Some Screen Recordings of QuickTime Have No Sound?
QuickTime creates no-audio recording is a normal phenomenon, because as is mentioned above, QuickTime doesn’t feature capturing screen with the sound coming from computer. It means, when you haven’t input your voice via Microphone, no matter what’s going on on the desktop, QuickTime won’t record the sound from it at all, unless the volume of internal audio is so high that Microphone has received its signals.
QuickTime offers no way to grab sound from system and built-in apps like QuickTime itself, Skype, WhatsApp, Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube, then how to walk this through? Just keep your patience to move on.
How to Record Mac Screen with Internal Audio?
The screen audio recording limitation of QuickTime paves the way for both third-party virtual audio driver and Mac screen recorder with audio. In other words, you have 2 ways to achieve a regular screen recording with internal audio.
Way 1 – User Third-party Mac Screen and Audio Recorder
Standalone desktop screen recording software comes in handy and is the most recommended way to make screencast. For one thing, screen recorder is more powerful than amateurish QuickTime screen recording by offering more flexible settings and effects. For another, without seeking for any third-party driver setup, the program itself is able to handle audio capture perfectly. Here we take how RecMaster works as the demonstration.
RecMaster is an easy but slick screen recorder with intuitive interface. It supports any kinds of screen video recordings like game capture, entire screen capture, certain app capture, a fixed area capture, webcam capture and pure audio capture. To help create more engaged and eye-catching footage, RecMaster enables you to superimpose front camera face into screen at any position and size for explanation, to show and highlight mouse cursor for demos, as well as make annotations for instructions. Now please download and install it on your Mac machine for easier screen recording.
Steps on how RecMaster records:
Step 1. Prepare your capture content and open RecMaster for Mac
Step 2. Choose the right mode. When heading over to the secondary window, check and alter the presets if it’s necessary. You are free to customize video format, quality, frame rate, webcam mix, audio source and recording length.
Step 3. Click record button to make the capture happen. Note that the annotation feature will come to RecMaster for Mac soon.
Step 4. Stop the recording. Then play and do easy edits.
Way 2 – Use QuickTime Plus Third-party Audio Driver
Once you install any kernel extension like Soundflower, the extension will route audio from any app to another. Thus, QuickTime is empowered to grab app sound. There are also many Soundflower-alike virtual audio drivers, such as Blackhole and Loopback.
Final Words
All in all, QuickTime player is a nice choice if you are going do some basic recording without internal sound. However, if you are a video nerd and will frequently document screen videos for your vlog, work or so, adopting a decent and affordable application like RecMaster is a wiser choice.
It cannot be denied that open source projects are attractive, partly because they are usually free to use. However, every coin has two sides, so does freeware. Soundflower, for example, is an open-source utility for Mac OS, designed to create a virtual audio output device than can also act as an input.
It is great that you can capture the sound from outside sources as well as audio streams using the utility, but you have to download Soundflower from a reputable source and install it correctly. Moreover, we are going to share the best 10 alternative methods to record audio in this post.
Soundflower Alternative Windows Mac
Part 1: Best Alternative to Soundflower
According to our research, many people said that Soundflower is not working on Windows or Mac. If you are looking for the best alternative solution, we will recommend Aiseesoft Screen Recorder. Its advantages include:
- Capture audio files from your hard drive or any portable devices.
- Record online audio from YouTube, Soundcloud, Apple Music, etc.
- Save audio outputs in MP3, WMA, AAC, M4A and other audio formats.
- Use hotkeys to control the process, and make snapshots when recording audio files.
- Pre-listen to the output with the built-in media player.
All in all, Screen Recorder is the best alternative to Soundflower to record music or sound files on your computer.
How to use Screen Recorder
Step 1 Install Screen Recorder on your computer
There are two versions of Screen Recorder, one for Windows and the other for Mac. Download and install it on your computer. Then launch the utility and select Audio Recorder in the main interface.
Step 2 Record the sound from your system audio or microphone
Decide to capture the sound from system audio or microphone based on your need. To customize other settings, like output format and quality, hit the gear icon to open the Preferences dialog.
Step 3 Save the audio output as you wish
After setting, click on the REC button and play the audio file to start recording it. When it is done, press the stop icon, you will be taken to the media player window. If you are satisfied with the result, export it to your computer.
Alternatively, you are able to use audio editor to get a further editing for your audio file.
Part 2: Other 9 Soundflower alternatives software
In addition to Screen Recorder, you can learn more options to record audio files from different sources and mix them together without Soundflower.
Voicemeeter Banana
Key features:
1. Compatible with Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista
2. Support up to 5 audio sources, including 3 physicals and 2 virtual channels.
3. Record audio from DVD players, USB MIC, video game, iTunes, etc.
4. Use the multi-channel EQ to drive Stereo P.A. Systems.
5. Export outputs in WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, MOV and other popular audio formats.
Pros
1. This Soundflower alternative on Windows contains a wide range of custom options.
2. It is free to download and use.
Cons
1. It is complicated and requires several hours to grasp.
AudioBus
Main features:
1. Turns your iOS device to an audio recorder.
2. Use music apps together by passing live audio and MIDI.
3. Create your own music by chaining effects, record and layer performances.
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4. Adjust levels and balance for each audio source to get the perfect sound.
5. Compatible with over a thousand apps.
Pros
1. This Soundflower alternative for iOS is downloadable in the App Store.
2. You can control it with gestures easily.
Cons
1. You have to purchase it before downloading.
iShowU Audio Capture
Basic features:
1. The Instant version is $24 and the Studio version is $79.
2. Integrate a compressor, audio processor, and an audio adjust equalizer.
3. Available to Mac OS high sierra or later.
4. Record audio from almost all popular devices as it supports multichannel input.
5. Extract audio from videos easily.
Pros
1. The output quality is pretty good.
2. This alternative to Soundflower on Mac OS high sierra supports plentiful output formats.
Cons
1. It is a bit expensive.
Total Recorder
Principal features:
1. Combine audio and videos from different sources flexibly.
2. Convert audio or video files.
3. Split multimedia files into clips and save them separately.
4. Process multiple media tracks at once.
5. Repair MP3 files using advanced technology.
Pros
1. This Soundflower alternative supports a variety of add-ons.
2. It offers various versions to meet users’ different needs.
Cons
1. You have to purchase the software, including the standard version.
Sound Siphon
Attractive features:
1. Capture all the audio sources on Mac computer and mix them together.
2. Record the sound from specific app.
3. Adjust the volume of each app independently.
4. Send audio from one app to another.
5. Available to Mac OS X 10.11 or above.
Pros
1. This alternative to Soundflower is flexible and easy to use.
2. The developer releases update frequently.
Cons
1. Some features need extra apps.
Dante Via
Main features:
1. Enhance the sound from any USB or FireWire device with network connection.
2. Isolate and capture audio from apps.
3. Monitor audio devices and channels from anywhere on the system.
4. Support the drag-and-drop command.
5. Provide security settings to control distribution of audio.
Pros
1. This Soundflower alternative is available to Windows 10/8/8.1/7 and Mac OS 10.2 or later.
Cons
1. This app is expensive.
2. It needs internet connectivity.
Audio Hijack
Key features:
1. Record audio from your microphone, any websites or apps.
2. Set the parameters of each audio source separately.
3. Burn CDs with online music with the Built-in CD burner.
4. Wake your Mac and start recording after setting the automatic timer.
5. Integrate ID3 tag.
Pros
1. The interface is intuitive.
2. There is no standard workflow and people can use this alternative to Soundflower in various ways.
Cons
1. It is only compatible with the latest Mac computers.
Loopback
Basic features:
1. Create a list of virtual audio devices as input drives.
2. Offer a unique set of audio sources for each virtual device.
3. Record multiple audio input sources and mix sound playback.
4. Work well with other apps on Mac OS.
5. Include a powerful 16-channel option.
Pros
1. Loopback contains more useful features than Soundflower.
2. The interface is simple and easy to use.
Cons
1. It is pricey and does not provide free trail.
Dante Virtual Soundcard
Principal features:
1. Turn your machine to a virtual device.
2. Capture sound from any audio devices and apps on computer.
3. Customize audio quality and other options.
4. Support a wide array of devices.
Pros
1. The interface is pretty easy to use.
2. This alternative to Soundflower is able to detect the audio devices via USB cable and internet network.
Cons
1. It runs automatically after your computer restarts.
Part 3: FAQs of Soundflower Alternative
1. Does Soundflower work on Mojave?
Yes. Soundflower is fully compatible with macOS Mojave. It can work on macOS 10.10, 10.11 and macOS Catalina.
2. Does Soundflower work on Windows?
No. Soundflower has been designed exclusively for Mac and it is not compatible with Windows. If you want to use this software on Windows, you can try its alternatives like Voicemeeter Banana, Dante Via and Virtual Audio Cable.
3. Is Soundflower safe?
Yes. Soundflower is safe and free from viruses. Users will not encounter any problems when using it, for this software is specially designed for Mac.
Conclusion
Now, you should grasp at least 10 best alternatives to Soundflower. You can record audio from any devices and apps on your computer with the software. They all have unique benefits and advantages.
Aiseesoft Screen Recorder, for example, is able to provide the best audio quality. Moreover, it is simple to use. Dante Via and iShowU Audio Capture provides extensive custom options. AudioBus is the alternative to Soundflower on iOS devices. You can find the most proper program based on your needs and our reviews.
If you have more questions, feel free to leave your messages below this article.
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