If you need to record your webcam’s video and audio to disk, you can use either macOS’s built-in QuickTime Player or the open-source VLC Player. QuickTime is a quick but rudimentary option, while VLC allows for more control.
Using QuickTime Player to Record Webcam’s Video
QuickTime comes bundled with every Mac as the default video player, but it can also make recordings. You can make a quick and simple recording of your webcam’s video feed using QuickTime Player.
Open QuickTime Player from the Applications folder.
Dismiss the window asking if you want to open a new file by clicking the “Done” button.
From the menu bar choose “New Movie Recording …” from the “File” menu.
A new QuickTime window will open showing a preview of what your webcam will capture when you click “Record.” You can adjust your camera to make sure everything looks good.
If you don’t want to record sound with your Mac’s default audio input, click the drop-down arrow next to the “Record” button. This will expose a drop-down menu allowing you to select from a list of available audio inputs.
When you’re ready to go, click the red “Record” button.
A tally will begin showing the length and file size of the recording. You’ll also see a live stream of the video on your monitor as it’s recorded.
When you’re done recording, click the grey “Stop” button. It will be in the same place the “Record” button was previously.
Now that the recording is complete, the finished file will appear in its own QuickTime Player window. Choose “Save” from the “File” menu to save the new file.
Choose the location where you want to save the file and click the “Save” button.
Recording Your Webcam’s Video with VLC
QuickTime is an excellent choice for quick webcam recordings. If you need some more advanced options, you can check out the open-source VLC Player.
Install VLC from the developer’s website.
Open VLC from the Applications folder.
Choose “Open Capture Device” from the “File” menu in the menu bar.
Tick the checkboxes next to “Video” and “Audio.” If necessary, select the correct audio and video input options from the associated drop-down menus.
Also, tick the checkbox next to “Streaming/Saving:” to enable the saving of the webcam’s video.
Click the “Settings …” button above “Open.”
This pop-up pane is where most of VLC’s magic happens. In here you can adjust the various settings that affect your video capture.
Click the drop-down next to “Encapsulation Method” and choose your preferred recording wrapper. If you want a .mov file, choose “Quicktime” as seen below.
Click “Browse …” next to the “File” text box to select the appropriate save location for your video file.
If you want to see your recording as it happens, tick the box next to “Display the stream locally.”
If you want to compress or transcode the video file after recording, use the transcoding options in the middle of the window.
When you’re done, click the “OK” button in the lower right.
Click the “Open” button in the lower right to begin recording.
When you’re finished recording, click the “Stop” button in the lower left.
Conclusion
For quick and easy recordings, you can use QuickTime Player to capture video and audio from your webcam. If you want to expose some more advanced options, you can use VLC to record your webcam’s video.
Alexander Fox is a tech and science writer based in Philadelphia, PA with one cat, three Macs and more USB cables than he could ever use.
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