Nvidia ShadowPlay icon

Nvidia ShadowPlay

Nvidia ShadowPlay is a free gameplay recording software that utilizes Nvidia graphics cards to capture and record gameplay videos with little performance impact. It offers easy video saving and sharing.

What is Nvidia ShadowPlay?

Nvidia ShadowPlay is a free gameplay recording software developed by Nvidia that utilizes specialized hardware in Nvidia graphics cards to capture and record gameplay footage with minimal performance impact.

Some key features of ShadowPlay include:

  • Uses Nvidia GPUs to hardware accelerate video encoding, resulting in very high performance recording with up to 130+ FPS at 1080p resolution.
  • Has an always-on continuous recording feature that constantly buffers gameplay video in the background.
  • Allows saving the last 20 minutes of gameplay at any time by pressing a hotkey.
  • Provides easy controls to start, stop, and customize recordings during gameplay sessions.
  • Offers options to broadcast livestreams directly to online platforms like Twitch or YouTube.
  • Can record microphone audio along with game audio in recordings.
  • Features Shadow Time to capture epic gameplay moments by saving the last 30 seconds of video.
  • Provides built-in sharing options to quickly share recordings without any editing.

As ShadowPlay uses specialized NVENC encoding hardware on Nvidia graphic cards, it has minimum performance impact on FPS compared to other recording software solutions. It also produces high quality recordings using advanced H.264 video compression for smaller file sizes. Overall, it is a great free option for gameplay recording and livestreaming built into Nvidia's GeForce Experience app.

The Best Nvidia ShadowPlay Alternatives

Top Apps like Nvidia ShadowPlay

Camtasia, Bandicam, Open Hardware Monitor, OBS Studio, VokoscreenNG, CamStudio, XSplit Broadcaster, ActivePresenter, Xbox Game Bar, Action!, Count It, Radeon ReLive, StreamYard, Peek GIF Screen Recorder, Nimbus Capture, Filmora Scrn, Lightstream, Plays.tv, Dxtory, ShowMore, ScreenRecord Studio, Istanbul, Lowkey.gg, Usability Studio, Gameshow, Free Screencast Recording for Gmail, GameCam, Smartpixel are some alternatives to Nvidia ShadowPlay.

Camtasia

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Bandicam

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Open Hardware Monitor

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OBS Studio

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VokoscreenNG

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CamStudio

CamStudio is a free, open source screen recording program for Microsoft Windows. It allows you to easily record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and flash videos (SWF).With CamStudio, you can quickly create video tutorials, software demonstrations, lectures, presentations and more...

XSplit Broadcaster

XSplit Broadcaster is a professional live streaming and video recording software suite that enables users to broadcast gameplay, webcams, presentations, and more to popular streaming platforms and services like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live, and more. It is a feature-rich tool designed for streamers, content creators, businesses, educators, event producers and...

ActivePresenter

ActivePresenter is a powerful yet easy-to-use screen recording and eLearning authoring software. It allows you to capture on-screen activities, edit videos, add interactions, quizzes, simulations and more to create professional eLearning courses.Key features of ActivePresenter:Intuitive screen recorder to capture all on-screen activities with audio narrationHTML5 video editor to...

Xbox Game Bar

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Action!

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Count It

Count It is a free tally counter program for Windows. It provides a simple clickable interface with buttons to increment, decrement, and reset a counter. The main use cases for Count It include:Keeping count while doing repetitive tasks like tracking completed items on an assembly line.Tallying scores when...

Radeon ReLive

Radeon ReLive is a built-in screen recording and live streaming software for AMD Radeon graphics cards. It is integrated into AMD's Adrenalin software and allows easy capturing, editing, and sharing of gameplay footage with minimal impact on game performance.Some key features of Radeon ReLive include:Capturing gameplay video up...

StreamYard

StreamYard is an easy-to-use cloud-based live streaming studio that makes it simple for anyone to create and broadcast professional-quality live stream broadcasts. It allows users to live stream to popular platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, LinkedIn and more, all from a simple web-based interface.Some of the key features StreamYard...

Peek GIF Screen Recorder

Peek is a free, open source screen recorder and animated GIF creator for Linux desktops. It provides an easy way to capture short screen recordings or GIFs of a selected screen area, application window, or full display.Some key features of Peek include:Intuitive user interface with simple controls for...

Nimbus Capture

Nimbus Capture is a feature-rich screenshot and screen recording tool for Windows. Developed by NCH Software, Nimbus Capture allows users to capture still images of their computer screen, record video of on-screen activity, annotate images and recordings, and export captures in various file formats.Some key features of Nimbus Capture...

Filmora Scrn

Filmora Scrn is a feature-packed screen recorder and video editor that makes it easy for anyone to create professional-looking videos. With Filmora Scrn, you can:Record your screen, webcam, audio, and more with just a few clicksEdit your recordings by trimming, merging, adding annotations, subtitles, transitions, and moreEnhance your videos...

Lightstream

Lightstream is a cloud-based live streaming production software that makes it easy for anyone to create professional multi-camera live streams. It allows you to switch between different video sources like cameras, capture cards, mobile devices, computer screens, and more to create dynamic broadcasts.Some key features of Lightstream include:Intuitive...

Plays.tv

Plays.tv is a free desktop application that allows gamers to easily record, replay and share their gameplay videos. It works by automatically detecting games installed on the user's computer and enables one-click recording and in-game replay features.Some key features of Plays.tv include:Automatic game detection - Plays...

Dxtory

Dxtory is advanced screen capture and gameplay recording software designed for high performance game recording with minimal performance impact. It offers a wide range of features for recording gameplay including:Supports capturing raw uncompressed video for the highest quality.Allows recording at very high resolutions and frame rates up to...

ShowMore

ShowMore is a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that gives users the ability to easily bypass various types of content blocking on websites. It works by analyzing web pages and identifying areas where content may be hidden behind walls, blurred out, or split across multiple pages.Once...

ScreenRecord Studio

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Istanbul

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Lowkey.gg

Lowkey.gg is a free and open source desktop application designed specifically for gamers to record, edit, and share their gameplay. It provides an easy way to capture game footage, add effects and edits, and publish clips or stream to platforms like YouTube and Twitch.Some key features of Lowkey...

Usability Studio

Usability Studio is a user research and usability testing platform used by UX researchers, designers, and product teams to conduct remote user tests in order to identify usability issues, improve user experiences, and validate design decisions. Some key capabilities and benefits of Usability Studio include:Recruit participants from their panel...

Gameshow

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Free Screencast Recording for Gmail

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GameCam

GameCam is a free and open source game recording and streaming software for Windows. It provides an easy way for gamers to record, stream, and share their gameplay experiences.With GameCam, you can:Record your game footage, with options to customize the video resolution, frame rates, output formats, and moreTake...

Smartpixel

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