Simple Screen Recorder is a Linux program created to make videos of programs and games. It was developed out of a need for a better screen recording tool on Linux, as the creator found existing options weren't quite meeting their needs entirely. So, the decision was made to create a new application from the ground up.
One of the key design goals was robustness and performance. Simple Screen Recorder can record your entire screen or just a part of it. Crucially, it can also record OpenGL programs directly, much like the popular Fraps tool on Windows. This direct recording method is often significantly smoother than just capturing the entire screen desktop, making it ideal for game recording. For instance, achieving a steady 30 frames per second at 720p during demanding tasks like gaming is quite feasible.
The entire program is built with multi-threading in mind. This means that even if one part of the recording pipeline encounters a small delay, it doesn't necessarily halt or negatively impact the other components. They will continue running, contributing to a more stable recording experience. Furthermore, the program incorporates intelligent performance management. It can automatically lower the video frame rate if it detects that the computer is struggling to keep up. This prevents the recorder from consuming excessive resources and causing the system to lag or freeze, a problem sometimes seen in other recording software.
While originally requiring users to compile it themselves due to its early development stage, Simple Screen Recorder has matured significantly. It should work well on most modern Linux distributions.
Key Features
Direct OpenGL Recording
Allows direct capture from OpenGL applications, similar to Fraps on Windows. This method generally results in smoother video and better performance compared to capturing the entire desktop, especially for games.
Flexible Recording Area
You can choose to record the entire screen, a specific window, a fixed rectangle, or follow the mouse cursor.
Multi-threaded Architecture
Different components of the recording process run in separate threads. This prevents slowdowns in one area (like writing to disk) from bottlenecking the entire recording process, leading to greater stability.
Performance Optimization
Includes options to scale the video before encoding and can automatically reduce the recording frame rate if your computer cannot keep up, preventing system overload.
Audio Recording Capabilities
Supports recording audio from various backends like PulseAudio, ALSA, and JACK, with options for synchronizing audio and video accurately.
Live Preview and Statistics
Offers a live preview during recording so you can see what's being captured. It also displays statistics like file size, bit rate, and frame rate.
Wide Format Support
Supports various video and audio codecs and containers, including MP4, MKV, WebM, OGG with video codecs like H.264, VP8/VP9, and audio codecs like MP3, AAC, Vorbis, Opus.
User-Friendly Interface
Features a straightforward Qt-based graphical user interface with sensible defaults, tooltips for guidance, and the ability to save settings profiles (presets) for different recording scenarios.
Pros and Cons
✅ Efficient performance, especially with direct OpenGL recording.
✅ Multi-threaded design enhances stability.
✅ Automatically adjusts frame rate to prevent system lag.
✅ Highly configurable video and audio options.
✅ Supports a wide range of formats and codecs.
✅ Includes useful features like preview, stats, and presets.
✅ Free and open-source software.
✅ Simple graphical interface makes basic use easy.
❌ Primarily designed for Linux, limited official support on other platforms.
❌ Advanced configuration might require some understanding of codecs and settings.
❌ Recording some specific applications (like certain Steam games) might require tweaking settings for optimal results.
Availability and Usage
Simple Screen Recorder is free and open-source software, available under the GPL v3 license. It is widely available in the official software repositories of most popular Linux distributions (like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, Debian, etc.). You can typically install it using your distribution's package manager (e.g., `sudo apt install simplescreenrecorder` on Debian/Ubuntu systems).
Using the program is generally straightforward thanks to its graphical interface. You select the input source (full screen, rectangle, OpenGL), configure audio input, choose the output file format, location, and codecs, and then start recording. Presets can help quickly switch between common recording setups. If you want to use this to record Steam games, some specific configurations might be needed depending on your system and the game, but the direct OpenGL recording mode is often the best choice.
The creator put a lot of work into this tool, aiming to provide a useful and reliable screen recorder for the Linux community. User feedback has been instrumental in its improvement over time.
