How to run nvidia shadow play. NVIDIA ShadowPlay what is this program in startup? Software management How to use ShadowPlay

Not the least relevant problem for people involved in blogging on the topic of video games, creators of educational lessons, tutorials and walkthroughs is the recording of gameplay and various kinds of manipulations on the desktop. If the situation with creating screenshots is simpler, and they are obtained using standard OS tools using the “Print Scrin” key, then the topic of recording lightweight video in good quality has not been fully disclosed and requires careful analysis.

Recording gameplay is not easy

This problem can be solved both by the program of the direct supplier of video cards NVIDIA (ShadowPlay), and by using software from third-party manufacturers (Bandicam, PlayClaw, etc.). In this article we will dwell in detail on the first option and try to describe in detail each aspect associated with the use of ShadowPlay.

Settings and requirements for the program to work

Before proceeding to direct use, it would be reasonable to first carefully consider the requirements that the program places on the hardware.

It is worth recalling that shadowplay is supplied and automatically installed together with Experience, and this already implies that it is not for AMD cards! Even if you have an NVIDIA card, this does not guarantee the ability to use shadowplay as a means for video recording of gameplay or online broadcasting on Twitch.

shadowplay ships and automatically installs with NVIDIA GeForce Experience

Yes, Experience will work even on a primitive built-in card, but to use all the full capabilities (such as optimizing nvidia games or video recording), the video card must definitely belong to the GeForce GTX series:

600M (not all models);
700M;
800M;
Titan.

On devices of the 500M - 400M series, game optimization is available, and for the rest, only the function of searching and updating the latest driver versions is available, so do not be surprised if shadowplay does not work on a laptop.

But the hardware is not limited to just a video card, and for the utility to fully operate you will need a modern processor (AMD Athlon II, Phenom II, FX; Intel Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or higher), 2 GB of RAM, a screen with a resolution no less than 1024×768. You also need a couple of tens of megabytes of hard drive space and, of course, the Internet.

In terms of software, installing Experience will require at least Windows XP SP3, however, due to the lack of official support for DirectX 11 in XP, the program will only work with drivers. Systems like Win7 and higher have built-in support for DirectX 11 Runtime, so there should be no problems here. As for Vista with its built-in DirectX 10, everything is fixed by installing version 11.

A very common reason that geforce experience does not start is a problem with the Net Framework (or lack thereof), which is usually successfully resolved by reinstalling (or installing) the Net Framework.

If geforce experience does not open even after this, then you should remove all NVIDIA software and try to reinstall it again.

geforce experience won't start - problem with Net Framework (or lack thereof)

Using and Settings ShadowPlay

As noted earlier, the shadowplay program comes with GeForce Experience, so in order to enable shadowplay nvidia and start recording, you must first open Experience, and then launch the button with the image of a movie camera and the words “ShadowPlay”. However, before you start recording anything, it is advisable to look into the options and configure everything appropriately.

There are 3 main sections with settings: “Mode”, “Quality” and “Sound”. The first point is responsible for how the game process will be recorded:
In the background. Recording is ongoing and when you press hot keys, a predetermined time period of video will be saved to a file (the last 5 minutes (by default) or any other period that will be specified in the “background recording time” item).
In manual mode. As the name may already suggest, the recording procedure is activated manually using hot keys and continues until the user stops it manually. A video file is also created by pressing a hotkey combination.
Broadcast on Twitch. It is enough to install shadowplay, connect to the Internet and then, in addition to local recording on your computer, the user has the opportunity to live broadcast his game, which will be very convenient for popular gamers and bloggers.

Next is the “Quality” section, here we are provided with settings for setting the bitrate (Mbit/sec) and framerate (FPS). You can use the default settings or change them at your discretion.

Settings for setting bitrate (Mbit/sec) and framerate (FPS)

In addition to video recording, nvidia shadowplay is also a means of capturing an audio stream, which can be obtained either directly from the game, or from the audio input (if you turn on the microphone), or any other available source of your choice.

If shadowplay does not record or the recording does not meet the necessary requirements, you can additionally look at the “Settings” section of the GeForce Experience utility, where there are settings that allow you to: change the save folder for recorded files, enable recording not only of games, but also just the desktop and all manipulations on it, create a “frame in frame” effect by displaying video from a webcam in a small window, configure the microphone in Push-to-talk mode and much more.

Advantages and disadvantages of the program

The program is supplied by the equipment manufacturer free of charge, which is more convenient and better than installing additional and also paid software from third-party developers. The advantages include recording high-quality video with a resolution of 2.5K (2560×1440 or 2560×1600) and autostarting the program with Windows (shadow play on system startup).

In addition, video recording and encoding is carried out using the video card, without loading the CPU, without occupying RAM, and at the same time, practically without affecting the performance of the running game.

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Unfortunately, in addition to the advantages, as everywhere else, there are some disadvantages, for example, nvidia settings are not saved or when using a microphone for no apparent reason, and sometimes shadowplay does not record the game at all. Another common problem is the appearance of several FPS counters at once instead of one, or the fact that nvidia geforce experience does not see the game.

If, despite full compliance with the requirements described above, geforce experience still does not work on the computer, no one forbids downloading and installing another utility of a similar purpose from a third-party developer.

Nvidia GeForce Shadowplay has two main advantages: optimal use of computer resources and the ability to record video of the last minutes of the game. You can download the application for free, but your computer must meet the system requirements. Additionally, both to use Shadowplay and to install it, you need GeForce Experience.

Features of setting up and using the Shadowplay program.

Advantages:

recording of the last minutes;
great optimization.

Flaws:

sometimes it doesn't work correctly.

Nvidia is responding to requests from next-gen consoles by offering ShadowPlay as part of the GeForce Experience app. The program will allow you to automatically log a maximum of 20 minutes of gameplay. The video is saved on your hard drive. When you press the appropriate key combination, a file is automatically created, which can subsequently be edited in third-party programs. Everything is based on the H.264 codec built into cards from the GTX 600 and 700 families, and supports all games based on the DirectX 9 library. Recordings are even created at 1920x1080 and 60 frames per second, but the quality can be changed to suit your needs own requirements.

Optimal gripping device

The second ace up Shadowplay's sleeve is that it uses the same system resource optimization technology as for GeForce video cards. As a result, it doesn’t matter how high the graphical requirements of the game you are recording are – there will be virtually no drop in fps! Your games will run smoothly and at the highest possible quality. In this sense, Shadowplay is a better choice than the legendary Fraps. Setting the highest recording setting means a 5-10 percent drop in liquidity. For Windows 7, the maximum file size is 4 GB, Windows 8 removes this limitation. Plans also include automatically publishing the game online on the Twitch website.

Shadowplay features:

new GeForce Experience option, compatible with GeForce 650 or later cards;
a 10-20 minute buffer that records game progress;
slight decrease in performance;
The possibility of broadcasting the game live is in development.

ShadowPlay will handle all games using DirectX 9 or higher libraries. The image is saved in high resolution (up to 1920x1080 pixels) with 60 frames per second. At the highest recording quality settings (50Mbps), this feature can reduce game performance by 5-10% - not much compared to popular recording programs. In addition, you no longer need to store many huge video files on your hard drive, trying to capture some good moment.

ShadowPlay also allows you to manually record games. The Alt+F9 key combination will start saving the current game without time limits. For Windows 7 systems, these files cannot weigh more than 4 GB, but for Windows 8 the limit will only be on the amount of free disk space. Existing GeForce Experience features include updating graphics drivers and recommending optimal graphics settings for the latest games.

How to enable ShadowPlay

After restarting the PC, many users wonder what kind of program is included in startup. First of all, you need a video card compatible with the Shadowplay function. This option is only available on GeForce GTX 600, 700 and 900 graphics cards or for laptops - on 600M, 700M, 800M and 900M models. The next step is to make sure the GeForce Experience software is installed. This is part of the GeForce GameReady Drivers package and should be installed by default. GeForce Experience can be found in the Start menu. Otherwise, it can be downloaded separately from the official website.

Setting up NVIDIA ShadowPlay

How to enable Shadowplay? After activating the program, click the “Shadowplay” button in the upper right corner of the window. A ShadowPlay window will appear, allowing you to enable this feature and configure its settings. First, we need to activate ShadowPlay - to do this, click the switch on the left side of the window. Then select the recording mode. The following modes are available:

Manual – recording is activated and stopped using a button on the keyboard. Until we do this, the program will not record anything. This mode works like regular, classic recording software - Fraps or Bandicam.
Shadow – ShadowPlay continuously records our progress and stores up to 20 minutes of the last game in temporary memory. The video will be saved after pressing the hot keys. This option has the advantage of preserving some of the gameplay that we had not yet planned to record.
Shadow & Manual – a combination of the modes described above. ShadowPlay performs a permanent recording into temporary memory, and if we want to save, for example, the last 20 minutes, we just need to press the appropriate key. At the same time, normal recording mode is also available, activated by another button, so normal videos can be recorded at any time by setting the start and end of the recording.
Twitch mode does not record video to disk, but instead streams it to a channel on Twitch.TV. You must first register with Twitch and go through channel authentication.

In addition, you can choose the quality of the recorded video (the higher the quality, the larger the video file size) and the mode - ShadowPlay can record only audio ("In the game") or voice from the microphone, which is useful when we plan to create a recording with commentary. If you choose shadow mode, in the “Shadow Time” field you can choose how many minutes of the last game you want to save.

The next step is to set up your keyboard shortcuts and save location. To do this, click the gear button just below the Shadowplay switch. Settings will appear in which, in the corresponding fields, you can set combinations of buttons that activate starting and stopping recording or saving the last minutes from shadow mode.

A little lower you can select the drive and folder in which our video materials should be saved. In addition to the save location, it is also worth specifying a directory for temporary files - if you have little space on your C drive, writing may be limited, so in both fields it is worth specifying a drive and a directory that has enough memory. If desired, you can add an image from a webcam to the recording. In the settings there are options for the size and location on the screen where the image should be displayed.

Nvidia GeForce Shadowplay only works with GeForce GTX 600 and 700 cards and only on personal computers. Unfortunately, GeForce Shadowplay causes a lot of problems and sometimes crashes. Despite the fact that the program has long left the beta testing phase, it still generates many errors, launches incorrectly, and sometimes does not record even after being turned on. Despite the issues mentioned above, Nvidia GeForce Shadowplay is definitely worth a try for every gamer. First of all, because this software is free.

In this article, we will not only tell you how the ShadowPlay gaming video recording technology works, but also test its effectiveness in comparison with the Fraps and Bandicam applications.

The editors would like to thank MSI for kindly providing a video card for testing.

Principle of operation

The idea of video recording of game video itself is not new: it can be implemented both in hardware and software. In the first case, you will have to spend money on a video capture card, and in the second, you will have to put up with a decrease in frame rates in games (video compression loads the processor) or with a large volume of video files (without compression). The company, using ShadowPlay video recording technology, solved both of the above-mentioned problems.

Thus, ShadowPlay is supported by desktop video cards starting with GeForce GTX 650 Ti, GTX 750 and GTX 960, as well as older models of laptop video cards. Video recording is carried out using the NVENC hardware video encoder integrated into NVIDIA graphics chips based on Kepler and Maxwell architectures. You can enable ShadowPlay in the GeForce Experience application settings. For ShadowPlay to work, you must have at least a quad-core CPU (Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon X4), otherwise the power button will be inactive.

In the ShadowPlay settings, you can select video quality (screen resolution HD, FullHD 2K or 4K, frame rate 30 or 60 and bitrate from 10 to 50 Mbps), audio recording (only from the game or additionally from a microphone), recording modes (from the moment pressing the start button or saving the last five minutes of the game) and, finally, displaying the video from the webcam in the corner of the screen. The latter is relevant for streams via Twitch, which ShadowPlay technology also supports. ShadowPlay can also record video from the Desktop, which can be useful for creating video tutorials on working with difficult-to-learn software.

Testing

We decided to compare the performance of ShadowPlay with two popular applications for video recording of games - Fraps and Bandicam, both paid (in the free versions a watermark is displayed over the video). Testing was carried out on a computer with an Intel Core i3-4130 processor and the latest generation NVIDIA video card – GTX 960 Gaming 2G.

Frequent frame measurements were taken in the brand new game The Witcher 3, the license key for which was kindly provided by the digital distribution store Gamasaur. Graphics settings "High", post-processing settings "Medium".

This program is installed along with the standard driver package from NVIDIA. At the same time, the utility has many functions, such as streaming video recording in good quality, broadcasting to the global network, filming actions on the desktop. This is a good and free program that can do many useful things. The article will describe all the useful functions.

The utility will be installed automatically as soon as the user downloads the drivers from the official website. The application is available for gtx600 and better video cards. A complete list of system requirements can be found on the developer's page.

How to Record Video Using Nvidia GeForce Experience

In previous versions of the program, options such as video recording and desktop recording were separated and placed in a separate item. Now you can do this using one menu item, which has slightly increased the convenience of using the program.

To use this function you will need to run Nvidia GeForce Experience, which you can do by simply clicking on it. Next you will need to go to the settings, you can do this by clicking on the gear icon.

The user may be asked to create or log in to an account, which must be done to use all the features of the application. Previously, there was no such requirement, but in the latest versions such a restriction was added.

The function responsible for recording can be called the same as in the picture, or “ Overlay Share», « In-game overlay" It depends on the software version and video card. Desktop recording is enabled separately.

Once the setting is enabled, you can start recording. You can do this by clicking Alt+F9, you can also explore the options by calling the recording panel Alt+Z, in which you can control the process directly.

To adjust the quality of the recorded material, you need to click on the entry and go to settings.

Here you can adjust the parameters the user needs. For setting and adjustment sound quality you need to click on the microphone icon. Camera sign is responsible for the webcam, and can also be useful for those who make videos.

When you enable the recording option, several settings will become available. In chapter Confidentiality, you can enable work with the desktop. In the hotkey combinations, you can set those that are convenient for the user. They allow you to start and end the shooting process, save the last segment and much more.

Functionality and main advantages of the application

Here we will talk in more detail about the operating modes and functioning of the application.

First of all, the user should configure the mode. IN background, shooting is carried out continuously, and a small (5 minutes by default) piece of recording is saved when you press a key combination. Suitable for those who, for example, play games and want to save only the most interesting moments. Can be set manual mode, then the recording and its termination will have to be activated by the user himself.

Video and audio quality stands for what the title says. The user can leave the standard settings or set those that he needs. You should also configure the sound in the settings. Namely, how to record audio, and when exactly to record a microphone. By default, it is only recorded when the button is clicked.

You can also overlay additional widgets to the video being shot.

The utility is completely free and has a lot of functionality; every user will be able to find useful functions and customize it for themselves.

In this article, we will not only explain how NVIDIA ShadowPlay gaming video recording technology works, but also test its effectiveness in comparison with the Fraps and Bandicam applications.

The editors would like to thank the company for kindly providing the video card for testing.

Principle of operation

The idea of video recording of game video itself is not new: it can be implemented both in hardware and software. In the first case, you will have to spend money on a video capture card, and in the second, you will have to put up with a decrease in frame rates in games (video compression loads the processor) or with a large volume of video files (without compression). NVIDIA has solved both of the above problems using ShadowPlay video recording technology.

Testing

We decided to compare the performance of ShadowPlay with two popular applications for video recording of games - both are paid (in the free versions, a watermark is displayed over the video). Testing was carried out on a computer with the latest generation NVIDIA processor and video card.

Measurements of frame rates were carried out in the brand new game The Witcher 3, the license key for which was kindly provided by. Graphics settings "High", post-processing settings "Medium".

The Witcher 3 on MSI GTX 960 Gaming 2G