NVIDIA ShadowPlay, now known as NVIDIA GeForce Experience Share, is a software application developed by NVIDIA for its GeForce graphics card users. It is primarily used for capturing and recording gameplay footage on a PC. Here are some of the key features and functions of NVIDIA ShadowPlay:
Game Capture: ShadowPlay allows you to record and capture
gameplay from your PC games. It can capture both fullscreen and windowed modes
and offers various recording options, including customizable video quality,
resolution, and frame rate settings. marketwatchmedia
Instant Replay: One of the unique features of ShadowPlay is
the "Instant Replay" function, which constantly records your gameplay
in the background. When you perform something remarkable in a game, you can hit
a hotkey, and the software will save a predefined amount of gameplay, typically
the last few minutes, without having to record the entire session.
Live Streaming: ShadowPlay also supports live streaming to
popular platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Live. You can customize
your stream settings, including resolution, bitrate, and more.
Recording Highlights: The software can automatically
identify and capture in-game highlights, such as kills, headshots, or other key
events. You can then access and share these highlights after your gaming
session
Voice and Webcam Overlay: ShadowPlay allows you to overlay
your webcam and microphone audio on your gameplay recordings and streams. This
feature is useful for adding commentary or creating a more personalized stream.
Customizable Hotkeys: You can set up hotkeys to easily start
and stop recordings, enable instant replay, or capture highlights. This makes
it convenient to control the recording process without leaving your game
Performance Impact: ShadowPlay is designed to have a minimal
impact on your gaming performance, thanks to its hardware-accelerated H.264 and
H.265 video encoding capabilities, which offload much of the processing to your
NVIDIA graphics card.
Audio Recording: You can record in-game audio, your
microphone, or both, depending on your preferences.
To use NVIDIA ShadowPlay, you'll need a compatible NVIDIA
GeForce graphics card and the GeForce Experience software installed on your PC.
Keep in mind that the software may receive updates and new features over time,
and the name may change as NVIDIA continues to improve its functionality and
integrate it with the GeForce Experience ecosystem.
Recording Highlights:
Recording highlights in NVIDIA ShadowPlay (or GeForce
Experience Share) is a convenient feature that allows you to automatically
capture and save significant moments or events during your gameplay. Here's how
you can use this feature:
Enable ShadowPlay: Make sure you have NVIDIA GeForce
Experience installed and your graphics card supports ShadowPlay. If it's not
already enabled, you can do so through the GeForce Experience settings. Open
GeForce Experience, go to the Settings (gear icon), and find the "Privacy
Control" section. Here, you can enable "In-Game Overlay" and
make sure that ShadowPlay is turned on.
Set Up Recording Highlights:
a. Launch a supported game. ShadowPlay works with a wide
range of popular PC games.
b. While in the game, press the default hotkey to open the
ShadowPlay overlay. By default, this is Alt+Z, but you can customize it in the
ShadowPlay settings.
c. In the overlay, you will see various options, including
"Instant Replay" and "Recording Highlights."
Configure Recording Highlights Settings:
a. Click on "Recording Highlights." This will open
a submenu where you can configure settings related to highlights.
b. You can specify the highlight length, which determines
how far back in your gameplay the highlights will capture. Common options
include 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or more. This means that the software will keep
a buffer of gameplay footage, and when you trigger a highlight, it will save
that portion.
c. You can also choose which types of events trigger
highlights. Common options include kills, deaths, headshots, and other in-game
events, depending on the supported events for your game.
d. Customize the quality settings for the captured
highlights. This may include options for resolution, frame rate, and bit rate.
e. Ensure that the feature is enabled and properly
configured according to your preferences.
Capture Highlights
While playing the game, when an event that matches your
configured criteria occurs and you want to save it as a highlight, you can
press the corresponding hotkey. By default, it's set to Alt+F10, but you can
customize it in the ShadowPlay settings.
Access and Share Highlights:
After your gaming session, you can access the saved
highlights through the ShadowPlay interface within GeForce Experience. From
there, you can review and edit your highlights and choose to share them on
social media platforms or save them to your computer for later use.
Please note that the availability of certain features and
customization options may vary depending on the version of GeForce Experience
and the specific game you are playing. Always make sure your GeForce Experience
software is up to date to access the latest features and improvements.
Audio Recording
When using NVIDIA ShadowPlay (or GeForce Experience Share)
to record gameplay or create content, you can customize your audio recording
settings to capture in-game audio, your microphone, or both. Here's how to
configure audio recording in ShadowPlay:
Enable ShadowPlay:
First, make sure that NVIDIA GeForce Experience is installed
and properly set up, and that ShadowPlay is enabled.
Open ShadowPlay Overlay:
While in the game, press the default hotkey to open the
ShadowPlay overlay. By default, this is Alt+Z, but you can customize it in the
ShadowPlay settings
Access Settings:
Within the ShadowPlay overlay, you will see several options.
Click on the gear icon to access the settings.
Audio Settings:
In the settings menu, navigate to the audio tab or section,
which is usually labeled "Audio." Here, you can configure your audio
recording preferences.
Select Audio Sources:
ShadowPlay allows you to select which audio sources to
record:
a. In-Game Audio: This option records the audio from the
game you are playing, including background music, sound effects, and other
in-game sounds.
b. Microphone: Enabling this option captures audio from your
microphone. This is useful if you want to add your commentary, reactions, or
conversations with other players to your recordings.
Audio Quality Settings:
Depending on your version of ShadowPlay, you may have the
option to customize audio quality settings, such as sample rate and bit depth.
These settings can affect the quality of your audio recordings, so you can
adjust them according to your preferences.
Test Your Audio:
Before starting your gameplay recording or streaming, it's a
good idea to test your audio sources to ensure they are working correctly. You
can do this within the ShadowPlay settings by looking for a "Test
Microphone" or "Test Audio" option.
Save Audio Settings:
Once you have configured your audio recording settings, be
sure to save or apply the changes
Start Recording or Streaming:
After configuring your audio settings, you can start
recording or streaming your gameplay with the chosen audio sources. You can do
this from the ShadowPlay overlay by selecting "Start Recording" or
"Start Stream."
Monitor Audio Levels:
While recording or streaming, you should monitor the audio
levels to ensure that your microphone and in-game audio are balanced correctly.
Most games and streaming platforms allow you to adjust audio levels during your
session.
Review and Edit:
After your gaming session, you can review your recordings in
the ShadowPlay interface within GeForce Experience. Here, you can edit the
audio and video as needed.
By configuring your audio recording settings in ShadowPlay,
you can create content with in-game audio, your microphone commentary, or a
combination of both to enhance your gaming videos or live streams.