How to Record PS4 Gameplay on PC with or without Capture Card?

The Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) has a default recording feature and is very powerful. A PS4 game console has 8 cores, 6-7 for gaming, the rest to handle the system, and a custom Marvell chip as the network co-processor for standby downloads. The PS4 has a separate processor for recording. The video recording and sharing function does not use the main APU but is executed in the background by a second chip linked to the APU. The second chip has a hardware-based video encoder and decoder, so it doesn’t use any of the resources needed for the game and doesn’t consume CPU, memory, or bandwidth.

Nevertheless, you still need to record PS4 gameplay on PC for some cases. For example, sometimes you will want to record desktop operations, such as reading and archiving the screen, which cannot be recorded by a PS4 (and will appear black screen); sometimes, you will want to record the first-person speaking, add your voice narration and face to make the video interactive and unique.

The post will show you how to record PS4 gameplay on PC with or without a capture card. Just read on to dig out the details.

How to Record PS4 Gameplay on PC Using VideoProc Converter?

The most common way to record PS4 gameplay on a PC is to use a capture card and screen recorder software. The simple principle is connecting your PS4 with the card and recording and encoding the capture via the PC software.

A capture card, such as Elgato, delivers and passes through a raw video stream from a game console, camera, and so on to a computer that can process and encode the signal for viewing the video on a monitor.

Video software, such as VideoProc Converter, can help you record the screen with voice and webcam, encode, compress and edit the captured file in any way you wish so that you can save the file and/or upload it to the internet. It has the following advantages:

• Record HD video without time limit.
• Crop the screen to choose a specific area to record.
• Several recording modes: chroma key, Screen, Webcam, Screen & Webcam (PiP).
• You can record the internal sound and voice narration through a microphone.
• Add texts, record mouth clicks, and draw lines or shapes to highlight the gameplay.
• Convert the record to MP4, MOV, WMV, YouTube, Facebook, and more.
• Reduce the file size through 6 ways to make the video more sharable.
• Edit the video by cutting, merging, rotating, resizing, watermarking, etc.

Just download VideoProc Converter and follow the guide below.

To capture PS4 gameplay on PC, you need to prepare the following things:

• Sony PS4 game console
• A PC (desktop/laptop)
• A capture card
• Two HDMI cables
• A USB cable
• VideoProc Converter for screen recording

Step 1. Establish the connection between PS4 and the game capture device.

Insert your HDMI cable to the in-port of the game capture device, such as Elgato, and connect the other end of the cable to your PS4.

Step 2. Connect another HDMI cable to the PC

Insert one end of another HDMI cable to the HDMI port of your PC, and plug in the other end to the capture device.

Step 3. Connect USB to PC and capture card.

Connect the USB cable to the PC and the capture card. Then open the PS4.

Step 4. Configure settings on the PS4 Screen Recorder

Launch VideoProc Converter, go to Settings > Recorder, where you can set the recording quality, format, desk audio device, audio level, Mic, encoder, camera device, and more.

Step 5. Choose a record mode you need

Go back to the main interface of VideoProc Converter and choose Recorder. On the Recorder panel, you can choose Screen for screen recorder, Webcam for webcam recording (if you have a web camera on your PC), or Screen & Webcam for recording in PiP mode.

Step 6. Start recording the PS4 gameplay

Press the red Rec button to fire up the recorder. You can begin playing a game on your PS4 and recording the gameplay on PC.

Bonus Tips:

You can use VideoProc Converter to edit the record quickly. Go back to the main interface, tap Video, click +Video to import the captured video, and go to the Toolbox to do the trick.

How to Record PS4 Gameplay on PC without Capture Card?

If you don’t have a capture card device or don’t want to bother using it, you can still succeed in recording PS4 gameplay on PC. Then the software tool you need is OBS.

OBS, short for Open Broadcaster Software, is an open-source program for video recording and streaming on Windows or Mac.

You need to prepare the following apps:

• PS4 Remote Play app
• Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)

Step 1. Turn on your PS4.

Step 2. Open the PS4 Remote Play app on your PC, and sign in with your PSN account.

Step 3. Go to Settings on the PS4 Remote Play and change resolution, frame rate, and so on; however, you need.

Step 4. Connect your PS4 controller to the PC via a USB cable and hit the Start button until you see the PS4 interface display.

Step 5. Open the OBS, right-click under Sources > Properties > set whatever you want for Monitor Capture, such as “Capture mouse cursor”, “use point filtering,” and “Color Key.”

Step 6. Then, right-click under Sources again and choose Windows Capture, Game Capture, or Monitor Capture.

Note: Generally, to record PS4 gameplay on a PC, Windows Capture or Game Capture is recommended. Monitor Capture is only recommended for Windows 8.

Step 7. Start recording and minimize the OBS.

Step 8. Start playing your game and let OBS record your gameplay.