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How to Record a Live Stream on Windows (10/11) PC for Free

It is a thorough guide of how to record live stream on PC for free. Follow us to record a live streaming video from YouTube, Facebook, Twitch etc., with ease.

The market for live streaming has continued to growing rapidly in the century. A number of streaming services add live streaming as a key feature to attract both live streamers and audiences. Due to real-time broadcasting over internet, everyone can enjoy live sports, TV shows, concerts and more on any device. Celebrities and influencers also would like to create live streams for engaging with audiences better. And, derived demands arrive along with the development of live streaming technology. One of them is to record live stream for later watching or previewing.

How to Record Live Stream on PC

Can you record a live stream for free? Certainly Yes. Here, we’re glad to show you how to record live stream on PC. You can capture live streaming videos from any platforms with no hassle at all.

Disclaimer: We do not advocate recording copyright (live) streaming videos for any commercial and illegal use.

How to Record Live Stream on PC - For Windows 10 and 11

Xbox Game Bar, a native screen recorder for Windows 10 and 11, is originally designed to capture game clips but also able to record on-screen activities in video. So, how does it to record live stream on PC? Follow the tutorial.

Step 1. Enable Xbox Game Bar

Open Windows Settings > Gaming to enter the setting page. Turn on the button to enable Xbox Game Bar. Also, you can replace Windows shortcuts for recording with your own ones. Click on Captures to make advanced settings, for example, video/audio quality, recording length, folder to save recordings and so on.

How to Record a Live Stream on Windows 10/11 - Enable Xbox Game Bar

Step 2. Start Recording

Open the live stream you want to capture. Press Windows Key + G to launch Xbox Game Bar. Before recording, you can click Audio icon to make sure to adjust system audio volume and microphone volume. Then, click Capture > Start Recording (or press Windows Key + Alt + R) to record the live streaming video. 

How to Record a Live Stream on Windows 10/11 - Start Recording

Step 3. Stop Recording

Press Windows Key + Alt + R to stop recording at any time you want. At the moment, the notice “Game clip recorder” pops up. Click on it to preview the recording. Also, the video will be saved as a MP4 file in Captures > Video folder on your hard drive.

Although Xbox Game Bar makes it effortless to record a live stream on Windows 10 and 11 PC, it comes with several drawbacks. It only allows you to record full screen and not working/no sound issues commonly happen. If you would like to get better experience to record a live stream on PC, try the following solution.

How to Record Live Stream on PC - For All Windows

Third-party screen recorders pack advanced features to capture any on-screen activities. iTop Screen Recorder is one of the best free screen recorders for PC. It focuses on offering an easy and smart way to record videos while keeping high quality. All streaming videos can be captured for offline watching with it.

iTop Screen Recorder packs an array of features to record live stream on PC hassle free. You can record World Cup/NFL/NBA live, live TV shows, live video game streaming and so on from any platforms. It allows you to select recording area, full screen, part of screen, a window or any chosen region. It empowers you to customize recording settings to record a video in 1080p, 4k, 60fps and export live stream recordings to MP4, AVI, MOV etc., for later watching or editing on any device without incompatibility issue. Certainly, it can maintain lossless quality of both video and audio. A denoiser can also be used to reduce background noise of your recording. Thanks to hardware acceleration and low CPU usage, the screen recorder for PC generates smooth screen recording with no lags. 

How to record live stream on PC with iTop Screen Recorder? Follow the guide.

Step 1. Download and install iTop Screen Recorder on your PC. It is totally compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7. 

Step 2. Click the arrow next to Full Screen to select recording area. Make sure that Speaker is turned on to record live streaming video with audio. Next, click REC button.

How to Record Live Stream on PC with iTop Screen Recorder - Start Recording

Before clicking on REC, you can make some settings if necessary. Click the three lines icon on the top right corner of the interface and select Settings. Now, you can make your adjustments. For example, you customize video resolution, frame rate, format or other parameters. 

How to Record Live Stream on PC with iTop Screen Recorder - Customize Settings

Step 3. 3-sconds later, you can get a control bar. Click Done (the red square) button to stop recording.
How to Record Live Stream on PC with iTop Screen Recorder - Stop Recording

The recording file will be automatically added into My Creation list. You can play and edit it or click More (...) button to rename, upload, delete etc. When you click on Edit, it redirects you to access the inbuilt video editor. You can trim, split the recording as well as add effects, text, sticker or more in the recording.

How to Record Live Stream on PC with iTop Screen Recorder - Editing Recording

1. iTop Screen Recorder supports capturing webcam and microphone. That it, you can record a video with yourself and voice through internal/external devices. The feature helps you make a reaction video of the recorded live sports matches, or create a training video, lecture, presentation, a gameplay walkthrough and so on for later uploading or sharing.

2. iTop Screen Recorder is able to record audio only. It is a good choice to record live radio on PC or online songs from SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music or other streaming services with no quality loss for offline listening.

The Bottom Line

Generally, you can only watch a live stream once unless there is a reply option. Therefore, it is a necessary to record live streaming video on PC if you want to review. How to record live stream on PC? Windows 10 and 11 offers a native solution with Xbox Game Bar. You can’t need to install other software but should bear the limitations, such as only full screen recording and possible no sound issue.

Alternatively, iTop Screen Recorder is another good solution for you. It can record live stream from YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and other platforms in HD with no quality loss and no lagging. Offering more options, you can capture a live streaming video with webcam and microphone to create a reaction video or commentary video for live sports/esports. What’s more, it offers video editing features to enhance the recording for later sharing online. Try it and record your favorite live sports, shows etc., on PC.

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