This is where we will tell it to open OBS and start the recording. Then it asks for what action it should perform when this task is triggered. I set the time for about 5 minutes before the start time of my webchat. (In my case, I just want it to be a timed trigger at a certain date, but you can have it repeating, or based on a user’s action, or even every time you login. It’ll walk you through the steps for setting the trigger you want.

Kind of a bad design in my opinion, but easy enough to work around.Ĭlick Action–>Create Basic Task to open the wizard for you. If you don’t doubleclick it, then you won’t have the ability to create a task. Once it loads, you’ll need to doubleclick the “Task Schedule Library” in the left pane. To access it, simply click your windows icon and type “task scheduler” Even windows itself uses this tool for checking for updates and running virus scans for you. The work-around for this is to create a Windows Task that will do it for you. Since OBS doesn’t run as a background process, it can’t just open itself and do whatever it wants. The tricky part is STARTING the recording. I also check the box for “start every time” when I set it up this way. Simply open OBS and go to Tools–>Output Timer and you can set a time limit for how long you want it to record for. it works better with dual monitors and muting the external microphone inputs. Of course you have to have your chat already started and opened on the screen you wish to record before you start OBS or you won’t record anything but a blank desktop with no sound… ask me how I know. Simply program the start time and the stop time (assuming your VCR didn’t just flash 12:00 forever because you never figured out how to set the clock on the thing). Sometimes I’m in class when my webchats start, so I wanted to automate the recording setup just like you used to be able to do with old VHS tapes on a VCR. (By default those apps record and show other things like chat on the screen which isn’t useful for me).

I also use it sometimes to capture zoom and webex chats when I want the entire screen recorded full-sized. (Video at the end…) OBS is a great tool for capturing screencasts for classes and such.

Setup obs for recording