Setting the Codec - Choosing a Video Codec
oCam is an intuitive and lightweight free software tool that allows users to record or capture their screen, making it suitable for a wide range of users from beginners to IT professionals.
It is also a screen recording and capture program with a simple interface and powerful features, making it useful for gameplay recording, online lectures, tutorial creation, and simple screenshot capture. Thanks to the intuitive buttons on the main screen, even beginners can use it easily, while advanced users can create an optimized recording environment through detailed settings.

Codec Settings and Video Containers
When you click the "Codec" button on the main screen of oCam, a settings window appears where you can choose the video container and video codec. This settings window is designed to let users freely adjust the recording file format and quality. The video containers supported by oCam include the following formats:

MP4: The most widely used video format, offering excellent compatibility and reasonable file sizes.
MKV: A multimedia container that supports high-quality video and various codecs. (A container that can continue playback even if recording is interrupted partway through.)
M4V: A format optimized for compatibility with Apple devices.
MOV: A QuickTime-related format suitable for users who prefer high-quality video.
WMV: A Microsoft video format mainly used in Windows environments.
FLV: A Flash-based video format often used for web streaming.
AVI: An older format that is still compatible with a wide range of software.
TS: A streaming format suitable for high-definition broadcast recording.
VOB: A format mainly used for DVD video.
By supporting such a wide range of containers, users can choose the file format that best fits their platform or purpose.
Supported Video Codecs
oCam provides a variety of video codecs to help optimize recording quality and performance. The supported video codecs are as follows:
NVIDIA NVENC H.264: A high-efficiency codec that uses hardware acceleration and delivers excellent performance on systems equipped with NVIDIA graphics cards.
Open H.264: An open-source H.264 codec that provides high compression efficiency and good quality.
MPEG-4: A widely used codec with excellent compatibility across many devices.
Microsoft MPEG-4 Part 2 and Part 3: Codecs optimized for Microsoft environments.
Windows Media Video 8 (WMV8): Provides efficient compression on Windows-based systems.
MPEG-2: A codec suitable for DVD-quality video.
MPEG-1: An older format that is still useful on lower-spec systems.
FLV: A codec specialized for Flash video.
In particular, the NVIDIA NVENC H.264 codec uses the hardware encoder built into NVIDIA graphics cards to minimize CPU load, allowing smooth recording with almost no lag even during demanding tasks such as gameplay recording. However, this codec is only supported on certain NVIDIA graphics cards or higher, so recording may fail if your graphics card does not support it. For that reason, it is important to check your system specifications before selecting this codec.
Audio Codecs and Additional Features
oCam supports not only video recording but also audio recording, allowing you to capture sound together with screen recordings. The supported audio codecs are as follows:
AAC: Offers high sound quality and efficient compression, and is compatible with most modern video containers.
MP3: The most widely used audio format, offering a good balance between file size and sound quality.
MP2: An audio codec often used for broadcasting and DVDs.
WMA: A Microsoft audio format optimized for Windows environments.
FLAC: A lossless audio codec that provides high-quality sound close to the original source.
With these audio codec options, users can adjust the sound quality of recorded videos as needed. For example, you can use AAC for clear lecture audio or MP3 for gameplay recordings to maintain a good balance between quality and file size.
GIF Support
oCam also supports GIF format, which is useful for users who want to create short and lightweight animated files. When you select GIF mode, an animated GIF file is created instead of a video file, making it suitable for sharing on social media or creating simple tutorials. Since GIF files can be large and are not ideal for high-resolution video, it is best to choose this format according to your needs.
Things to Keep in Mind
There are a few things to keep in mind when using oCam. In particular, if you use the NVIDIA NVENC H.264 codec, you should always check your hardware specifications first. If you select this codec on an unsupported graphics card, recording may fail or errors may occur. It is also important to make sure you have enough storage space and system resources when recording in high resolution or for long periods.
Conclusion
oCam is software designed to make screen recording and capture easy for anyone through a simple interface and powerful features. It supports a wide range of video containers and codecs, and hardware-accelerated recording with the NVIDIA NVENC H.264 codec in particular delivers excellent performance even for demanding tasks. With support for audio codecs and GIF creation as well, oCam is a versatile tool that can be useful in many different environments, from individual users to professionals. If you carefully choose the codec and settings that match your system specifications and intended use before starting a recording, you will be able to get the best results.
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Detailed Guide to CapturePlus Preferences
In Preferences, you can configure capture options, image saving settings, and hotkeys.
If you adjust the various options to suit your preferences, CapturePlus becomes even more convenient to use.
It is divided into Capture, Save, JPEG Quality, Additional Features, Hotkeys, and Language, and below is an introduction to the functions available in each option.
As shown on the screen above, the Capture section contains options you can apply when capturing, and each one can produce a noticeably different effect.
Below are the settings that users especially need to pay attention to.
-Include mouse cursor in capture: Check this if you want the mouse cursor to appear in the captured image.
-Automatically save to clipboard after capture: This option saves the capture to the clipboard at the same time, so you can paste it immediately.
-Hide the program during capture & do not activate the program after capture: This allows the program to remain minimized only on the taskbar without becoming active.
-Fixed rectangle area size: Capture inside a fixed rectangle area (Shift+Ctrl+F) sets the window size used for that capture mode.
- Editor Background: If you find the default checkered grid hard on the eyes, you can check Apply Solid Color and choose the color you want.
In the Save section, the Ask whether to save the image option is useful because
even though you can click the "No to All" button when closing with dozens of capture tabs open,
it is more convenient to disable this option if you often sort through many captured screens.
Automatically save the image after capture. If you check this option, each captured image is saved immediately to the specified folder as you capture.
And if you check the Close the tab immediately after auto-saving. option, the image is saved and the tab closes automatically.
The file name-related features, which many users had requested, were improved with the greatest care.
The File name after capture or auto-save section outlined in orange on the screen above has been expanded with various options to satisfy as many users as possible.
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You can change the file name to match your preferences.
Inside <>, you can use date/time and serial number formats, and any text outside <> remains unchanged in the file name.
( The serial number is explained after the date section below. )
There are several available formats, as follows.
[The following are the default formats used. (These are the formats used inside <>.)]
YYYY = year, YY = year (two digits)
MM = month, M = month (single digit if possible)
DD = day, D = day (single digit if possible)
HH = hour
NN = minute
SS = second
C = time format displayed by the computer ( 2011-04-13 8:26:17 PM - however, it cannot be used as a file name. )
ZZZ = millisecond
# = serial number
## = serial number (two digits)
### = serial number (three digits)
########## = serial number (ten digits)
[More broadly, you can also use formats like the following. ( Actual usage examples )]
<d-m-y> = 5-6-00
<dd-mm-yy> = 05-06-00
<dddd d mmmm yyyy> = Wednesday 13 April 2011
<ddddd> = 2011-04-13
<dddddd> = Wednesday, April 13, 2011
<h_m_s.z> = 1_2_3.4
<hh_mm_ss.zzz> = 01_02_03.004
<t> = 01:02 ( cannot be used as a file name. )
<tt> = 01:02:03 ( cannot be used as a file name. )
[Time formats and serial numbers can be used together.]
<YYYY_MM_DD_##> = 2011_04_13_01
[You can insert any file name you want outside <> and use the <> format to define the full file name.]
Capture_<YYYY_MM_DD_##> = Capture_2011_04_13_01
<YYYY_MM_DD_##>_Capture = 2011_04_13_01_Capture
[<> can appear repeatedly in the same file name, and serial numbers can also be repeated.]
Year_<YYYY>_Month_<mm>_Capture = Year_2011_Month_04_Capture
SerialNumber<###>_SerialNumber<#> = SerialNumber001_SerialNumber1
SerialNumber<## # # ##> = SerialNumber01 1 1 01
[Serial Number]
The serial number behaves differently depending on whether Automatically Save Captured Images is checked or not.
If auto-save is not checked, the serial number increases internally by 1 each time you capture,
and that number is assigned.
For example, if you capture 3 times and the file name is set to "Image <##>,"
the file name will become "Image 03."
If auto-save is checked, the serial number is assigned based on the auto-save path and whether a duplicate file name already exists.
For example, if the file name is set to "Capture_<##>," the program checks the auto-save folder
to see whether a file named "Capture_01" exists. If it does not, "Capture_01" is saved. If it does, it checks whether "Capture_02" exists.
If "Capture_02" does not exist, it is saved as "Capture_02."
In other words, the program keeps checking whether the file already exists and assigns the serial number accordingly.
If the serial number format is not included in the file name while using auto-save, the program automatically assigns a serial number internally
before saving. For example, if the file name is <YYYY>, it works the same as <YYYY#>.
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The JPEG Quality section lets you adjust the quality to reduce file size when saving as JPEG.
Using the concept of subsampling, images can be saved with better image quality.
For reference, the medium-quality setting, 4:2:2, is the general default option.
In the Additional Features section, Use Tray Icon allows the program to run automatically when Windows starts,
and it can also be hidden to run from the tray icon.
In the Hotkeys section, you can assign whatever hotkeys are most convenient for each capture method.
For example, you can assign the PrintScreen key.