Best Practices for Screen Recording - KZO Innovations

KZO Video and Collaboration Platform
Making Your Videos Work Harder
Best Practices Guide: Screen Recording
Welcome to the Best Practices Guide for Screen Recording with the KZO Virtual Studio.
In this guide, we will show you some tips for getting the best quality video using our
screen recording software and troubleshoot issues that some users encounter.
Setting Up the Recorder
Before getting into the actual recorder, there are a few steps to go through to make
sure everything works smoothly.
KZO Plugin
If you’ve never used the Screen Recording tool, or you’re using a different computer
than before, you will need to install the KZO Plugin.
Navigate to the Communities homepage of your KZO Platform. To the right will be a box
labeled Important Links. Inside is a link called Full Motion Desktop Capture. Click the
link and the Save the KZO Plugin to begin downloading.
NOTE: The KZO plugin will only work on a computer running Windows. The Mac OS is
not currently supported. The KZO plugin will currently only work with Internet Explorer
or Firefox; because of Flash settings in Google
Chrome, that browser does not support the
plugin at this time. Google is working to fix
this Flash issue.
Also note that if you have not downloaded
the plugin when you open the KZO Virtual
Studio, you will be prompted to install it from
there.
After installing, restart your browser.
If you haven’t downloaded the plugin, the
Virtual Studio will prompt you to

Audio
Navigating
the Virtual
Studio
The presenter will use any integrated microphone on your computer by default.
However, to get a better, cleaner sound, you may want to use an external microphone.
Simply hook the microphone up to your computer via USB or 3.5mm audio jack. Setting
this up before opening Broadcast and Record will help resolve any issues that may
occur. Ensure KZO is using your external microphone by selecting it from the dropdown
menu in the Audio device controls, found in the Video pod of the KZO Virtual Studio.
To get to the screen recording portion of the KZO Virtual Studio, go to the Admin panel
and select Broadcast and Record. Find the community that contains your presentation
and select it, then click Broadcast Presentation. This next screen is the Virtual Studio. In
the top left-hand corner of the screen is where the video is displayed. Under it are two
tabs: Camera and Screen. Select Screen to use the Screen Recording tool.
The KZO Virtual Studio
Recording
To begin broadcasting, first you must create a new chapter.
Chapters can be added or removed after a recording is
finished. You must have one chapter to record.
If you navigated to the Virtual Studio by the above
directions, then once you click End Presentation, you will be
taken back to the Admin Panel.
However, you can also get to the Virtual Studio by navigating
to the Presentation or Playlist that you want to broadcast to
and click on Presentation Details. On the left side of the
page, click the link that says Broadcast Here. Once you’ve finished recording, you will be
taken back to this page.

Helpful Tips
Resolution
We suggest lowering your desktop’s
resolution to 1024x768 for optimal screen
recording. A larger resolution will often result
in a more pixelated and squished picture,
making your content more difficult to read
and see clearly. Also, if you are recording a
web-based application in a browser, you can
use the browser’s built-in zoom controls to
enhance text and make it easier to read.
The audio settings in the video pod
Audio
Meter
The presenter also has a built-in audio meter on the video display. This tool will let you
know what level your microphone’s volume is at. You’ll want to keep the meter in the
green to yellow range; red means that your audio may be distorted. You can adjust your
microphone’s audio levels using your computer’s settings and also in the Audio device
control. Keep in mind, if you don’t see levels here you are not getting audio.
The audio meter
Test
Recording
To ensure your video’s best quality, we recommend doing a test recording. Just a few
minutes is enough to familiarize you with the Virtual Studio, as well as make sure you
are happy with the audio levels and quality of the screen capture. If the audio is too
loud or too quiet, or if your screen resolution is too big or too small, this will help you
identify any issues you may have and fix them before recording the final presentation.
Keyframe
s
To help keep file sizes small and manageable, the KZO Virtual Studio utilizes keyframes
for compression. This means that small pieces of data are added every so often to help

with indexing your video. The KZO chapter system can only create a chapter where
there is a keyframe present. Usually when creating a screen recording, you will want to
trim the beginning and end of your video using Chapters. To avoid any keyframe issues,
we recommend that once you’ve started recording, let the screen record for about 20
seconds before starting your presentation. This will help ensure that there is a keyframe
in the beginning of the video to better help you edit out any unwanted content. We also
recommend doing this at the end of your presentation.
Resizing
the Viewer
We recommend that the producer explains at the beginning of any presentation that
the vieo viewer window can be resized, since the default size may be too small for some
users. To resize the viewer, use the icons in the top right corner or drag the bottom right
corner of the window. Having this disclaimer at the beginning of a presentation can help
enhance a user’s viewing experience.