Screen recording has become one of the fastest ways to explain almost anything technical — a bug report, a how-to, a walkthrough of a new feature — because showing a screen beats describing one in text. A browser-based recorder like EachConvert's removes the biggest friction point: no software to install, no account to create, nothing left running in the background after you close the tab.
How It Works
Modern browsers support the MediaRecorder API and Screen Capture API natively, which is what lets a webpage record your screen without any plugin. Click "Start Recording" and the browser itself asks permission and shows a picker to choose exactly what to share — an entire screen, a specific application window, or just one browser tab. Nothing is uploaded at any point — the recording happens locally in your browser, and when you click Download the finished file is saved straight to your device. There’s no sign-up and no watermark.
Which Browsers Work
The recorder works in desktop Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Safari has limited support, and most mobile browsers don’t support screen capture at all, so plan to record tutorials on a desktop or laptop. If you want system audio (the sound your computer plays), use Chrome or Edge — Firefox can record your microphone but not system audio.
Step-by-Step: Recording Your First Tutorial
- Open the Online Screen Recorder in desktop Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
- Choose a quality. Pick HD 1080p, High 720p, Medium 480p or Low 360p (see the table below for which to choose).
- Set your audio options. Tick Include Microphone if you’ll narrate, and Include System Audio if you need the sound from a video, app or browser tab.
- Click Start Recording. Your browser asks for permission and shows its own share dialog. Choose a Chrome tab, a window, or your entire screen.
- Turn on audio sharing in that dialog if you want system audio. In Chrome and Edge this is the “Share tab audio” or “Also share system audio” switch — the recorder can’t turn it on for you.
- Record. Use Pause/Resume to skip over parts you don’t want (looking up a password, waiting for a slow page) and Mute/Unmute to silence the microphone for a moment, for example to cough or answer a question.
- Stop. Click Stop Recording, or use the browser’s own “Stop sharing” bar — either way the recording ends and is kept.
- Download or delete. Click Download to save the file, or Delete Recording to throw it away and start again.
Choosing the Right Quality
Higher quality looks sharper but produces larger files, and each quality level has its own maximum recording length. A recording stops automatically when it reaches the time limit or 2 GB, whichever comes first — and you keep everything recorded up to that point. A warning appears one minute before the limit.
| Quality | Max length per recording | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| HD 1080p | 30 minutes | Code, spreadsheets, small text, anything viewers need to read |
| High 720p | 1 hour | Most software tutorials and product demos |
| Medium 480p | 2 hours | Long walkthroughs, internal training, meeting recordings |
| Low 360p | 3 hours | Very long sessions where small file size matters more than detail |
If your tutorial will run longer than the limit for your chosen quality, either drop a quality level or split it into chapters. Shorter, focused videos are usually easier for viewers to follow anyway.
Getting a Clean Recording
- Pick the right source. Sharing a single tab instead of your whole screen keeps notifications and unrelated windows out of the recording — useful for tutorials where you don't want to accidentally show something private.
- Include audio deliberately. If you're narrating, tick Include Microphone before you start. If you need system sound, tick Include System Audio and switch on “Share tab audio” or “Also share system audio” in the browser’s share dialog, since it's easy to miss.
- Close what you don't need. A stray notification popup or a messaging app pinging mid-recording is one of the most common reasons people end up re-recording a tutorial from scratch.
- Do a 10-second test first. Confirm audio and video are both actually being captured before committing to a full-length recording.
Audio Setup: What Gets Recorded
System audio depends on both your browser and what you choose to share:
| What you share | System audio in Chrome/Edge | System audio in Firefox |
|---|---|---|
| A Chrome tab | Yes, if “Share tab audio” is on | No (microphone only) |
| Entire screen | Yes on Windows and ChromeOS, if “Also share system audio” is on | No (microphone only) |
| A single window | No | No (microphone only) |
So if you’re recording a demo of a web app that plays sounds, share that tab rather than the browser window. The microphone uses your browser’s default mic. To use a headset or USB microphone instead, change the microphone in your browser’s site settings or in your operating system’s sound settings before you start.
Common Issues
If "Start Recording" doesn't do anything, check that you granted screen-share permission when the browser prompted — dismissing that dialog by accident is the most common cause. If a video app or DRM-protected content (like Netflix) shows up black in the recording, that's expected: those platforms intentionally block screen capture of their video output.
- No system sound in the file: you either shared a single window, didn’t switch on the audio option in the share dialog, or used Firefox. Re-record sharing a tab (or the entire screen on Windows/ChromeOS) in Chrome or Edge.
- No voice in the file: check that Include Microphone was ticked, that you allowed microphone access, that you didn’t leave the recording on Mute, and that the right mic is selected as the browser default.
- Recording stopped on its own: it reached the length limit for its quality or 2 GB. Your recording up to that point is kept — download it, then start a new one for the next part.
- Nothing happens on your phone: most mobile browsers don’t support screen capture. Use a desktop browser.
After You've Recorded
Once you stop recording, click Download to save the file. It’s saved as a WebM video (MP4 only on browsers that can only record MP4), with a name like screen_recording_Medium_480p_<date-time>.webm, so you can tell recordings apart by quality and time. WebM plays in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and free players such as VLC, and YouTube accepts WebM uploads directly. Some video editors, chat apps and support desks only accept MP4, so you may need to convert the file before using it there.
If you’re sharing the recording outside your team, it’s worth reading whether browser-based screen recording is safe — it explains exactly what the browser lets a website see. And if you’re cropping or exporting the video for a particular platform, the Aspect Ratio Calculator helps you work out the right width and height; our guide to common aspect ratios explains when to use 16:9 versus 9:16.
Tips for Better Tutorials
- Write a short outline first. Three to five bullet points stop you rambling and reduce re-takes.
- Zoom in on what matters. Increase browser zoom or your editor’s font size so text stays legible, especially at 720p or below.
- Move the mouse slowly and pause on each click. Viewers need a moment to see where you clicked.
- Use Pause instead of stopping. Pausing keeps everything in one file instead of leaving you with several clips to join.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I record a video call?
Technically yes — share the tab or screen where the call is running and include system audio and your microphone. Always tell the other participants and get their agreement before recording; in many places recording people without consent is not allowed.
Can I keep recording if I switch to another tab?
If you shared your entire screen, everything you switch to is recorded. If you shared a single tab, only that tab is captured, so switching away will record that tab rather than what you’re looking at.
Do I need to keep the recorder tab open?
Yes. Because the recording is created inside that browser tab, closing it before you download means the recording is lost. Download first, then close the tab.
Is there a watermark or an account requirement?
No. There’s no sign-up and no watermark is added to your video.
Try it yourself: open the Online Screen Recorder, choose High 720p, tick Include Microphone and record a 10-second test of one browser tab to check your sound before the real take.