How to record your Windows Phone 8.1 screen

Taking a screenshot on your Lumia is relatively easy–simultaneously pressing the power key and volume up—but recording your screen requires a bit more know-how. Here’s how to do it.

There are times when a simple screenshot just won’t do. For instance, you may want to show somebody one of Windows Phone’s cool features, such as Cortana, or you might want to show off your Minecraft: Pocket Edition skills (tips and tricks, here).

Follow these steps to start recording your Windows Phone. There are two things you’ll need.

Project My Screen

The Project My Screen feature is already on your phone since Windows Phone 8.1, under settings. However, you’ll also need it installed on your PC, which you can find here.

Once installed, connect your phone to your PC using a USB cable and start the Project My Screen app on your PC. Tap “yes” on your phone when asked if you want to allow screen projection.

You should now see your Lumia projected onto your PC display.

Now for stage two, the recording of your screen.

CamStudio

As a free, open source screen-recorder program, CamStudio is simple to use.

It can record your entire desktop, single windows, or specific parts of your screen; those settings can be found in the “Region” settings of the CamStudio program.

Select the region, hit record, and navigate back to the Project My Screen app on your PC. As you interact with your phone, it’ll be displayed and recorded on your PC. Recording options are AVI, MP4, or SWF.

Due to the multitude of video codecs available and because different PCs have different setups, head over to the “video options” setting to select what works for you.

After that, share your recording with your friends, family, or followers anyway you see fit.

If you’re looking for a way to record your screen, give this a try and share your creations with us. Alternatively, if you’ve found another way, share that with us, too.