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Glossary and articles
The words that come up when you record a screen, each defined on its own page, and the short pieces that did not belong on the blog. Filter by kind or by topic.
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- ArticleFixesRecording
Why Cap uses so much CPU and memory while recording
Cap's issue about memory climbing past 5 GB has been open since October 2024 with a $350 bounty. What the maintainers reproduced, three related CPU and heat reports that were closed as reworked, and how to check your own recording.
- ArticleFixesRecording
Cap crashed mid-recording: what you can recover
Cap's WriterFailed crash was reported for months and the maintainer says it was fixed in August 2026. What caused it for different users, what to keep and where the logs are, and how to avoid losing a take.
- ArticleFixesRecording
Why Cap recorded no microphone audio
The microphone meter moved, and the file had no audio. The pattern 19 comments on Cap's issue 1740 found, which modes were affected, the toggle workaround, the maintainer's fix, and how to check before a long take.
- ArticleExport and formatsFixes
Cap's export flickers, or never finishes
Three open Cap issues about export: flickering and lag in the exported file, an export stuck at the last frame, and a panic before rendering starts. Which macOS and Cap versions, what users tried, and what is still open.
- ArticleRecordingFixes
Why Cap records what's on top of your window
Cap's window capture can record the screen region a window occupies, so another window dragged over it appears in the video. Issue 1754, a user who lost an hour-long workshop, and what Prequel's Window mode records.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
How to cancel Cap Pro or the Cap Desktop Licence
Cap has a free plan, a Desktop Licence and Cap Pro. What each costs, what its own site says about cancelling, what it does not document, and what happens to your recordings and shared links. Checked 5 October 2026.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Why your Loom bill went up, and how to leave
Loom's billing moved to Atlassian and free Creator Lite seats became paid ones. What changed, what people report paying, the step that stops the charge before the next invoice, and what to use if you are leaving.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
How to cancel Loom, including after the Atlassian move
Loom now has two cancellation routes: Atlassian Administration and Loom's own settings. How to tell which you are on, the clicks for each, what you lose, and why downgrading does not stop the charge. Checked 5 October 2026.
- ArticleFixesRecording
Loom crashed and lost your recording: what you can get back
Loom's own help pages say what can be recovered. Desktop recordings sometimes, Chrome extension and mobile recordings never. The page to try first, the folder to check on a Mac, and how to lower the risk.
- ArticleFixes
Loom stuck in processing: how to recover your video
How long Loom takes to process a video, when to stop waiting, and Loom's own steps for the desktop app, the Chrome extension and mobile. What the failed upload message means and where the files are.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Loom's free plan limits: five minutes and 25 videos
What Loom's free Starter plan allows, what counts toward the 25 videos, what happens when you hit the limit, and the ways around it. Plus what changes if you downgrade from a paid plan.
- ArticleExport and formatsSharing
How to download a Loom video as an MP4
Loom only offers downloads on its two top paid plans, and asks for a wait before the file is ready. Who can download, why the button is missing, and the cleanest route if you are on the free plan.
- ArticleFixes
Can't log in to Loom since the Atlassian move
Login loops, a support form that asks for a workspace URL you cannot see, and an account that is now an Atlassian one. The fix a user reported that worked, and how to tell which login you need.
- ArticleRecordingFixes
Why your Loom recording isn't the quality you set
Users report Loom recordings that go fuzzy after pausing, a 1080p setting that does not hold, and a webcam that lags only on an external camera. What they saw, and how to record at the full size of your screen instead.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Screen Charm refund and cancellation: it is $79 once
Screen Charm has no subscription to cancel. What its terms say about the $79 lifetime price, the 14-day refund and how to ask for one, the Apple Silicon requirement that caught one buyer, and how the one-off price compares.
- ArticleAudio and cameraFixes
Why your screen recording's audio drifts out of sync
A fixed delay and a drift have different causes. What Tella, Cap and Screen Charm document about microphone, camera and cursor sync, a clap test that tells the two apart, and what to change.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Where the cancel button is in every screen recorder
Loom cancels in Atlassian, Tella in Stripe, Screen Studio in Lemon Squeezy, and Cap does not say. Where each cancel control lives, when access ends, who refunds, and the one rule that applies to all of them: export first. Checked 5 October 2026.
- ArticleExport and formatsFixes
Why Screen Studio exports take so long
Users report a 10-minute recording taking about half an hour to export. What they say, what drives export time in any Mac recorder, what you can change, and how Prequel renders on the Mac's video hardware.
- ArticleExport and formatsFixes
Why Screen Studio makes your MacBook run hot
A r/mac thread with 376 upvotes shows a MacBook Air M3 reaching 101°C while Screen Studio rendered a 3-minute 1080p export. What the poster measured, why exports are heavy, and what to change.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Screen Studio without a subscription: what your options are
Screen Studio is $29 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly, with no free tier and export behind the paywall. The four options if you do not want a subscription, including the one for a project already recorded.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Screen Studio's lifetime licence is one year of updates
Screen Studio's one-time licence stays valid, but access to updates ends. What Screen Studio says, what holders report on r/macapps and Hacker News, what is not documented, and what a buy-once licence means elsewhere.
- ArticleEditing
Screen Studio zooms too much: how to calm it down
Users on Hacker News and Reddit describe constant zooming as distracting and dizzying. What they said, and how to lower the level, slow the move, delete the zooms you do not want or swap them for a loupe in Prequel.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
How to cancel Screen Studio
Screen Studio bills through Lemon Squeezy, not the app. Where to cancel, what the terms say about refunds and renewal, what happens to a one-time licence, and how to avoid a lookalike site. Checked 5 October 2026.
- ArticleFixesEditing
Why Tella makes you wait before you can edit
Tella records on your Mac, uploads, and edits in a browser tab. What its own help centre says about the order, the upload speed it asks for, the two sign-ins, and what editing on your Mac looks like instead.
- ArticleFixesEditing
Why Tella's editor feels slow
Tella's editor runs in a browser on your graphics hardware and ships a Low-res mode that is on by default. What its help centre says, what users report on Reddit, and how to find out whether it is your Mac or your browser.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
Tella has no free plan: what to use instead
Tella is $13 or $19 per user a month billed annually, after a 7-day trial that exports at HD and 30 fps. What its help centre and pricing page say, why older reviews still mention a free tier, and what else costs nothing to try.
- ArticleExport and formatsFixes
Tella export stuck: why it happens and what to try
Tella has a help page for an export that gets stuck at a percentage or a download window that never finishes. What it says to try, why re-rendering is the first fix, and how exporting on your own Mac avoids the problem.
- ArticleFixesAudio and camera
Tella audio out of sync: what its own help centre says
Tella's help centre says it cannot resync audio in the editor and the fix is to re-record. What it documents about microphone delay, a user's report of lag on both apps, and a clap test that tells drift from fixed delay.
- ArticleFixes
Tella editor won't load: the four errors and what they mean
Tella's editor shows four named errors when it cannot start. What each means, why Safari needs a newer version for editing than for recording, what a virtual machine does, and what to change.
- ArticleFixesRecording
Tella stopped recording: browser storage and disk space limits
Tella needs 2 GB of free browser storage to start recording and the desktop apps refuse to start below 512 MB of disk. What each limit is, what happens to the part already recorded, and how to recover a take.
- ArticleRecordingFixes
Your iPhone demo records as a black rectangle: how to fix it
Tella's own tip page says AirPlay mirroring records as a black rectangle. The cable-and-QuickTime route that works, step by step, and how to record that window with Prequel in Window mode.
- ArticleAudio and cameraFixes
Tella is not recording computer audio: why, and what to use
In Tella's browser recorder and Chrome extension, desktop sound is only captured when you share a browser tab. What Tella's help centre says about each app, and how Prequel records the Mac's own sound without a driver.
- ArticleFixes
Can't find your Tella recording: accounts and workspaces
Tella says a recording that will not open for editing usually means the Mac app and browser are signed in to different accounts, and a missing one usually landed in another workspace. What it says about moving videos and merging accounts.
- ArticleEditing
What Tella's editor can't do after you record
Tella's help centre says you cannot add your screen or camera to a clip afterwards, record a voice-over onto it, or blur the camera background in the editor. Plus a G2 reviewer's note on the exported background, and what Prequel's editor does with tracks.
- ArticleExport and formatsPricing and cancelling
Tella export limits: 4K, 60 fps and clip length
What Tella's pricing page and help centre say about export: 4K in Pro, 60 fps in Premium, a 6 hour clip limit, a 5 GB upload cap, and a trial that exports at HD and 30 fps. Checked 5 October 2026.
- ArticlePricing and cancelling
How to cancel Tella
Tella's cancel button is in Stripe, only workspace owners can reach it, and export stops working when the subscription does. Where to click, what the refund policy covers, and why the 30-day notice story is out of date. Checked 5 October 2026.
- ArticleRecordingEditing
How to make a screen recording look high quality
The most upvoted screen recording question we found on Reddit this year is why a 4K capture still looks soft. Six settings decide it, settled before the edit: pixel size, window size, zooms, frame rate, a frame, and the export.
- ArticleExport and formats
How to reduce the size of a screen recording on a Mac
An hour from the built-in Mac recorder is about 13 GB, according to the people asking. We measured a real take at every size and codec Prequel exports: the raw file was 61 MB a minute and the 1080p export was 2. Four settings and a chart.
- ArticleAudio and cameraRecording
How to record a Zoom or Google Meet call on a Mac with both sides' audio
QuickTime records your microphone and none of what the other person said. Three routes to a recording with both sides: the meeting's own recorder, a screen recorder that captures system audio, and local recording for a podcast. Say you are recording first.
- ArticleRecordingEditing
How to record training videos for software that changes every release
One task per video, the window rather than the desktop, a zoom where a callout would go, captions on, one saved look for the whole library, and the takes kept so a release means re-recording one video. Built from three r/instructionaldesign threads.
- ArticleEditingRecording
How long does it take to make a product demo video, and how to make it faster
About an hour of work per minute of video, when it is recorded and edited by hand: a product manager on Reddit timed four hours for a four-minute demo. Here is where the time goes, stage by stage, and how a shorter video, one long take and an automatic first pass cut most of it.
- ArticleRecordingExport and formats
Why your screen recording looks blurry, and how to fix it
Soft text in a screen recording comes from one of four places: the capture size, the export size, the bitrate, or the upload. Here is how to tell which, and what to change.
- ArticleRecordingAudio and camera
Before you press record: a screen recording checklist
Nine things to check in the minute before a screen recording, so the take you get is the one you send. Notifications, the desktop, the window, the audio, the camera and the grants.
Glossary
- GlossaryEditingSharing
Aspect ratio
The proportion of a video's width to its height. 16:9 is landscape and the default for screens; 9:16 is vertical and what Shorts, Reels and TikTok want.
- GlossaryExport and formats
Bitrate
How much data a video spends per second of playback, measured in megabits per second. It is the main control over file size and picture quality.
- GlossaryCaptions
Captions and subtitles
Words on the frame that show what is being said. Subtitles carry the dialogue; captions also describe the sounds. In screen recording the two words are used for the same thing.
- GlossaryExport and formats
Codec
The method used to compress video into a file and decompress it for playback. H.264 and HEVC are the two you meet when recording a screen.
- GlossaryRecordingExport and formats
Frame rate
The number of still pictures a video shows each second, written as fps. Screen recordings are usually made at 30 or 60.
- GlossaryAudio and cameraEditing
Picture-in-picture
A camera feed drawn as a small window over a screen recording, so the viewer sees the presenter and the screen at the same time.
- GlossaryRecordingExport and formats
Resolution
The size of a video's picture in pixels, width by height. 1080p is 1920 by 1080; 4K is 3840 by 2160.
- GlossaryRecording
Retina and HiDPI
A display that draws each point of the interface with four physical pixels, so text is sharp. A screen recording of one is twice the width and height it looks.
- GlossaryRecording
Screen Recording permission
The macOS grant an app needs before it can see the contents of your screen. Without it a recorder captures the wallpaper and nothing on top of it.
- GlossaryRecording
Screencast
A recording of a computer screen with narration, made to show somebody how something works. The word predates screen recording as a category and still means the same thing.
- GlossarySharing
Share link
A URL that plays a recording in the browser, sent instead of the file. The viewer needs nothing installed and the sender can take it down later.
- GlossaryAudio and cameraRecording
System audio
The sound the Mac itself plays, from any app, captured as part of a screen recording. macOS records it only through the screen capture API, and not every recorder asks.
- GlossaryEditing
Zoom and pan
Pushing the picture in on part of the screen, then moving it to follow the action, so a viewer sees what the presenter is doing without squinting at a full screen.