Webcam video recording program

The program supports webcams connected to the USB interface of the computer and webcams built-in to the laptops. An obligatory condition is that the webcam has been certified to work with the Microsoft Windows. You can check this by the presence of the appropriate label on the package of the webcam. The program does not work with IP-cameras and surveillance cameras connected via the TV-tuner.

When you go to choose a web camera, we recommend to pay attention to marks and labels on its package. There must be an inscription "1080p Full HD" or "720p HD". The Web camera that's supports recording in real Full HD, are expensive. Due to their small size (and, correspondingly, a lower quality optics) most of the modern webcams can't provide high-quality images. So in most cases, the format of 720p HD would be sufficient. But be attentive in this case, the actual resolution of the video matrix must be at least 1,2 mega pixels for real HD and 3 mega pixels for Full HD video format. Often on the webcam package one can find a label - "interpolated resolution". This is not a real resolution of the video matrix. The real resolution is marked as "Matrix resolution", "Hardware resolution", "Real", etc. Pay attention to these signs. In addition, on the package of the web camera there must be icons and labels, confirming the compatibility with the Microsoft Windows Vista/7 operating systems.

In order to simplify the work with the program we using the standard "My Videos" and "My Pictures" user folders (exactly, links to folders). By the default, this links are associated with the real folders in the user's home directory on the system drive of a personal computer. You can change these links if necessary. To do this, go to the user folder. The right click on the "My Videos" folder and from the pop-up menu, select "Properties". In the "My Videos Properties" switch to the "Location" tab. Click the "Move..." button and select a new directory for the videos. For a pictures directory all the actions are the same.

There is a limitation on the maximum duration of the video for unregistered copy of the program - two minutes maximum. After the registration of the program, this restriction is removed.

Now, You can use the program for several years. License restrictions at the end of the year relate only to software updates and technical support.

Yes, you can. But there is a limitation - one license key can be used for registration of the program not more than three times. In addition, the re-registration can not be done earlier than one month after the previous one. After the three registrations the license key will be blocked, and the program can be used only on the computer on which it was registered in the last time. The "License Agreement" does not allow concurrent use of the multiple copies of the WebClapper program on different computers registered with the same license key.

In order to reduce the computational load, the WebClapper program is based on Windows API and can only work in Windows operating systems.

Yes, you can test the program without need to purchase a license. All you need is just to download the distribution package that is located on this site, and install it on your computer. The unregistered version of the program is fully functional and allows you to check compatibility with web cameras and other hardware. The only limitation is the maximum recording time of the video that is two minutes.

One license allows you to use the program only on one computer. In order to use the program on two computers you will need to purchase a second license.

First of all, be sure that you have connected a microphone to the computer or your webcam has the integrated microphone. Then open "Sound And Audio Devices" control window from the Control Panel. Check that the microphone is connected, used and it has a good signal. Run the WebClapper program and find the microphone icon on the bottom of the main window. Make sure that it is not in OFF state. Click it and select the needed audio input device from the list. If you do not see the needed device in the list, try to restart the program.

It is best to use an external desktop microphone connected to your computer sound card. The microphone that is fitted on the clothes, will capture the noise from your movements as the built-in microphone often resonates with the case of the laptop. As a result, the sound gets tinny.

Make sure that the web camera is connected to an active USB port of the PC, and appropriate driver was found, installed correctly and the operating system have found and connected the web camera. Open: Control Panel - System and security – System – Device Manager. You must see the webcam in the list of "Imaging devices" and there are no any marks like an arrow, a question or an exclamation on the icon of the web camera. After that restart the WebClapper. If you connect a webcam to the PC for the first time, the it may take some time for the system to download the driver and initialize the device. In this case just wait a little before you start the WebClapper program.

The WebClapper allow you to record a video only in REAL Full HD. Unfortunately not all of the webcams really supports Full HD. Manufacturers often use cheaper video matrix, which do not allow to obtain the desired resolution and the desired frame rate technically. In this case the Full HD is simply emulated. WebClapper is able to recognize this trick and do not offer Full HD format for video recording in this case.

For posting videos on YouTube and other similar Internet resources we recommend to use the following formats: Full HD 1080p (1920х1080), HD 720p (1280х720), ED 480p (854x480) и SD 360p (640х360). Selection of a particular video format depends on the camera capabilities and what you to prefer - the quality (resolution) or smallest size.

One of the priorities in the development of the program was to reduce the load on the processor and the amount of RAM used. As a result, been using modern laptops it is quite possible for you to work in other programs, including the presentation software directly during the video recording process.

One of the causes of blurred images is low hardware frame rate. To make movement in the video smooth, the minimum frame rate should not be less than 24 frames per second. If the actual frame rate is lower, the image will appear blurred. In some cases, the hardware of the webcam does not allow to take images with the desired frequency, and then the missing frames are generated by the software based on previous frames. Changing the resolution of the camera image to lower value can fix the problem, but the best solution in this case would still be to replace the webcam.
Also, the image may be blurred due to the low levels of illumination. In this case, in order to obtain a sufficient image brightness webcam increases the exposure of one frame, which in turn leads to a decrease of the actual frame rate and image blur. You can solve the problem by the additional lighting.