Unity Recorder V1.0 User Manual
Use the Unity Recorder to capture and save in-game data during Play Mode. For example, use the Unity Recorder to capture and save gameplay as an MP4 file.
A recorder specifies details for creating a recording, including a data source, resolution, and output format. The Unity Recorder package includes the following recorders:
Animation Recorder: generates an animation clip in ANIM format.
Movie Recorder: generates a video in MP4 or WebM format.
Image Recorder: generates a sequence of image files in JPEG, PNG, or OpenEXR format.
GIF Recorder: generates an animated GIF file.
The Unity Recorder also supports Timeline. Use Recorder tracks and clips to trigger recording sessions from Timeline instances.
Limitations
The Unity Recorder has the following limitations:
The Recorder window and Recorder properties are not available in standalone Unity Players.
To use Unity Recorder with Scriptable Render Pipeline (SRP) or High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP), use only the Game View, 360 View, or Render Texture choices in the Capture drop-down menu.
The Animation Recorder only records a GameObject in the current Scene. It does not record a GameObject in other scenes.
The Movie Recorder does not support variable frame rates.
The Unity Recorder does not capture frames at a consistent rate from systems that use a real-time clock, like the Video Player. Data captured from these systems might appear speeded up or slowed down.
Upgrading Unity Recorder
Besides new features, Unity Recorder 1.0 has a few notable changes:
Use the Window > General > Recorder menu to access Unity Recorder features. Features for older versions of Unity Recorder were accessible from the Window > Recorder menu.
Unity Recorder includes new, updated recorders. These recorders take advantage of Unity Editor features and are more stable than previous versions. However, if you must use the legacy recorders, toggle Window > General > Recorder > Options > Show Legacy Recorders.
To upgrade to Unity Recorder 1.0 from an earlier version:
In Unity Editor, open your Unity Project.
Save the current Scene.
In the Project window, expand the Unity Technologies folder and select the Recorder folder.
In the main menu, choose Edit > Delete.
Quit Unity then re-open your project.
Use the Unity Asset Store to search for and install Unity Recorder 1.0.
Setting up Recorders
Use the recorder list in the Recorder window to add, rename, edit, duplicate, and delete recorders. You can also save and delete your recorder list as an asset to reuse in your project and in other projects.
Tip: You can save a recorder as a Preset. You can also specify a preset for recorder settings as a default when creating new recorders.
Re-opening the Recorder window restores the values of the last recording session.
To add a recorder:
Open the Recorder from the Unity menu (Window > General > Recorder).
In the recorder list, click + Add New Recorders to choose from a drop-down menu.
Adjust the settings for the new recorder.
Optionally rename the new recorder by single-clicking its name.
To delete or duplicate a recorder:
Open the Recorder from the Unity menu (Windows > General > Recorder).
In the recorder list, right-click the recorder and choose Delete or Duplicate.
Tip: You can also delete and duplicate recorders with the Delete and Ctrl+D/Cmd+D keys, respectively.
To save, load, or clear settings for all recorders:
Open the Recorder window from the Unity menu (Windows > General > Recorder).
In the recorder list, click the drop-down menu.
Do one of the following:
To save your recorder list as an asset, choose Save Recorder List.
To load a recorder list, choose Load Recorder List, then the list to load.
To delete all recorders in your list, choose Clear Recorder List.
Recording in Play Mode
When recording in Play Mode, use the Record Mode property to specify when to start and stop the recording. You can manually start and stop recording, specify a single frame, a range of frames, or a range of time. You can set up more than one recorder to record the same Scene.
Note: During recording, you cannot modify the properties in the Recorder window.
To record a scene in Play Mode:
Set up your scene to prepare it for recording.
Open the Recorder from the Unity menu (Window > General > Recorder).
In the recorder list, select then set up the recorder to use.
Set the Record Mode and Frame Rate properties.
Repeat steps 3-4 to use other recorders for the same Scene.
Click Start Recording or press F10. Unity Recorder activates Play Mode if it is not already active. The progress bar displays the number of frames or images recorded.
When you are ready to stop recording, click Stop Recording or press F10. You only need to stop recording when using the Manual record mode. Your game continues in Play Mode.
Tip: Closing the Recorder window, or exiting Play Mode and returning to Edit Mode, also stops the recording.
Recording from a Timeline track
You can start and stop recordings from the Timeline. A Recorder Track in Timeline contains one or more Recorder Clips. Each clip specifies a recording to start and stop while Timeline plays the Recorder Track.
A Recorder Clip has the same properties as a recorder in the Recorder window except for the following differences:
Recording mode can only be set to Constant. Timeline can only play using a constant frame rate.
The frame rate of the recording inherits from the Timeline’s Frame Rate setting.
The Clip Timing section replaces the Bounds/Limits section. Instead, use the Start, End, and Duration properties to set when recording occurs.
Use the Recorder Category property to select which recorder the Timeline clip uses.
The Recorder Clip properties are stored in the Timeline Track and do not affect the properties in the Recorder window.
To set up a recording session in a Timeline instance:
Select the GameObject in your Scene that is associated with the Timeline Asset.
In the Timeline window, click Add and select Recorder Track.
Right-click the Recorder Track and select Add Recorder Clip.
Select the Recorder Clip to view and edit its recording properties in the Inspector window.
Debugging Recorders
You can view the GameObject that Unity Recorder creates in your Scene. This GameObject is named Unity-Recorder. It contains the components and child GameObjects that the Unity Recorder creates to maintain bindings between the Recorder and the GameObjects in your Scene. Also, while recording, the Unity-Recorder GameObject contains components that store the progress of current recording session. Unity-Recorder is normally hidden from the Hierarchy window.
To toggle the visibility of the Unity-Recorder, choose Window > General > Recorder > Options > Show Recorder GameObject.
Recorder Window
Manage recorders and control recording in the Recorder window. The Recorder window has these sections:
Recording controls: Start and stop recordings, and specify their duration and frame rate.
Recorder list: the recorders you have added or loaded.
Recorder properties: Specify the recording properties, such as the output format and encoding, file name and location.
Recording controls
Use the recording controls to start and stop a recording. Specify when to start and stop a recording with the Record Mode properties. Use the Frame Rate properties to specify how to constrain the frame rate during recording. The frame rate affects the size and number of the captured output files.
| Property: | Function: |
|---|---|
| Start Recording Stop Recording |
Starts and stops recording. Clicking Start Recording also activates Play Mode if it is not already active. |
| Record Mode | Specifies the frames or time duration to record. |
| Manual | Start and stop recording when you manually click Start Recording and Stop Recording, respectively. |
| Single Frame | Record a single frame. Use the Frame Number property to specify this frame. |
| Frame Interval | Record a consecutive set of frames during Play Mode. Use the First Frame and Last Frame properties to specify when to start and stop. |
| Time Interval | Record a specific duration during Play Mode. Use the Start and End properties to specify when to start and stop. |
| Frame Number | Specifies the number of the frame to capture when using the Single Frame mode. |
| First Frame Last Frame |
Specifies the range of frames to capture when in Frame Interval mode. |
| Start End |
Specifies the time, in seconds, to begin and finish recording. |
| Playback | Specifies how to control the frame rate during recording. |
| Constant | Limit the recorder to a specific frame rate. Use the Target property to specify this rate. |
| Variable | Use the frame rate of the game. Specify the upper limit of the rate of the game during recording with the Max Frame Rate property. Note: The Movie Recorder does not support a variable frame rate. |
| Target | The frame rate to capture when using the Constant setting in Playback. The Unity Recorder captures at this rate regardless of whether the game is played at a higher or lower frame rate. For example, if Target is set to a custom value of 30 fps but the game plays at 60 fps, the recording is captured at 30 fps. |
| Max Frame Rate | Limit the rate of updates in Play Mode. This property is available when Playback is Variable. To prevent your game from exceeding this frame rate, the Unity Recorder inserts delays during game play. Use this property to reduce the size of the output. |
| Cap Frame Rate | Check this property when the frame rate of your game is faster than the Target frame rate. This property is available when Playback is Constant. |
Recorder properties
These properties specify the file name and location to store the output from a recorder. These properties are available for all recorders.
Some recorders, like the Animation Recorder, can only record inside the Assets folder.
Tip: Click 
to reveal the output files in Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder.
| Property: | Function: |
|---|---|
| File Name | The name of the output file. Use the text field to specify the pattern to use for recording many files. Choose placeholders from the +Wildcards drop-down menu. |
| +Wildcards | The placeholder text to insert in File Name. The recorder replaces these placeholders when saving the output file. You may combine wildcards. |
| Path | The folder where output files are saved. Use the drop-down menu to choose a pre-defined Unity folder. Choose Absolute to specify a custom directory or click ... to navigate to a custom directory. |
Movie Recorder properties
The Movie Recorder generates a video in MP4 or WebM format. It does not support variable frame rates.
| Property: | Function: |
|---|---|
| Format | The encoding format of the output of the recorder. Choose MP4 or WEBM. |
| Capture Alpha | Check to include the alpha channel in the recording. Uncheck to only record the RGB channels. This property is only available when Format is WEBM. This property is not available when Capture is Game View. |
| Capture | The input for the recording. |
| Game View | Record the frames that are rendered in the Game View. |
| Targeted Camera | Record the frames captured by a specific camera, even if it is not used in the Game View. |
| 360 View | Record a 360-degree video. Use the Source camera as the point of view for the video. The recorder captures 360 degrees on the y-axis of the Source camera. |
| Render Texture Asset | Capture the frames that are rendered in a Render Texture. |
| Texture Sampling | When capturing, supersample the Source camera to generate anti-aliased images in the output. Use this capture method when the Rendering Resolution has the same or higher resolution than the Output Resolution. |
| Render Texture | The Render Texture asset to use as the source for frames. Available when Capture is set to Render Texture Asset. The output resolution of the recording is fixed to the resolution of the Rendure Texture. |
| Super Sampling | The size of the grid from which to sample. This property is available when Capture is Texture Sampling. |
| Source | The camera to use for recording. Choose Active Cameras, Main Camera, or Tagged Camera. The Main Camera option specifies the camera with the MainCamera tag. Available when Capture is set to Targeted Camera, 360 View, or Texture Sampling. |
| Tag | The tag of the camera to record. Available when Capture is set to Targeted Camera and Source is TaggedCamera. |
| 360 View Output | The width and height, in pixels, of the 360-degree video. This property is available when Capture is 360 View. |
| Cube Map | The dimension of the cube map, in pixels, for the 360-degree video. This property is available when Capture is 360 View. |
| Stereo | Check to generate both a left and right stereoscopic view for a 360-degree video. This property is available when Capture is 360 View. |
| Stereo Separation | The angle to separate the left and right views. This separation is along the y-axis of the Source camera. This property is available when Capture is 360 View. |
| Rendering Resolution | The dimensions of the input from which to sample. This property is available when Capture is Texture Sampling. |
| Output Resolution | The dimensions of the video recording. This property is available only for applicable Capture choices. |
| Aspect Ratio | The width:height ratio to format the output to. |
| Flip Vertical | Check to flip the images in the output to make it upside-down. Use this property to restore up and down when your system generates video that is flipped vertically. |
| Capture Audio | Check to include audio in the recording. |
| Quality | The quality of the output: Low, Medium, or High. The lower the quality, the smaller the size of the output file. |
Animation Recorder properties
The Animation Recorder generates an animation clip in ANIM format.
| Property: | Function: |
|---|---|
| Game Object | The GameObject to record. |
| Recorded Target(s) | The components of the GameObject to record. Choose more than one item to record more than one component. |
| Record Hierarchy | Check to record children of the Game Object too. |
Image Recorder Properties
The Image Recorder generates a sequence of image files in JPEG, PNG, or OpenEXR format.
| Property: | Function: |
|---|---|
| Format | The encoding format of the output of the recorder. Choose PNG, JPEG, or EXR (for OpenEXR). |
| Capture Alpha | Check to include the alpha channel in the recording. Uncheck to only record the RGB channels. This property is only available when Format is PNG or EXR. This property is not available when Capture is Game View. |
| Capture | The input for the recording. |
| Game View | Record the frames that are rendered in the Game View. |
| Targeted Camera | Record the frames captured by a specific camera, even if it is not used in the Game View. |
| 360 View | Record a 360-degree video. Use the Source as the point of view for the video. The recorder captures video 360 degrees on the y axis of the Source camera. |
| Render Texture Asset | Record the frames that are rendered in a Render Texture. |
| Texture Sampling | When capturing, supersample the Source camera generate anti-aliased images in the recording. Use this capture method when the Rendering Resolution has the same or higher resolution than the Output Resolution. |
| Source | The camera to use for recording. Choose Active Cameras, Main Camera, or Tagged Camera. The Main Camera option specifies the camera with the MainCamera tag. Available when Capture is set to Targeted Camera or Texture Sampling. |
| Tag | The tag of the camera to record. Available when Capture is set to Targeted Camera and Source is TaggedCamera. |
| Output Resolution | The dimensions of the video recording. This property is available only for applicable Capture choices. |
| Include UI | Check to include UI GameObjects in the recording. |
| Flip Vertical | Check to flip the images in the output to make it upside-down. Use this property to restore up and down when your system generates video that is flipped vertically. |
GIF Recorder properties
The GIF Recorder generates an animated GIF file.
| Property: | Function: |
|---|---|
| Capture | The input for the recording. |
| Targeted Camera | Record the frames captured by a specific camera, even if it is not used in the Game View. |
| Render Texture Asset | Record the frames that are rendered in a Render Texture. |
| Texture Sampling | When capturing, supersample the Source camera generate anti-aliased images in the recording. Use this capture method when the Rendering Resolution has the same or higher resolution than the Output Resolution. |
| Source | The camera to use for recording. Choose Active Cameras, Main Camera, or Tagged Camera. The Main Camera option specifies the camera with the MainCamera tag. Available when Capture is set to Targeted Camera or Texture Sampling. |
| Tag | The tag of the camera to record. Available when Capture is set to Targeted Camera and Source is TaggedCamera. |
| Output Resolution | The dimensions of the video recording. This property is available only for applicable Capture choices. |
| Aspect Ratio | The width:height ratio to format the output to. |
| Include UI | Check to include UI GameObjects in the recording. |
| Flip Vertical | Check to flip the images in the output to make it upside-down. Use this property to restore up and down when your system generates video that is flipped vertically. |
| Encoding | Properties for controlling the quality and size of the GIF output. |
| Num Colors | The number of colors to use in the GIF palette table. The maximum is 256 colors. Specify a smaller palette to reduce the size of the GIF file while reducing image quality. |
| Keyframe Interval | The number of frames that share the same color palette. Increase this number to reduce the size of the GIF file while reducing image quality. |
| Max Tasks | The number of frames to encode in parallel. Increasing this number may reduce the length of time Unity takes to encode the GIF. |