Record Streaming Video From Internet

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Streaming video is rapidly becoming the dominant source of information on the internet. This technology enables publishers to send digitized video data to end users with as little bandwidth usage as possible so that servers are not overloaded. There are several different formats of streaming video files, each of which requires different software for playing and recording. Many free software programs will record video files, but in some cases the files cannot be played back without modifying the files first or using other software for playback.

Computer users may want to record streaming video from internet sites for a variety of reasons. Educational webinars are often broadcast all over the world at one fixed time, so users who are in a time zone that puts the webinar in the middle of the night or some other inconvenient time for them can use recording software to capture the webinar for later viewing. Likewise, viewers can attend a webinar in real-time but also record it simultaneously for later review and study.

Of course, many people are interested in recording streaming video for personal entertainment purposes. ...
... Many television shows are replayed on the internet and users can set up software to capture them for their personal archives and for viewing at a later time when they might not have internet access. Likewise, YouTube viewers and users of similar video databases may want to record videos for use offline or to save in a personal file for later reference.

Some streaming video is transmitted encrypted so that streaming capture software cannot record it. This is usually the case with rental movies, for example, that are protected by copyright and anti-pirating laws. While streaming video capture software may not be able to record copy-protected video files, users can always record them by using screen capture software that takes the video and audio directly from their computer screens. Users should always comply with copyright laws. Copyrighted materials should only be recorded for personal use by users who have paid for them and they should never be re-distributed.

In addition to recording incoming internet video streams, there are many reasons why a computer user might want to create videos from a PC or Mac to distribute on the internet. There are software programs available for creating videos with screen capture technology, as well as for editing video files downloaded from a camera. These videos can be used for advertising products, teaching classes, providing error information to technical support personnel and for the fun of creating and uploading creative YouTube videos.

Since there are many different streaming video file formats, a user who needs to record incoming video needs to learn the characteristics of each type of file and acquire the correct software for recording that specific file type. There are many sources of software online for capturing and playing back streaming video and audio files. Some applications are free to download and use, while others require purchase for use. Most are reasonably priced considering their usefulness, and many have free trial periods available for new users.