Windows 10 Tip: Take Game Clips and Share Them With Others

In addition to its screenshot and broadcasting capabilities, the Windows 10 Game bar also lets you take two types of in-game video clips.

Note: This tip is derived from the Windows 10 Field Guide, which is now being updated for the Windows 10 Creators Update.

As noted in previous articles in this series, the Game bar can’t be found in Start. Instead, you invoke this feature with a special keyboard shortcut: WINKEY + G. Or, if you have an Xbox controller connected to your PC, you can press the Xbox button on the controller instead.

Note: The Game bar can be opened from within any game. Actually, it can be used with any app, as well, though that’s obviously not its primary focus.

Configure Game bar’s Game DVR options

You can use Game bar to take two types of in-game video clips, called game clips. But before doing so, you should spend some time investigating the various options related to this functionality. You can find these options by opening the Settings app (WINKEY + I) and navigating to Gaming.

In the default view, Game Bar, you will find a number of options. The following are the most important:

Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game bar. Enabled by default, this option determines whether the Game bar even offers screenshot, game clip, and broadcasting capabilities. If you set this option to Off, those capabilities will no longer be available. (Broadcasting is explained later in this section.)

Keyboard shortcuts. Like virtually everything else in Windows 10, Game bar includes its own set of unique keyboard shortcuts. But this interface lets you customize those shortcuts so you can use keyboard commands that are more familiar or easier to type. That’s a unique feature.

Once you’re done examining Game Bar settings, you should navigate to Game DVR settings (Settings > Gaming > Game DVR), where you can examine and configure options related to screenshots and game clip recording.

These include:

Background recording. This option needs to be enabled so that the “Record that” feature can be used in Game bar. You can also configure the amount of time recorded (30 seconds by default) and whether this option is enabled when your PC is on battery power and/or you are using a wireless display.

Record this… By default, you can record game clips for up to one hour. But this option lets you change the maximum recording time to 30 minutes or two hours instead.

Recorded audio. By default, Game bar will of course record in-game audio when it records game clips. If you don’t wish to record the game audio for some reason, you can disable that with this option. You can also configure the quality of the in-game audio and whether to record your microphone audio as well. That latter option will let you supply a live commentary as you play the game.

Recorded video. By default, Game DVR tries to save disk space and aid performance by recording game clips with fairly low-quality video. But you can configure video frame rate (30 or 60 fps) and video quality (Standard or High) options here as you see fit.

Record a clip of something that just happened

Before you can record favorite in-game events as they happen, you need to enable this feature. If you did not already configure this, you can do so now: Run a game and then type WINKEY + G to open the Game bar. Then, select the Settings button and check the option titled “Record game in the background.”

Tip: Enabling this feature will use up some disk space because Game bar will also be recording video and, as it does so, saving the last 30 seconds in case something excellent happens.

When you’re ready to record an excellent in-game moment, quickly type WINKEY + G (or tap the Xbox button on your controller) and then select “Record that.” A small notification will immediately appear in the bottom right of the screen, indicating that the clip was recorded.

“Record that” clips are recorded in high-quality MP4 files, so they can be viewed with the Movies & TV app or any modern video player. To edit a clip, you will need a third-party video editor solution, like Adobe Premiere Elements or similar.

Record a longer game clip

To record an entire game session or any other longer video clip, you can use the Game bar’s Start Recording button. (It resembles a red “recording” circle.) When you select this option, the Game bar will minimize to the upper right of the game window and provide options related to recording.

To end recording, type WINKEY + G to display the Game bar and then select the red Stop Recording button. Or, you can always just type WINKEY + ALT + R to start (and stop) recording too.

Tip: By default, Game DVR will record until you stop the recording or the limit (one hour by default) is reached.

However recording ends, a small notification will appear in the bottom right of the screen, indicating that the clip was saved to disk.

These longer game clips are stored in the Videos > Captures folder alongside screenshots and “Record that” clips by default. And like “Record that” clips, they are of course recorded in high-quality MP4 files, so they can be viewed and edited by any compatible app.

Share a game clip

You can also share your game clips with others on Xbox Live or some other popular social networking services using the Xbox app, which is also included in Window 10.

To see how this works, open the Xbox app and navigate to the Game DVR page. There are two main views, On this PC (which is the default) and On Xbox Live, which displays all of the shots and clips you’ve ever taken, including those from your Xbox consoles. You can also filter the view by date or game, and can display game clips, screenshots, or both (Everything).

Game clips you’ve recorded on your PC are not automatically saved to your Xbox Live profile as they are with the Xbox One console. Instead, you must upload them to Xbox Live first. Once you do that, you can share them with others.

To get started, select the clip you wish to upload. Before doing so, you can rename it using the Rename button. You can also trim superfluous moments from the beginning or end of the video by selecting the Trim button. This interface is pretty simple: Just move the sliders to select new beginning and end points for your clip.

When you’re ready to upload the clip, select the Upload button. A notification will appear briefly in the lower-right of the screen when the upload is complete.

Now, select “On Xbox Live” at the top of the Game DVR page. A list of the shots and game clips you’ve saved to your Xbox Live profile (from both Windows 10 and Xbox One) appears.

Select the game clip you’d like to share—most likely the one you just uploaded, but you can share any item you’d like—and the select the Share button. A pop-up menu with available choices will appear.

By default, this list will include four items associated with your Xbox Live account, but you may also see Facebook and Twitter options too.

Tip: If you would like to share items via Facebook or Twitter but don’t see them listed here, you will need to connect your Xbox Live account to these services first. You do so by opening Settings in the Xbox app and navigating to General > Linked Social Accounts.

Each of the Xbox-related items in this list is very specific, but some may also be unfamiliar. So here’s a quick rundown of the available choices:

Activity feed. Like social networks, Xbox Live provides an activity feed for every user, but in this case, the activities it lists are the games and apps you’re using, plus the screenshots and clips you’ve shared. So you should choose Activity feed if you want the selected item to be shared with your friends on your feed. Friends can of course “Like” and comment on shared items, too, as is the case with social networks.

Club. Xbox Live Clubs are groups of players that are created and managed by individual gamers. For example, you may create a Club for your co-workers, close friends, or even just a group of gamers who play a certain game frequently. So when you choose this option, the item you’re sharing will be shared only with the members of the Club you choose.

Messages Like social networks, Xbox Live provides a messaging service by which you can communicate with your friends. So you can choose this option to share the selected item with one or more friends using the Xbox Live Messaging system.

Showcase. If you would like to highlight a particular shot or clip right at the top of your activity feed, choose the Showcase option. This way, anyone looking you up on Xbox Live will be sure to see your greatest victory.

Note: These files are not protected in any way and are yours to do with as you will. So you can also manually edit your shots and game clips and then upload them to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or other services you use, using a web browser or an application of your choice. It’s up to you.