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Quicktime Screen Recordings with Headphones - no audio

Apple have given me two different answers on this, and various advice boards say it's possible but I can't get it to work. Would appreciate a clear answer and instructions.


I am doing screen (with audio) recordings of videos on my Macbook Air. To record them while I'm doing other work Apple suggested I use headphones as the audio output and put those headphones the other side of the room so I'm not disturbed too much.


I've now discovered all the screen recordings I made following this instruction only have video and not the video's audio on playback. There is sound though - of me typing on my Macbook doing the other work!


So all the audio that is being outputted through the headphones is not being recorded.

First Apple answer: that will work as Quicktime takes the audio being output through the headphones as the recording's source and will record it from that.

Second Apple answer: that will not work as Quicktime only uses the machine's speakers to capture the audio that it records, even if the audio is being output through headphones.


Is it possible to do what I need, and if so how?


FYI I have both selected and not selected the headphones under the Quicktime Options drop down but that doesn't make any difference.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Dec 6, 2023 6:13 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 6, 2023 8:19 AM

You will need to install third party software to help QuickTime Player record system sounds internally. A default QuickTime Player will only record through the microphone.


See here for details, as provided by user jeffreythefrog:

discussions.apple.com/thread/254597828

Similar questions

11 replies

Dec 8, 2023 6:09 AM in response to Zebedee79

Zebedee79 wrote:

So if I personally *don't* want to be sitting here hearing the output of a video while it's recording, but I do want to screen record the video and audio using Quicktime - does this same solution need me to offer some way for the sound to output at all,

yes. if you want to record the audio, but do not want / need to hear it while you are doing the recording, you just need to select "BlackHole 2ch" in your menubar sound options. then the audio will be recorded even though you won't be hearing it during the recording process. you only use "Multi-Output Device" if you also want to hear the video during the recording process.


Dec 8, 2023 3:45 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Going through those instructions I'm not clear on some of the terminology when it comes to different options and pathways to choose. For example, he asks if I want "aggregate" do this, or "multi channel" do that, I

don't know what these terms really mean and which one I should choose what I want to achieve.


So if I personally *don't* want to be sitting here hearing the output of a video while it's recording, but I do want to screen record the video and audio using Quicktime - does this same solution need me to offer some way for the sound to output at all, ie the headphone (as it turned out faulty) solution provided by Apple, or are headphones not needed at all?


And either way if headphones are still needed or not, could you help me out with understanding which routes I should go down in jeffreythefrog's instructions when there are choices? I tried responding to jeffrey directly but it won't let me reply.


I'm at the point where I have modified my Audio Midi Set up as jeffrey instructed. Thanks.

Dec 8, 2023 6:34 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

Hi Jeffrey, thanks for coming in. I think I've got it. So I'm running Monteray (latest my Macbook can cope with), and I think this is it:

System Preferences/Sound: choose input as Internal Microphone, and output as BlackHole 2ch.

Select Blackhold 2ch as the Microphone in the Quicktime Options dropbox.


Have I got that right - that's all I need to do?


Thanks.

Quicktime Screen Recordings with Headphones - no audio

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