Export Formats

Recorded supports three export formats, each suited to different use cases.

MP4 (H.264)

The default and most widely compatible format. MP4 files work on virtually every device, browser, and video platform.

• Video codec: H.264 (hardware-accelerated when available)
• Audio codec: AAC at 192 kbps
• Quality presets: YouTube (15 Mbps), Twitter (8 Mbps), LinkedIn (10 Mbps), or custom bitrate
• Best for: Sharing on social media, uploading to video platforms, embedding in presentations, general-purpose use

MP4 is the recommended format for most users. It offers an excellent balance of quality and file size, and takes advantage of GPU hardware acceleration for fast encoding.

GIF

Create lightweight animated GIFs for quick previews, documentation, and social media.

• Resolution: Scaled to 640px width (height proportional)
• Frame rate: 10 FPS
• No audio: GIFs do not include sound
• Best for: Quick previews, Slack/Discord messages, GitHub README files, documentation, social media posts

GIF files are significantly larger than MP4 for the same content, so they’re best suited for short clips. The automatic downscaling to 640px width helps keep file sizes manageable.

MOV (ProRes 422 HQ)

A professional-grade format that preserves maximum quality for further editing in external tools.

• Video codec: Apple ProRes 422 HQ
• Audio codec: PCM 16-bit (uncompressed)
• Quality: Near-lossless — ideal as a source format for post-production
• Best for: Importing into video editing software (Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve), archival, professional workflows

MOV files are much larger than MP4 because they use minimal compression. Choose this format when you plan to do additional editing in another application and want to avoid generational quality loss.

Choosing the Right Format