Bandicam is one of the longest running screen recorders on Windows, and plenty of players install it the first time they want to save gameplay.
The common complaints that follow are also predictable: the game stutters while recording, the video looks soft, the file plays back as a black screen, or nothing happens when you hit the record key.
Most of these come down to three things: the recording mode, the format settings, and the order you launch things in.
This guide pulls together Bandicam's official Game Recording guide, its video format settings page, its Frame tab documentation, and its FAQs on lag, black recordings, and a missing FPS counter. The first half covers the settings that decide quality and performance.
The second half is a symptom table for when Bandicam is not recording at all. Everything here is based on Bandicam 2027 (v27.0.7, released October 15, 2026), and menu names can shift slightly between updates. If you are still deciding between tools, our Bandicam vs OBS comparison covers the trade offs first.
Short answer: Game Recording mode, MP4 with a hardware H.264 codec, 60 FPS, quality 80
Bandicam's own guide says Game Recording mode gives better quality than Screen Recording mode for games. It hooks titles that render with DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan and supports up to 3840×2160 and 480 FPS. You set the output in Format Settings on the Video tab.
Bandicam does not publish one fixed preset for games, so treat the values below as starting points taken from its official pages rather than magic numbers. Use MP4 as the file type because it is easy to edit and share, keep Video Size on Full Size so you record at native resolution, and pick H.264.
If your hardware supports it, Bandicam's FAQ recommends a hardware accelerated H.264 encoder: NVIDIA NVENC on compatible GeForce cards, Intel Quick Sync Video on compatible Intel CPUs, or AMD VCE/VCN on compatible Radeon cards.
For frame rate, the official quality guide suggests 60 FPS or higher on a modern PC. For quality, start at 80, which is the baseline the FAQs work from, and raise it toward 100 if text or fine detail looks smeared.
If the game stutters instead, follow the lag FAQ and step down: quality 80 to 50, FPS 60 to 30 (15 if it still stutters), and Full Size to Half Size. The general rules for picking resolution and bitrate are laid out in our game recording quality settings table.
How to set up Bandicam for game recording
- 1Pick Game Recording mode and start Bandicam firstOpen Bandicam and choose Game Recording under Home, Get Started, or click the gamepad icon at the top. Click Yes if User Account Control appears. Bandicam's FAQ says to start Bandicam before the game you want to record, so launch the game after this step.
- 2Wait for the green FPS number, then recordA green number in the top left of the game means Bandicam has hooked it. Press F12 (you can change it in settings) or the REC button and the number turns red as recording starts; press again to stop. Finished files are listed under Home, Videos.
- 3Set MP4, codec, and quality in Format SettingsOn the Video tab open Format Settings and choose MP4, Full Size, H.264 (NVIDIA NVENC, Intel Quick Sync, or AMD hardware encoding where supported), and quality 80. The codec list also includes HEVC (H.265) and AV1; AAC is fine for audio. Why a hardware encoder matters is covered in our game recording stutter fix.
- 4Choose a frame rate and add an FPS limit if neededStart the FPS field in Format Settings at 60. The Frame tab, which only appears in Game Recording mode, has a Limit FPS option; Bandicam's guide suggests lowering the limit from 60 to 30 if capture is not smooth. Tick the option to limit only while capturing so the cap applies during recording only.
- 5Step settings down one at a time if it lagsIf the game stutters, lower quality from 80 to 50, then switch Full Size to Half Size, then drop FPS from 60 to 30 (and to 15 if needed), testing a short clip after each change. In NVIDIA Control Panel set power management for Bandicam or the game to Prefer maximum performance, and if that is not enough, try windowed mode or swap between Game and Screen Recording modes.
Bandicam not recording: symptoms and first fixes (as of November 12, 2026)
| Symptom | Likely cause | Try this first |
|---|---|---|
| No green FPS number on the game | Game launched first, or Screen Recording mode is active | Start Bandicam first, choose Game Recording mode, press Alt+Tab twice |
| Number stays green, file is only 4.0 KB | Permission mismatch blocks the hook | Start Bandicam first, then run the game as administrator |
| Only admin level games are not detected | UAC prompt was declined, so Bandicam runs as a standard user | In advanced settings choose administrator only in Game Recording mode |
| Microsoft Store game is not detected | UWP hooking is off | General, Advanced, Hooking: enable Windows Apps (UWP) |
| EA app game shows no FPS number | UWP and in game overlay options conflict | Uncheck Windows Apps (UWP) and In game overlay in Bandicam |
| Recorded video is black | Wrong mode or a driver problem | Use Game Recording mode for games, update Bandicam, reinstall the GPU driver |
| Video looks washed out and too bright | Windows HDR is on | Turn off HDR in Windows display settings and record again |
| Recording stops at exactly 5 minutes | Free Bandicam 2027 time limit | Not an error: split recordings or activate the full version |
Check before you record
- Free Bandicam 2027 records up to 5 minutes per file. Raw recordings have no watermark, but edited exports do (official FAQ, as of November 12, 2026).
- Free Bandicam 2025 and 2024 record up to 10 minutes per file and add a watermark, so confirm which version you have.
- Some Easy Anti-Cheat games appear on a separate compatibility list in Bandicam's FAQ; check that list before troubleshooting further.
- If recordings are black only in exclusive fullscreen, work through fullscreen game recording fixes as well.
- Update your graphics driver and DirectX if they are old. Bandicam supports Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7 (64 bit).
If you would rather skip the setup and record every match
Bandicam is strong when you want precise control over mode, codec, and quality. If pressing record before every match and splitting files every five minutes feels like a chore, DOR may suit you better.
DOR is a free Windows game recorder: launch a supported game and it detects it and records the whole match automatically, collecting everything in My Clips.
In seven games, including League of Legends, VALORANT, and PUBG, it also creates highlight clips automatically when it detects moments like kills. Free users can record at up to 1080p and 60 FPS, and on supported NVIDIA graphics cards such as the RTX series it records with NVENC hardware encoding.
Trim the part you want inside the app in 16:9, 9:16, or 1:1. See how DOR auto recording works, or the League of Legends hub and VALORANT hub for game specific setups.
