Mastering Gameplay Recordings on the PlayStation 4: A Comprehensive Guide

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What to Know

Double-tap the Share button on your controller. By default, your PS4 will record for 15 minutes—Double-tapShare to stop.
If something cool happens while you’re playing and you’re not already recording, tap the Share button and select Save Video Clip .
Go to theCapture Gallery on your console to edit and share clips.

This article explains how to record, edit, and share gameplay on a PS4 console.

How to Record a Gameplay Clip on PS4

If you’re about to attempt something cool, or you want to illustrate something specific, then you can initiate a recording at any time.

Start playing the PS4 game of your choice.
When you want to start recording, quickly press theShare button (oval button to the left of the touchpad) on your controller two times in a row.

Jeremy Laukkonen
Look for a small notice that contains a film icon next to a red recording icon to appear on the left side of your screen. That means you are successfully recording gameplay.
Continue playing, and your PS4 will record for 15 minutes unless you have set a different default recording period.
If you want to stop recording prematurely, double tap theShare button on your controller again.
Look for the small notice with the film icon and recording icon to appear again. That means you are no longer recording.
When you see the messageVideo clip saved , that means your PS4 has successfully saved your clip and it’s ready to share or edit.

How to Record Retroactively on a PS4

There’s no way to know when something cool or weird will happen when you’re playing, so there’s a good chance that you won’t be recording. When that happens, you can take advantage of the PS4’s retroactive recording feature.

If something cool just happened, and you weren’t already recording, quickly tap theShare button on your PS4 controller.
SelectSave Video Clip .

3. When you see theVideo clip saved message , your clip has been successfully saved.

4. You can now return to your game and watch your clip later, or immediately head to clip gallery to trim and share your gameplay.

Once you’ve recorded a clip on your PS4, you may want to share it. Sony gives you an option to upload your clips to a few different social media sites, and you can also trim your clips down before uploading if you like.

From the PS4 home screen, selectCapture Gallery .
Select a specific game to view recorded clips, orAll to view all of your clips.

3. Highlight the clip you want to edit or share, and press theOptions button (oval button to the right of the touchpad).

If you want to share an unedited clip, press theShare button here instead, and skip to step 11.
4. From the options menu, selectTrim to edit your clip.

5. By default, your clip is chopped into 10 second intervals. If you want longer or shorter intervals, highlight and select10 Second Intervals .

6. Select the desired interval.

Interval length affects your choices of where you can start and end your clip. When set at 10 seconds, you can start and stop your clip at 10-second intervals. That means your clip can start at 0:10, 0:20, and so on, and it can end at 0:20, 0:30, and so on. Longer lengths make it easier to navigate long clips, while shorter ones allow you to fine-tune your stop and start points.
7. Highlight the frame where you want your clip to start, and selectStart Here .

8. Highlight the frame where you want your clip to end, and selectEnd Here .

9. SelectOK .

10. SelectSave as New Video Clip to preserve your original footage in case you want it later.

11. Select your newly generated clip, and press theShare button if you want to share it online.

Click here

12. SelectOK .

13. SelectYouTube orX (formerly Twitter) to upload your video.

14. Your video will upload.

If you haven’t yet linked your X or YouTube account, you will be prompted to do so.

How to Change the Default Recording Length

By default, the PS4 captures 15-minute video clips. If you’re running out of space on your PS4 drive, you can set the default clip time to a shorter interval, down to a minimum of five minutes. Alternately, you can make the default time up to 60 minutes if you want massive clips and don’t want to miss anything. That takes a lot of hard drive space, but it is an option if you want it.

From the main PS4 menu, navigate toSettings .
SelectSharing and Broadcasts .

3. SelectVideo Clip Settings .

4. SelectLength of Video Clip .

5. Select the desired length, from30 seconds to60 minutes .

6. Newly recorded clips will now be of your chosen length.

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How to Take a Screenshot on PS4

How Does Recording Gameplay Work on PS4?

Traditionally, recording gameplay has required either a capture card in a computer or a dedicated video capture hardware device. It was an expensive and complicated proposition that you don’t have to worry about if you own a PS4.

Your PS4 has everything you need to record, edit, and share gameplay built right in, and it even has a few different options for recording. If you’re interested in recording your PS4 gameplay, you have these two basic options:

Regular recording : You actively start recording and capture a predetermined amount of video, at which point it stops. You can also choose to stop recording at any time. This mode is useful if you’re trying to capture a specific thing.

Retroactive recording : Your PS4 is constantly recording gameplay whenever you’re in-game. At any time, you can choose to save the last 15 minutes of that gameplay. This mode is useful if something cool or weird happened and you weren’t already recording. Otherwise, the PS4 automatically overwrites each clip as a new one starts to conserve storage space.

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Mastering Gameplay Recordings on the PlayStation 4: A Comprehensive Guide