This guide takes you through your first time using Zencastr as a host, from creating your account to finishing your first recording. This guide covers recording on the web, using a computer or laptop.
Create a Zencastr account
Your first step is creating a Zencastr account.
Go to Zencastr.com
Click Sign up.
Enter your name, email address, username, and password.
Click Sign Up.
Zencastr will send a verification email to the email address you entered.
Click the Confirm Email button in the email.
Create your first show
The link in the verification email takes you to the Create a show screen, where you set up your first show. Your show is where your recordings and episodes live.
On the Create a show screen:
Select a topic(s) associated with your show.
Select a language you’ll be using for your show.
Click Create.
Once your show is created, you’ll land on your Zencastr page.
Create your first recording room
Once you’ve created your show, you can create your recording room. This is where you and your guests come together to record.
Quick tips for successful recording
A few quick checks before you create your room can help your first recording go smoothly.
Use Chrome, Edge, or Brave in a regular window, not incognito or private mode.
Have at least 8 GB of RAM, 10 GB of free disk space, and an internet connection of at least 5 Mbps (10 Mbps or higher is ideal).
We recommend that all participants wear headphones. Without them, your microphone can pick up other participants’ voices from your speakers.
Create a recording room
Choose a name you’ll recognize, such as your show, episode, or guest name, since you’ll use it to find the room later.
Click + New from the left navigation bar.
Click Allow to give Zencastr access to your camera and microphone.
Enter the name for your recording room.
Click the Settings icon.
Select the language you'll be recording in.
Note: Zencastr supports transcriptions for the following languages: English, French, Hindi, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch; Flemish.
Select a recording mode.
Video & audio: Everyone is on camera, and each person’s audio and video are recorded separately, up to 4K.
Audio only: No cameras, and each person’s audio is recorded separately.
Show video, record audio: Everyone is on camera during the call, but only audio is recorded.
Click X to close the pop-up, your changes are saved automatically.
Click the ^ button next to the Microphone icon to select your microphone and speakers.
Click the ^ button next to the Camera icon to select your camera.
Click Create Chat.
You’ll land in your new recording room.
Review recording room settings
Next, review your settings. Once recording starts, only your speaker settings can be changed.
Tip: To switch just your camera, microphone, or speaker, click the ^ button next to the Microphone or Camera icon.
In the recording room, click Settings from the bottom menu.
In the pop-up that appears, from the General tab, review or change the following:
Name: This is the name of your recording.
Call application: Use built-in call application. Only change it to external call application only if you’re using a third-party VoIP service, such as Zoom.
Click the Audio & video tab and review or change the following:
Camera: Review your camera selection.
Microphone: Review your microphone selection.
Echo Cancellation: Leave off when everyone in the recording room is using headphones. Turn on if someone can’t use headphones.
Monitor: Turn on to hear your own voice while recording, or leave off if you don’t need live monitoring.
Click the Recording tab and review or change the following:
Recording mode: Review your recording mode. You can’t change recording modes after you’ve started recording.
Maximum Resolution: Set the maximum video resolution, up to 4K.
When you’re done, click X to close the pop-up, your changes are saved automatically.
Invite guests
Next, invite your guests.You can record up to six participants, including the host. Guests don’t need a Zencastr account. They join with a link, and a green room lets them check their camera and microphone before they enter the recording room.
Note: If you’re recording on your own, you can skip this step.
In the recording room, click the + Invite button in the upper right corner.
Click Copy link to share the link yourself.
You can also invite guests via email.
Enter each guest’s Name and Email.
Click + Add another to add more guests.
Click Send Invite.
Recording controls
Once you’re in the recording room, a few controls let you manage yourself, your guests, and the conversation. It helps to know what each one does before you start recording.
Camera and microphone
Manage your camera and microphone.
Click the Microphone icon to mute or unmute your microphone.
Click the Camera icon to turn your camera on or off.
Hand raise
Raising your hand lets you get other participants’ attention without interrupting the conversation.
Click Raise hand from the bottom menu.
The hand icon will appear on your frame.
When a guest raises their hand, you’ll see it in their frame.
Messages
Messages let you communicate with everyone in the recording room without interrupting the conversation.
In the Room list on the right, click Message the room.
Type your message.
Click the + icon if you want to upload media.
Send it to the participants in the room.
Note: Messages aren’t included in the recording.
Footnotes
Footnotes let you mark important moments during a recording so you can easily return to them later during editing.
Click the Footnotes icon on the bottom menu.
Type your footnote and click Save.
Your footnotes will appear in your recording after you’ve finished recording.
Teleprompter
Use a script you’ve created in Zencastr as a teleprompter during a recording.
Click the Script icon from the bottom toolbar.
Select the script you want to use.
Click the Eye icon to control visibility:
Turn it on to make the teleprompter available to participants.
Turn it off to keep the teleprompter visible only to you.
Adjust the Speed control to change how quickly the script scrolls.
Use the Text size controls to make the script larger or smaller.
Drag the teleprompter to reposition it on your screen.
Use the Play control to start or pause scrolling.
Click X to close the teleprompter.
Managing guests
You can manage individual guests and check each guest’s recording status.
From the Room list, click the three-dot menu next to the participant's name.
Healthcheck: view their health check.
Remove from room: If needed, you can remove the guest from the room.
To manage a guest’s audio or camera, click on the microphone icon or the camera icon on their frame.
Note: Once you turn off a guest’s microphone or camera, only the guest can turn it back on.
Start recording
When you and your guests are ready, you can start recording.
When everyone is ready to record, click Record. A 3-second countdown begins, and the screen turns black once recording starts.
At the top of the room the recording timer shows how long you’ve been recording.
To pause the recording, click Pause.
When you’re ready to continue, click Resume.
When you’re finished recording, click Stop.
Finish recording and file uploads
After you stop recording, stay in the recording room until all participant tracks have finished uploading.
Important: Closing the tab or leaving the room before uploads are complete can interrupt the upload process. |
After you click Stop, stay in the recording room.
The tracks will start uploading.
You can see the progress in the Files tab.
Wait for the message confirming files uploaded.
Once all the tracks have finished uploading, the screen will turn white.
Let your guests know they can leave the recording room at this time.
What’s next
After you finish recording, click on your recording room chat from the Recent Chats section.
From there, you can start editing your recording, produce an episode, or create clips.
If you’re not ready to edit, you can leave the recording room chat and come back to your recording at any time:
Click Library, then Recordings, find your recording, and click Edit.
Or open your recording room chat from Recent Chats, then choose Edit from the three-dot menu next to your recording in Files.