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How Zencastr Records
How Zencastr Records

Overview of how Zencastr records, including benefits, how the call works, and how host and guest see their files complete after recording.

Updated this week

Zencastr is a modern web-based solution for high-quality audio and video podcast creation. When you record on Zencastr you get separate tracks (i.e. separate audio and video files) for each participant that are ideal for your post-production process.

📝 Recording in the ‘Record Audio and Video’ recording mode is described below. The overall process for the other two modes is the same, but only audio files are recorded in both the ‘Record Audio, Show Video’ and ‘Record Audio, No Videp’ modes and no video feed is shown in the ‘Record Audio, No Video’ mode.

In this article:

Benefits of Recording in Zencastr

High-Quality Audio and Video

  • Local recording by your computer means if you or your guests experience issues with your internet connections (drops, disconnections) the quality of the recorded audio and video will not be impacted by those issues.

  • All plans, except the legacy Hobbyist plan, record high-quality audio. Paid plans record both 128k MP3 files and 16-bit 48k WAV files.

  • All plans, except the legacy Hobbyist plan, record high-definition video. The Standard plan records up to 1080p. The Grow, Scale, and Business plans record up to 4k.

Local Backups

Local recording also means each participant’s audio and video is backed up in their local browser storage. So if a participant experiences an issue with their internet connection while recording, such as a disconnection, what was recorded is safe.

Separate Tracks

Separate tracks, i.e. separate audio and video files, for each participant help save your time and effort in your editing process. For example, let’s say you are recording with two guests and one guest’s phone starts ringing loudly in the background while the other guest is speaking, creating a noisy distraction. With a single, combined file you couldn’t easily silence the ringing phone without also silencing the speaking guest. But with separate files, using an editing software, you can easily silence the phone ringing in the one guest’s track without silencing the speaking guest’s track.

How Participants Are Connected By Zencastr

When you and your guests meet on a Zencastr Recording Page, you are connected to one another via an encrypted VoIP call. The VoIP call allows everyone to hear and see each other.

How Participants Are Recorded In Zencastr

The VoIP call is what allows participants to hear and see each other but it is not what is recorded by Zencastr. Instead, when the host starts the recording each participant’s audio and video feed is recorded locally by their computer and stored in their local browser storage.

While the recording is in progress, in the background Zencastr progressively uploads each participant’s audio and video files from their local browser storage to our servers. The upload is done progressively, i.e. in pieces, so that it doesn’t disrupt the VoIP call and also so that participants have a shorter wait time after the recording is finished.

How Files Upload/Complete After Recording on Zencastr

When the host stops the recording, each participant’s files finish uploading to our servers. Each participant should keep the Recording Page open until they each individually see a confirmation popup that their files have finished uploading.

The host sees this confirmation pop-up when their files have finished uploading:

Guests each see this confirmation pop-up when their files have finished uploading:

The host’s Recording Page will show that a guest’s files have finished uploading when on the guest’s track all files turn solid gray with download arrows:

Downloading Files After Recording on Zencastr

When participants’ files finish uploading, they are available for the host to download from the Recording Page and/or run through Zencastr Editing.

Related Questions

How long does it take for a participant’s files to finish uploading?

On average, it takes just a few seconds to a few minutes after the recording is stopped for a participant’s files to finish uploading provided the participant’s computer and internet speed meet the system requirements. The exact time depends on the participant's internet upload speed, the recording length, and the file type.

My/my guest’s file won’t finish uploading. What do I do?

My/my guest’s file has finished uploading but it is incomplete. What do I do?

See these instructions for recovering internet-quality backups.

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