IPad Screen Recordings are HUGE

Is there some way to change the compression or frame rate that the iPad’s screen recorder uses? If not, do people recording for like an hour just deal with the huge file sizes or use a screen recording app? …I did some testing and it looks like about a gig/5min.

This thread is a reminder to me that I should probably dig through my iPad Pro’s camera roll and clean out a whole bunch of PUBG gameplay recordings. :grin:

Just checked on a 24 minute Nomad recording made in the past year. This 2020 model year iPad Pro with 512gig storage saved the recording in h.264 format with a 1920x1440 rez. Size of that file came out to 2.5gigs. That’s a fairly large discrepancy compared to your results.

My only theory would be if you’re using a background image and doing lots of navigation pans. IOW, if more of your entire screen was actively changing, that could account for the increased data rate. My sculpting session only had the diminutive subject twirling about. The other 90% of the screen was the static navigation tools at the edges and a gradient background that stayed still. The h.264 format looks for intra-frame changes — if an area of the screen remains unchanged from one frame to the next, it maintains a frugal recording practice that way.

I’m not finding any advanced settings for iPadOS’s default Screen Recording app to toggle between h.264 and ProRes, so it can’t be a setting selection thing.

I know that my newer iPhone 13 Pro Max records camera images in a more efficient HEVC (h.265?) format, but didn’t check if it does this for screen recordings. Do M1/M2 iPads screen record in h.264 or HEVC compression?

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Thanks for the info! That all does make sense. I may be zoomed in more while rotating my model around(?) My frame rate may be higher? Can’t believe they don’t give you a way to adjust the compression or anything but turning the mic on/off :stuck_out_tongue: Here is the info the photos app is giving me, fwiw

Yep, same h.264, same 54fps…. Things starting to suggest it comes down to percentage of screen movement. I’d imagine that if you were to do a full-screen capture of rippling water, that would max out the data rate being recorded with h.264 far beyond that 5min-per-gig

If I recall, most of my 24 minutes was doing pivoting maneuvers…. So only limbs and gizmo tool creating screen motion at any given time. Nearly everything else stayed static.

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Ah yeah. I think you’re right. Thanks again :+1:

The combo of massive video sizes and battery draw means I stopped trying to do long records standalone. Instead I use quicktime on a mac to record the screen externally via the usb cable, which has the extra advantage of keeping the ipad charged.

That said, the file sizes are huge there too! Next time I do this, I might just try keeping the quicktime window as close to fullscreen as I can, and use OBS to record to a more sane file format.

I did also look into a wifi based solution that can connect to windows, but it had a yearly fee a bit higher than I was comfortable with, and the mac laptop solution is fine, so didn’t pursue it.

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I don’t have a Mac but might look into a Windows solution if I can’t manage the iPad recordings or find another solution. Thanks the info!

I got a screen recording app - Record It. Haven’t paid for the full version but the free version is giving me 59 fps even after setting it to 24fps… Might risk the $6 to see if that makes it work(?)

EDIT: Actually Record It gave me 55 and 45 fps when set to 24 (lowest setting)

Yeah I understand. This is a work macbook, I don’t think I would have got one myself just for screen recording. :slight_smile:

The app I was looking at was ApowerMirror, it seemed to get good reviews.

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