This is new! Record a video of iPad’s screen in any app

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DEAR READER, PLEASE NOTE: The App Disp Recorder no longer works – BUT Great news! those of you looking for a way to simply record your iPad screen, iPad audio and your voice narration – rejoice! As of yesterday (10th July 2014) there’s a new simple way to do it – and it’s really fantastic.  I’ve written a follow-up post about it HERE – and here’s a short little video I made demonstrating it:

 

And here is the original post that you searched for (which is now obsolete but I have left here for posterity):

There are numerous options for recording a video of one’s computer screen, from the free and simple, but limited Jing to more powerful, and correspondingly expensive offerings like Camtasia or Adobe Captivate.  There are also a number of free Web 2.0 options such as Screenr.  On a Mac you can even use the built-in QuickTime player that ships free on every machine!  But until recently recording the screen of my iPad was limited to within an individual app.  Apps like ShowMe and LivePaper have been around for a while and the excellent ExplainEverything is far and away my favourite for recording a screencast from my iPad.  But even using these tools, one is restricted to recording the screen within that one app itself.   Sure you can import images or screenshots and doodle on them, and the app will record the screen and the self-talk you are providing to narrate. What they do not enable you to do, though, is record video of your home screen, or a tutorial on how to use another app like (say) a graphing calculator.

Enter* Disp Recorder.

The Good:

Disp Recorder lets you easily record anything that happens on the screen of your iPad: navigating through the Home screens, changing options in the Settings app or working in another app such as GarageBand or Google Earth.  It will even record a Keynote presentation complete with the virtual laser-pointer etc – an option for having students record a presentation of their work to share with their peers.

While recording, you can leave the Disp Recorder app and open another app.  When you do this, the menu bar pulses red.  Tapping that red menu bar at any time takes you back to the Disp Recorder app, where you can pause or stop recording. It’s very similar to what happens when you are are on a phone call, and navigate to another app.

The recorded video can be saved to the iPad’s Camera Roll, or uploaded directly to YouTube.

It’s a universal app – it works on the iPhone, too.

The Not-Quite-So-Good:

For CPU intensive GUI-goodness like turning a page in iBooks, I have found that the video can appear a little jerky – even on the new iPad, but for most operations, it works remarkably well.

In applications where the menu bar is visible at the top of the screen (Eg. the Home screen, iBooks) the menu bar pulses red while recording, and this pulsing is recorded too.  I think this is a bit distracting when watching the video.  This is not an issue in apps where the menu bar is hidden (Eg. GarageBand).  It would be nice if there were an option to turn that red pulsing menu bar off.

I also think the $10 price tag is a little high – but on the other hand it’s the first app to offer what it does, so it really has no competition, and I don’t mind paying $10 to support an innovative developer who is extending the functionality of the iPad.

*Thanks to Shane Williams at Hunter TAFE for showing me this app.

[  September 11, 2012  10:19 AM:   Since writing this post, there have been a number of people who have said that they don’t think it would work – that the app is a scam and doesn’t do anything, etc.  (see one such comment below).  All I can say is that on my iPad 3, which has never been jailbroken, and is in Australia with the region code set to Australia, it works as advertised for me.  Here’s a video I recorded with it this morning. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4495191/11.09.2012%208-04-14%20AM-521.mp4  It seems that most of the people who are saying it won’t work, have not actually tried it.

It is worth mentioning that there was apparently another similar app called DisplayRec produced a few months ago (no longer available) that did not work outside the USA (or at least the iPad’s region code had to be set to USA for it to work).  I am not sure if this app is made by the same developer as that one.  But this one does work.  Some people have suggested that it is likely to stop working after the iOS 6 launch.  That remains to be seen.  I’ll add a note here at that time to let you know. 🙂  ]

Update

Having now installed iOS 6,  I can confirm that Disp Recorder is still working.

Update

As of the 8th December 2012 this app is no longer available at the App Store.  If you already downloaded it though, it continues to work on your iPad.

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49 thoughts on “This is new! Record a video of iPad’s screen in any app”

    • It said I have it on my iPod and it won’t let me record because I dont have java..but I have it! Got any tips or and other app to record my ipad mini screen?

      • One option is to use something like Reflector on your computer to record iPad screen. It’s not as convenient as this was … but it’s still available – and it works fine. 🙂

  2. Andrew,

    I agree with you $10.50 is kind of steep for what it offers. Have you tried using AirServer http://bit.ly/Qt7b1x Their Student License is $11.99 for 3 licenses. It supports Mac and PC. The PC version is $5.99, but it doesn’t fully support audio mirroring yet. This allows you to mirror everything you see on your screen to your computer. You can then use Jing or Camtasia Studio to record the screen. I believe will find this one a more flexible option because it can be used to do demonstrations as you record.

    Twitter: @AnibalPachecoIT

    • Thanks for your suggestion Anibal. I’ve done a similar thing using Reflection which does allow audio mirroring as well as video mirroring and also has its own record function. It works very well for me – but what I like about Disp Recorder is that it doesn’t rely on also having a computer. Many of our students have an iPad which they bring to school – and this let’s them record simply using the device in their hands. But I agree with you that for a teacher to make a tutorial, there are cheaper and more flexible options.

      • Dear sir why isnt disprecorderno longer avalible any more this whAt ive been looking form last few mnths

  3. Apparently there was another app (called Display Rec) that was released a couple of months ago, but it did not work unless the iPad’s region code was set to USA (in the iPad settings). That app was pulled from the iTunes store shortly after it was released. I’m not sure why Apple pulled it – it could be because it can run in the background (although that is now allowed for up to ten minutes) – but it’s also possible that it was pulled because for it to work outside the US, users had to change the region code which I don’t think Apple would like. I am just surmising here… but in any case, it was pulled. This app “Disp Recorder” is very similar but does not suffer from the region code issue that the earlier similar app did. Some people think that Apple may pull this one from the store too. It will be interesting to see if that is true. But for now, I can confirm that it does work outside the USA with the region code on the iPad set to Australia.

    • Display Rec works fine on my collegues dutch iPad, with no altered region code. If Apple pulls this from the appstore again, than why add it first? It probably has to do with copyright issues.

      • I hope you are right. 🙂 It may also be that it was pulled the first time because of the issue with region codes. Anyway, I’m glad you are also finding that it works well – thanks for the comment.

    • Hi Andrew.
      Thanks for thisbpost. The previous app called Display Rec. (which has the same icon as this new app) was pulled due to a copyright claim by a developer who wrote an app called Display Revorder for jailbroken devices (it is still available through the Cydia app store). When Display Rec was pulled by Apple there was no refund to people who’d bought that app (it was around $2 from memory). This new version is from a different developer, but I imagine Apple will pull this new app once the original developer makes a new copyright claim. Considering Apple wants to promote iPads in education they should just make screen recording a built in feature of the iPad.

      • Hey Cameron, Thanks for your comment. It’s great to hear the background to the story. It will be interesting to watch what happens!

  4. This is not true, this app does not do what it “seems” it does. It only records audio & video, not the iPad screen. Read the reviews on the app store. There is a version of Display Recorder for jailbroken devices that works, but you have to jailbreak first.

    • Thanks for your comment Chris … but I am afraid you are mistaken (I’m assuming you haven’t actually tried it yourself). I bought and downloaded the app, and have been using it. It records both the screen, and my voice, and the iPad audio as I narrate what I am doing. It then exports the recording as an mp4. My iPad has never been jailbroken – it works just fine. I wouldn’t have written a blog post about it if I had not tried it myself first. If you want to see an example of what I recorded with it – here’s a file I made just now for you:
      [video src="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4495191/11.09.2012%208-04-14%20AM-521.mp4" /]

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  11. Yes I have also tried it in iOS 6 and have had no issues. It works as advertised and is still available in the App Store.

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      • you could try using the reflector app and recording your iPad screen from your Computer. It’s not as elegant a solution, I know – because it relies on having two devices, but if you really need to record your iPad screen, that will do it for you Grace.

    • Yes you are right. I checked it earlier in the week and it was still there (for $5 – half the price I paid for it). Then it was taken down on Wednesday. Shame that. If you already have it though, it continues to work on your iPad (at least it does on mine.)

  14. Hello Andrew,
    Well having spent the $10.00 I would really appreciate someone showing me how to make it work, because I can’t.

    Ive tried everything I can think of, no success sadly. And I’m in Oz, and on a never jailbroken iPad3 with 3G & Wi-Fi.

    If it worked, well what a great tool. At the moment I’m looking like the tool because it wont work, and whats more frustrating is that apple have my money, as does the developer!!

    • I really don’t know – and I can sure appreciate your frustration. All I know is that it works flawlessly for me, and I use it quite often. Even now that it is no longer available. I wonder if it has something to do with the iPad model?? Mine is iPad 3 (retina display). It’s hard to see why that would matter.

    • When you say it won’t work, what happens? Does it crash on opening? or does it look like it is recording but nothing is recorded? Does it record audio but no video? Is the video all jerky? Do the buttons not respond to your touch? For me it works great. I press the big red record button, do whatever I need to do in any app, return to DispRecorder and press the big button again to stop. Then I can simply export the recording or watch it right there in the app. I’m wondering at which part of the process it is failing you.

    • Oh haha I see you have the same iPad model as me. Sorry about that. Lol. I hope we can get to the bottom of it for you – cos you are right – it is a great tool when it works.

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  18. Can someone PLEEEEEEEASE Send this app to me if you have it, I will be forever in your favour.

  20. Hey, so I got the app… I wanted too make a YouTube account and make videos about minecrAft when I play it on my iPod. So when I got the app it didn’t let me record, I also have no idea how..

  21. I don’t know. All I know is that it works fine on my iPad3. But the app was pulled from the app store months ago. Seems that if you downloaded it back in September when I wrote this post, it stays on your device and continues to work. But you can no longer get it if you don’t have it – legally, at least.

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