How to Open Nvidia Shadowplay?: 2022 Beginners Guide

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Nvidia Corporation is US based graphics and technology MNC that works in the gaming industry. It provides various features for enhanced user experience, for example, Nvidia Shadowplay. The Shadowplay feature helps in screen recording and real-time streaming of the games you are playing. The procedure of how to open shadowplay and use it is relatively easy and short.

What Is the Nvidia Shadowplay?

The Shadowplay is the new feature of Nvidia Share, and it comes with the Nvidia graphics card model GTX 650 or earlier. Some users say registering with the Nvidia GeForce Experience is lengthy but essential.

To use the Shadowplay option, you must register for the fixing Nvidia GeForce error Experience. It is a free feature and might slow down your pc can easily be used by following how to open shadowplay.

Some users have reported system-overheat issues due to this Nvidia feature. It is common to experience performance issues while playing a video game. Most games decrease the performance of the CPU by around 5% and 10% for some high-quality graphics gaming.

Not only let Shadowplay record your gaming, but also, it gives you the live streaming option. It offers an FPS counter overlay and can run automatically on your background to record your gaming.

While playing on PlayStation or Xbox One, you can let Shadowplay record your gameplay. Only computers with NVIDIA graphics hardware can use this feature.

The Shadowplay is similar to Windows 10’s Game DVR but has more features. You can use Shadowplay on Windows 7 as well. And the procedure of how to open shadowplay is the same on the systems.

Does Shadowplay Impact on Game Performance?

You can record your gameplay with Shadowplay, but it will impact your gaming performance slightly. Depending on the game, the feature can decrease your gaming performance by 5 or 10%. If your computer’s performance is fast, this wouldn’t be an issue.

However, when you are recording your gameplay, it will take some of your system resources and space. Not only Nvidia Shadowplay, but the same feature also applies to the Windows 10 Game DVR feature.

Does Your System Support Nvidia Shadowplay?

To find out whether Nvidia Shadowplay supports your PC or not, visit the Nvidia graphics official website before following the procedure of how to open Shadowplay. If you are running Nvidia graphic hardware, you can also check that on your computer.

Open the GeForce Experience on your computer by searching it on your Start menu. If you can’t find the application, it is not installed. You can also download and install the Nvidia application from its official website.

How to Open Shadowplay?

The procedure of opening shadowplay is relatively easy and can be done by following a few simple steps.

  • Open the application, view the My Rig tab, then click on the “ShadowPlay” tab.
  • Here you can see whether your PC meets the system requirements.
  • If your system does support the application, Shadowplay will be ready to use.

Nvidia Shadowplay: How To Setup?

After following the procedure of how to open shadowplay, you will have to enable it within the GeForce Experience app. The application will let you know whether your computer is ready for the task.

Setting up the Nvidia Shadow features does not take much time. But if you don’t want to set up anything, that’s okay too. The defaults are also correctly working. Here are the steps to set up the Nvidia Shadowplay feature-

  1. Let the GeForce Experience application install updates on its own for the Nvidia drivers and the application as well
  2. From the main window, go to the top-right side and click on the cog Settings icon
  3. Then scroll down and find In-Game Overlay under Features. There you will find a list of hardware that will tell you whether you can run Shadowplay.
  4. At the top, turn on the In-Game Overlay option
  5. Click on Settings, and you will be able to see the UI where you can make changes
  6. Select the Video Capture option to change the recording quality settings
  7. You can also change the sound settings from the Audio section
  8. And modify the location where to keep the files from the Recordings
  9. To change the UI of Shadowplay, select HUD

When you make changes to your settings, save them after each edit. You can also set up quick hotkeys to help with start and end recordings. You can use your mouse or UI as well. Some customization options will make the service more attractive. So, you can spend some time on it before you start a recording.

How to Configure Nvidia Shadowplay?

The Shadow mode allows you to record the last five minutes and the Manual option lets you record the game on your own. There is the Twitch option as well that lets you broadcast your gaming with your friends. Another option, named Shadow time, allows you to choose the time of how much of your gameplay you want to save.

The maximum limit is 20 minutes. Please note that the longer you run the recording, the longer it will consume your disk space. Additionally, your video quality depends on how much disk space it requires.

You can modify the quality of your videos from the Quality option. By default, you will find that the video quality is set to High, which records the game at the in-game resolution. That refers to 60 frames per second, 50 Mbps quality, and H.264 video.

You can manually change the settings by picking up medium or low categories. Or you can click on Custom and input your preference. As you go through the customization option, you will find many applicable settings that will make the recordings more interesting.

Record Games Using Nvidia ShadowPlay, but how?

Now that you know how to set up and customize the Nvidia Shadowplay feature, it is time to use it finally. You can also broadcast your live gameplay if you want, but first, let’s learn how to record.

  1. When you launch your game or at least play for some time, press Alt + Z to bring up the Nvidia ShadowPlay feature.
  2. Then click on Record to start the recording
  3. Keep playing your game
  4. And when you think it’s time, press Alt + Z again to stop the recording

Not every game supports Shadowplay by default, and they don’t open up directly. Only the games that use Direct3D will directly support Shadowplay, but some games use OpenGL instead of Direct3D.

To record OpenGL games, follow the next section. By default, the recordings are saved in C:\Users\NAME\Videos\Desktop. But you can change that from the settings.

How to use Nvidia’s ShadowPlay? 

  1. By default, it’s off and not doing anything in the background. To enable it, you need to launch the Nvidia GeForce Experience application and click the ShadowPlay button at the top right corner of the window.
  2. Click the switch at the left of the ShadowPlay window to flip it on. A green light will appear, indicating it’s on now.
  3. By default, ShadowPlay uses “Shadow & Manual” mode. Shadow Mode will automatically record your gameplay and keep the last five minutes. When you press the Alt+F10 keyboard shortcut, ShadowPlay will save a clip of the last five minutes of gameplay to your Videos folder.
  4. With Manual mode, you can press the Alt+F9 keyboard shortcut to start manually recording a clip, then press Alt+F9 to stop the clip when you’re done recording. ShadowPlay also allows you to press Alt+F12 to view a live FPS counter in any game, even if you aren’t recording.
  5. Recordings will appear in your video folder by themselves. 

How to Record OpenGL Games with Shadowplay?

Games like Minecraft and DOfOM are OpenGL games, so you won’t be able to capture them within a video. Here are the steps to record OpenGL games that don’t support Shadowplay.

  1. Open the NVIDIA GeForce Experience
  2. Go to the Preferences
  3. Click on ShadowPlay
  4. And then turn on the “Allow Desktop Capture” option

Shadowplay will now record any OpenGL games and your Windows desktop, but the automatic Shadow recording option is unavailable. You will have to use the hotkeys to start and stop a recording manually.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Geforce Experience?

The GeForce application is related to the GeForce GTX graphics card that helps to keep your drivers up to date. Moreover, it helps optimize your game settings and helps you share your gaming progress with your friends.

Where to download Game Ready Drivers from?

You can download Game Ready Drivers directly from the NVIDIA GeForce Experience website.

Why do not my games show up on the gamers tab?

You will have to ensure that your game has support for optimal settings, and you can let the GeForce experience app look for games in your settings by going to the Games tab. Add the location where you can find the game and click the Scan now button.

Why can’t GeForce Experience optimize some of my games?

Some games download the configuration file under their program files, but you cannot modify these files with GeForce or any other software.

Effect of ShadowPlay on FPS and performance

It has an extremely low impact on FPS and performance. You’ll not even notice it most of the time. It’s nothing that you do not usually face. It’s just 5-10%. 

How to record more than 20 minutes in ShadowPlay?

Put it in manual mode and let it record in the background as you play. 

Is it possible to use ShadowPlay with AMD?

Yes, it is possible if your GPU can support it. 

What Bitrate should I record at ShadowPlay?

It would be best to record it as high a bitrate as possible. 

Conclusion

ShadowPlay is easy to record and share your iconic gaming moments and live streams with your friends. It can be downloaded easily from the official website of Nvidia. It’s free, easy to use, and can be tweaked for straight-up recording, grabbing the last few minutes of your game, or broadcasting your adventures on YouTube. 

You can easily use the Shadowplay feature and follow the procedure of how to open Shadowplay and can tell your friends as well how to open shadowplay.

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