How to Record PowerPoint Presentation with Narration & Webcam Easily

Here you will learn how to record narrated PPT/PowerPoint video presentation with talking head facecam embedded without trouble, no matter you are using Office (PowerPoint for Microsoft) 365, PowerPoint 2019/2016/2013/2010 or the web version, your platform is Windows or Mac based one.

Microsoft PowerPoint is an old-line while still the most widely used presentation program. Although there’s a saying that many top communicators have already discontinued the usage of it, for general consumers, PowerPoint from MS is still the go-to pick for producing effective presentation demonstration thanks to its easy-of-use, multi-function and so forth benefits. Being available for Windows, Mac and also the web, PowerPoint is capable of creating unlimited slides with stylish template effects and transitions, enables you to flexibly control the slide timings and add external media files/ink gestures into slide, as well as empower you to do slideshow video capture.

And this article is not a beginner guide on how to use PowerPoint for slideshow making, but comes to keep an eye on PowerPower’s screen recording capability, delivering all of you an overall look at this in-app functionality and how to record PowerPoint presentation with narration and webcam as video file effortlessly.

Do All Microsoft PowerPoint Versions Have Integrated Screen Recorder?

Not exactly but most versions do support recording PowerPoint with audio.

Drawing from official support information, it’s easy to know that all desktop PowerPoint apps from Office 365, 2013-2019 version and 2010 version, both Windows and Mac ones included, have “Record Slide Show” option under Slide Show menu bar, which is designed to help user conduct any screen recording on current slide or the whole slideshow from beginning with animation timings, narrations, ink and laser pointer. And these several elements listed are selectable before you start the recording. The only thing you should take a note is that only when your software is PowerPoint 2013 later than February 16, 2015 update can you enjoy the “pen, highlighter and eraser” ink recording, because earlier versions can only save them into shapes.

Besides desktop app, PowerPoint Web service is also available for quick and instant slides creation online. But unfortunately, PowerPoint for the web doesn’t feature slide show recording currently. To grab such browser-based content, you will have to turn to third-party screen recorder, be it standalone app, extension or online tool without download or install.

Easiest PowerPoint Screen Recorder to Capture PP from Web or Desktop in Your Own Way

Since the internal recorder of PowerPoint doesn’t work on all PP versions and many people even have varying annoying problems with this recorder, to help all video presentation maker record high-quality PowerPoint at will, RecMaster is recommended here.

This full-fledged yet simple screen recorder can not only add and record your webcam (at any position) and narration along with slideshow, but also involve everything displaying in slideshow into the recording, e.g. QuickTime or any other inserted medias, Macros, controls, Macro, mouse cursor and similar. Unlike PP recorder, this tool won’t let transition interrupt your voiceover at all so that you can talk at your own pace. Now you can free download it and record your slideshow video in high quality.

Recording modes for PowerPoint capture in detail:

1. Full Screen
This is the ideal screen video capture mode for PowerPoint screen recording because people always play the PowerPoint file in full screen. Other modes from RecMaster can be leveraged to meet any further recording requirement.

2. Recording Settings
RecMaster gives enough options to customize the video creation, including video format, quality level, frame rate, webcam overlay, sound source & volume, watermark and mouse cursor effect. If your working with multiple monitors, you are free to record PowerPoint playing on any display.

3. Real-time annotation
To better engage the audience, those educators, instructors, trainer or similar could enable RecMaster’s floating bar, where there’s a drawing pen for real-time content highlighting, mark drawing, text typing etc.

4. Record, edit and share (optional)
Recording on-screen movement with RecMaster is as easy as a-b-c. You can use related buttons or the hotkeys to initiate, pause and stop. When you’ve finished the video capture, you will be lead to a recording list to preview, rename, edit and share directly to YouTube or Google Drive storage.

Can You Use PowerPoint to Record Presentation with Webcam?

Theoretically you can, but the premise is your PowerPoint version is up-to-date and running on Windows computer, not being corrupted nor missing related files at the same time. If not, like many users complained online, the webcam button during recording mode doesn’t show up so that there’s no way for them to add facecam overlay in the slideshow corner for real-time narrating.

From Microsoft Community:

– I am working on PowerPoint 2016 and trying to set up a recording for the slides. On the support website, it seems that the webcam should automatically activate and provide additional buttons for switching it on and off. I do not get webcam footage or those buttons… (Published in 2017)

– I have been using my daughter’s computer to record lectures in PowerPoint. I no longer have the option to record and have the webcam show my face in the bottom corner. I also tried a free trial download and yet again, it’s still not working. (Published in 2020)

– Microsoft Powerpoint recording sildeshow (as video) do not work with camera and audio in macOS like Windows. It that any problem? (Published in 2020)

What Format & Quality Can You Save PowerPoint Captured Video into?

Considering various situations of such PowerPoint recording, the software gives multiple resolutions and video formats for ready-made file exporting. I’ve rounded them up into a simple table below.

Official Guide with Video: How to Record a PowerPoint Presentation

Limitations / Common Errors of PowerPoint Screen Recording

Recording slideshow directly in PowerPoint program without further tool download or installation is convenient indeed, and that’s exactly what the first-rate product should offer its user. However, there are still some restrictions and problems of PowerPoint’s built-in screen recorder, let’s just name some typical ones.

Main limits:
● Any audio or video cannot be recorded during transition period between slides, which means you have to stop your voice-over when there’s a slides switching. If not, your sound will sound stuttering in the end.
● Ultra HD (4K) option is only available on Windows 10 system and PowerPoint 2016’s Volume License edition doesn’t have it neither.
● As is talked earlier, PowerPoint for the web can’t record slides (with narration).
…

Frequently Asked Problems:
● Unable to record webcam in PowerPoint or say the webcam button is missing after software/system update or some other reason.
● Everything works fine before. But all of a sudden, when I end the recording, I get error pop-up saying “An error occurred with the recording. Please try again later!”.
● My PowerPoint screen recording has no sound, why and how to get rid of it?
● Can’t record narration in PowerPoint (2010/for Mac..)
● Screen capture crashes unexpectedly for unknown reason.
…

There are piles of PowerPoint recorder working questions in Microsoft community and other forums, and many obviously take users a lot of times to find a workable solution online. Even a portion of such problems seem happen with no reason so that official support team has no fixed workaround on them.

If you are the one and fail to fix your PowerPoint recording error after software & related driver update, uninstall & reinstall, and online help, at this time, the fastest way to resolve it is surely seeking help from another PowerPoint recording software like RecMaster, as well as popular Camtasia, Panopto, OBS Studio.

See also:
How to fix PowerPoint video no sound problem
How to Record PowerPoint with OBS on PC/Mac
How to Make Video Presentation Based on PPT