CamStudio V3 Changelog
A complete history of CamStudio V3 updates, enhancements, and bug fixes.
Version 3.0.0
March 8, 2025Important Note
CamStudio 3.0 represents a complete restart with a modern capture engine based on Windows Graphics Capture API. This version requires Windows 10 version 1903 (May 2019 Update) or newer.
New Features
- Entirely new capture engine using Windows.Graphics.Capture API for dramatically improved performance
- Hardware-accelerated video encoding via GPU for minimal CPU usage:
- Support for dedicated GPU selection
- Fallback to software encoding available
- Support for multiple video codecs: H264/AVC, H265/HEVC, and AV1
- 10-bit color depth support for HEVC and AV1 codecs
- Enhanced audio capture capabilities:
- Application-specific audio capture (record only the app you're capturing)
- System-wide audio capture option
- AAC and FLAC audio encoding options
- Configurable audio bitrate, samplerate, and channel count
- New intuitive keyboard shortcuts:
- Ctrl + F9: Capture entire monitor
- Ctrl + Win + F9: Capture active window
- Ctrl + Shift + F9: Capture custom region
- Improved window capture options:
- Option to capture only client area or entire window with borders
- Support for Windows 11 rounded corners (toggleable)
- Option to hide recording indicator border
- Comprehensive output control:
- Configurable output directory
- "Open when finished" option
- Recording limits by duration (seconds) or file size (MB)
- Support for fragmented MP4 format for crash-proof recordings
- Advanced video processing:
- Resolution limiting with aspect ratio preservation
- Framerate control with maximum FPS setting
- Bitrate management for both video and audio
- Gamma-correct resizing option
- Improved color conversion for better RGB to YUV mapping
System Requirements
- Windows 10 version 1903 (May 2019 Update) or newer
- For hardware acceleration: GPU with DirectX 11 support and updated drivers
- For HEVC and AV1 encoding: Compatible GPU with driver support or HEVC Video Extensions from Microsoft Store
- 4GB RAM minimum (8GB recommended)
- 500MB free disk space (plus space for recordings)
Improvements
- Significantly lower CPU and memory usage compared to previous versions
- More efficient video encoding resulting in smaller file sizes at the same quality
- Minimalist user interface focused on simplicity and usability
- Default settings optimized for high-quality capture (1080p60, 8Mbps bitrate)
- Better handling of high DPI displays and scaling
Known Issues
- Currently unable to record microphone audio - investigation underway
- Some antivirus software may trigger false positive detections
- HEVC encoding in software mode requires HEVC Video Extensions from Microsoft Store
- Older GPUs may produce lower quality output when using hardware encoding
- Custom regions cannot be saved or reused between recording sessions