Hey, what’s up?
Today, I wanted to review and compare SurFlex Screen Recorder and OBS Studio to find out how they compare.
So if you’re trying to find the best recording software for you, then this could be for you.
Let’s go right in!
OVERVIEW
SurFlex Screen Recorder is a software from a new company called Nabla Mind, founded in 2023. It’s a new player in the game. As of right now, you can record videos straight from the browser for FREE. Since it’s in the browser, I’m assuming that all operating systems have access to it. You can also purchase the complete screen recorder application for Windows and macOS.
OBS is a free and open source project that was founded in 2012. And so it has been here for many years. Personally, I’ve been using it for many years as well. OBS is available on Windows, macOS and Linux.
1- PRICING
SURFLEX
SurFlex Screen Recorder kinda has two screen recording softwares.
- You can use the FREE screen recorder, which is literally free on all platforms.
- You can also purchase the actual complete application that you download on your computer.
If you decide to purchase it, you have many choices here. You can go for monthly license, yearly license or lifetime license. Personally, I try to avoid subscription and I love owning my softwares and licenses, so I really love the fact that you can purchase the software for lifetime with FREE UPDATES. That gives me peace of mind. This is available for both Windows and MacOS
OBS
OBS is a free open source project so it is free, always have been free and will probably always be free.
2- INTERFACE & CUSTOMIZATION
SURFLEX
SurFlex Screen Recorder has a modern and intuitive interface.
Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s pretty straight to the point.
OBS
Now, with OBS, I think the interface is getting pretty old, it’s not very intuitive.
In my case, I’ve been using it for many years, so I know what this is, but I think for someone new, it could be hard to understand what is happening here.
3- SETTINGS
SURFLEX
In SurFlex Screen Recorder, they only give you the most important settings.
The only settings that I think would be missing are:
- Being able to have my webcam enabled as a default
- Being able to choose the default of my webcam resolution as well.
- Being able to choose the system sound and microphone by default.
Speaking for myself, I love recording myself with a camera. So I have to enable the webcam and choose the resolution and sound every time that I want to record. Maybe the best way to do this would be to simply remember our last decision.
But ultimately, I love the fact that you’re not overwhelmed with settings that barely makes a difference.
OBS
Now, in OBS, that’s another story, there’s an insane amount of settings. That can be a good thing if you’re into those things, or you’re some sort of professional recorder. But I think for the vast majority of people, it’s just way too much. You definitely don’t need all these settings. But it always depends on what you’re trying to do.
A bad thing about the settings in OBS is that if you want to use another computer or reset your computer, you’ll lose the settings. So, if you want to keep or transfer your settings. Then you have to think about setting management with the import/export features.
A cool setting that I love about OBS is being able to set shortcuts on my key. Especially for starting and stopping the recordings. That way, I never have to deal with the interface. In SurFlex, you have to deal with the interface and as of right now, the shortcuts are only to stop or pause the recording. And not necessarily to start the recording. It’s a little thing, but if you do lots of small recordings, that’s quite useful.
4- RECORDING
SURFLEX
With SurFlex online, it’s pretty straight forward, you select the mode that you want, and then you just record and download.
With the SurFlex software, you can record the screen, webcam, system sound, microphone. But as of right, there’s no streaming features.
Personally, I don’t really stream, and I am mostly recording videos with my webcam. But I don’t know if it’s me that is now used to their ways of doing things, but I find it a bit annoying. Their philosophy is that the screen that is being recorded. And so, if you want to add your camera, then the software literally adds the webcam into the screen. To be able to record both the screen and webcam. I find that very intrusive. Especially if you’re gaming or showing something. There’s also a little bar on the screen that can be a bit annoying.
OBS
When I use OBS, the whole point of scenes is that I’m able to create the exact scene that I want inside the application. But then I can just close the application and record whatever that I’m trying to do.
With OBS, you can also record a bunch of things, but it also has streaming features. So, if your goal is to stream, then OBS might be better for you.
The cool that about OBS is that I can just set my settings and my scenes only once, and then I can forget it because the settings are saved.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I think SurFlex is a great recording software if you’re a beginner, specialize in video and audio recording, maybe a podcast, or you need simple things and might not need crazy advanced features.
OBS gives you flexibility and customization, but ultimately, it comes at the cost of more complexity and a learning curve. If your goal is to stream or you’re already an advanced user, then you might want to go with OBS.
But remember, they both offer FREE solutions for your recording needs. With SurFlex, you can use the FREE online recorder. While OBS is basically always free.
So that’s pretty much it, I hope this was helpful to you. If this blog was valuable to you, you could consider following me on social media and if you have any thoughts or comments, you can leave them below.
I hope this helps, peace!
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