Elgato Studio — Recording Quality

With Elgato Studio, you can adjust recording quality from the recording settings panel. A slider moves between Low and Maximum, with steps in between. This setting controls how much detail is preserved in your recording.

The quality slider adjusts how much compression is applied to your video. Every recording is compressed to reduce file size, and this setting lets you control how aggressively that compression is applied.

At higher quality settings, less compression is used. More of the original detail is preserved, and the image stays sharper, but the file takes up more storage space.

At lower quality settings, more compression is applied. File sizes shrink, which is useful when storage or upload speed is limited. Some fine detail may be reduced, though the difference is often subtle at moderate settings.

Your format, resolution, and framerate each affect file size independently. Quality controls the level of detail preserved within those parameters.

Lower quality settings work well when file size is a priority. If you are recording long sessions, working with limited storage, or uploading footage where file size matters more than pixel-level detail, moving the slider toward Low helps keep recordings compact.

For content viewed at smaller sizes or on mobile screens, the visual difference between lower and higher quality settings is less noticeable.

Higher quality settings preserve more detail in your recordings. This matters most when your footage contains fast motion, fine textures, small text, or subtle color gradients, where compression artifacts are more visible.

If you plan to edit your footage after recording, starting with higher quality gives you more to work with in post-production. Color grading, cropping, and re-encoding all benefit from having more detail in the original file.

Moving the slider toward Maximum is also a good choice when storage is not a concern and you want the cleanest possible recording.

The difference between Low and Maximum is significant. At the same resolution, framerate, and format, a Maximum quality recording can be several times larger than a Low quality recording.

For example, a 10-minute 1080p60 recording using H.264:

• At the lowest setting: approximately 0.75 GB
• At the highest setting: approximately 3.7 GB

Using a more efficient format like HEVC or AV1 reduces these sizes by roughly 30% at every quality level. Recording at a lower resolution or framerate also reduces file size.

Elgato Studio displays an estimated file size per minute in the recording settings panel. This updates as you adjust quality, resolution, framerate, and format, so you can see the storage impact before you start recording.

The right quality setting depends on how you plan to use your recordings and how much storage you have available.

If you are not sure where to start, try the second or third notch on the slider. Record a short clip, check the file size and visual quality, and adjust from there. You can always change the setting between recordings to find the balance that works for your workflow.

Open Elgato Studio, adjust the quality slider, and start recording.