Skype is one of the easiest ways to video chat with others across the globe for free. Using Skype is easy, and most video calls provide solid quality and connection stability. So many use Skype video calls for business, while others might use them to keep in touch with friends and family across the globe.

While Skype is great for video chat, it lacks any ability to record calls. This can be a problem if you for some reason need to keep a video call on record for later use or if you want to create a home video out of your video chat.

There is, however, a way to record Skype video calls for free.

Introducing Vodburner

If you want to record Skype video calls and you don't mind paying, you have many options. If you don't want to pay, however, there is one program which jumps out as the leader - Vodburner (no longer available).

Vodburner will let you record Skype video calls for free, but there are two simple conditions. If both you and the person you're on the video call with have Vodburner installed you can record the call for free without restriction. If you have Vodburner, but the other person doesn't, you can still record for free but the call with have a Vodburner watermark placed on it. You will need to pay if you don't want the watermark on all calls.

Using Vodburner To Record Video Calls

Installing Vodburner is simple . The installer is no different than the installer for any other program. Once you have installed Vodburner, however, you'll need to authorize the use of Vodburner with Skype. Skype will display a notification stating that Vodburner is trying to gain access to Skype, and this must be approved by clicking the Allow Access button before Vodburner will function.

Once Vodburner has been granted access to Skype, Vodburner will begin to record automatically as soon as you make a Skype video call. A Vodburner toolbar will become visible. This toolbar will let you know that the call is currently recording. You can choose to halt recording at any time by pressing the Pause or Stop button. The Pause button will halt the recording, but will continue recording to the same file once you resume. Stop will discard the recording and begin recording to a new file if you press the record button again.

how to record skype video calls

If you don't need to record all of your video calls you may want to disable the automatic call recording feature in Vodburner. To do this click on the Options tab. Click on Configure and then Recording. Un-check the automatic recording checkbox.

Editing Video Calls

Once you hang up a call you will be prompted with a View and Edit notification. By default, Vodburner records to a proprietary format which won't be readable by media players. Vodburner will need a moment to convert the file into usable video, and this can take several minutes on older computers. Once this process is complete you'll be greeted by the Post Production Console.

how to record skype video calls

The Post Production has two tabs. The Compose tab is where you do any editing which you might desire. For example, if you were discussing a few topics with a business partner, but there were some tangents in between, you can add transitions and edit out the parts of the call which were less important in order to create a professional presentation which can be shown to others. The options here are limited overall - if you need to seriously edit the video you'll want to use a standalone video editing application like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie - but they'll get the job done for quick edits.

The second tab is called the Enhance tab. This is where you'll find more advanced editing features, which include the ability to add text, photos and audio to your movie. Again, there are better ways to do this with standalone video editing programs, but if you don't have one available you can make use of these features.

The third tab is called the Finish tab. This is where you complete the video and convert it into a commonly usable video format. Vodburner only supports the .ASF format, so you'll have to output video to save the video to that format. The .ASF format is fairly common, and you can always convert it with a standalone video editing application if you require that your video be in a specific format.

Record Away!

Overall, Vodburner is very easy to use. It doesn't have a ton of options or advanced features, but it provides basic functionality for a very attractive price - free! Remember that calls with other Vodburner users have no watermark, so make sure your friends and family install Vodburner as well if you're on video calls with them frequently.