Anyone have recommendations for software that I can use to record some instructional videos on the computer. Need it to record what's on the screen, mouse motion, and my voice. I downloaded and tried the OBS Studio software, but hasn't worked well. It seems like it's recording, but when I go back to watch, it records up to a point then the frame gets stuck.

Free preferred.

Snagit is great. Camtasia is good as well. I am guessing you are on a Windows system?

Have used Camtasia for this exact purpose many times.

We use Loom. It works well. It's my only experience with this kind of SW though so I have nothing to compare it to.

In a pinch use PowerPoint's screen recorder. Put it on a one slide PowerPoint and save it as an MP4.

For classroom lecture recordings we use YuJa institutionally.

If I'm making screen recording of lectures at home on either a MacBook or my iPad I just record the screen directly within the Apple OS. I have never had a problem with that.

Windows Game Bar does this and is pre installed with Windows 10/11.

Press the Windows Key+G to pull it up. You might have to play around with it to learn how everything works but there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube and it's free.

If you have teams you can use it just like you would record a meeting.

I always use the windows snipping tool. We do always have the latest windows OS versions. No idea which versions have the video recording option or which don't.

If you or someone in your circle is a student or works in education (teacher / faculty / staff / etc) you may be able to get the Camtasia/SnagIt packages heavily discounted. It is extremely easy to use and has a ton of options such as highlight the cursor and animate the cursor when you click on something. You can do the voice over as you go or afterward.

OBS can work, but it can be a bit cumbersome. If OBS is not recording, doublecheck the settings and file format. Try recording at 720p 30 frames or 1080p @ 24 frames. That should be good for a training video on the web.

Forgot about Windows Clipchamp. It's free.