Action! is a screen and gameplay recorder from Mirillis that captures games, desktop activity, web videos, and audio at high frame rates, then exports or live streams the results. It pairs webcam overlays and benchmark stats with hardware-accelerated encoding.
Action! is a real-time screen and gameplay recorder that captures games, applications, the desktop, and video playing in a browser, then writes the result straight to disk in high definition. Recording starts from a hotkey or the compact main window, where you choose a mode, pick a webcam or overlay, and set frame rate and audio sources. Captures land in a built-in library with a player, ready to preview or export through presets for YouTube, Facebook, and portable devices. Because encoding is handed to the graphics hardware, the recorder keeps running at high frame rates while games continue to play smoothly.
Three capture modes in Action! cover most jobs: Games and applications for DirectX and OpenGL titles, Active screen for continuous desktop work that keeps recording across fullscreen switches, and Active screen region for a fixed area such as a browser player. A fourth option records one selected application while blacking out the rest of the desktop, which is handy for demonstrations involving confidential data. If you spend as much time comparing productivity tools as recording software, our write-up of LastPass follows the same practical approach to evaluating everyday utilities. Commentary is mixed live with separate microphone and system-sound level controls, so tutorial audio stays balanced without a second editor.
The biggest benefit of Action! is that recording stops being a compromise between quality and playability. Games keep their frame rate because encoding runs on the graphics hardware and the recorder writes MP4 files directly rather than converting them afterwards. Time-Shift changes how you capture: instead of recording an entire session hoping something good happens, the last seconds are already buffered when you press the hotkey. The HUD turns the same session into a benchmark, showing current and average frame rate against the detected 3D engine, and the CSV log gives a record to compare after a driver or settings change. Desktop recording is equally practical, whether the target is a tutorial with microphone commentary, a web player video, a screenshot of a multi-monitor layout, or a live stream that is archived to disk at the same time. Webcam overlays, Greenscreen Mode, and custom logo graphics make the output look produced rather than raw, and a single recorder handles capture, preview, export, and publishing.
Key capabilities and highlights.
Action! records fullscreen games and applications, the whole active desktop, a defined region, or a single selected application whose window is captured while the rest of the screen is blacked out for privacy. Switching between desktop and fullscreen action keeps writing to one continuous file.
Real-time capture to MP4 uses GPU hardware encoders such as NVIDIA NVENC, AMD APP, or Intel Quick Sync Video, so high-definition footage can be written with very little CPU load. Mirillis also provides its own FICV codec for AVI recording when maximum performance matters more than file portability.
Instead of leaving a recorder running for hours, Time-Shift keeps recent gameplay in a rolling buffer and writes it to disk the moment something worth keeping happens. One hotkey saves the last moments, which is ideal for competitive play and random highlights.
You can add a webcam picture to every Action! recording, position it, and size it to taste. Greenscreen Mode keys out any solid-color background without a physical green screen, while Intel RealSense support removes the background automatically, giving streams and tutorials a cleaner presenter layout.
Broadcasts go out to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Ustream, Livestream, and any custom RTMP endpoint using H.264 video and AAC audio. Streamed sessions can also be written to MP4 at the same time, so you keep an archive without running a second recording tool.
The on-screen HUD shows current and average frame rate, the detected 3D engine, and recording status, so performance is visible while you play. Benchmark sessions can be written to CSV for later comparison, which is useful when testing graphics settings or hardware changes.
Action! records everything you hear, including music, video soundtracks, and game audio, in stereo or multi-channel. A microphone can be captured on a separate track with independent volume and mixing controls, and audio-only recording is saved as WAV or M4A for podcasts and voice work.
Recordings from Action! sit in a thumbnail library with an integrated player, and predefined profiles export them for YouTube, Facebook, or specific devices with hardware-accelerated encoding, automatic splitting, and direct upload. Hotkey screenshots in BMP, JPG, or PNG can be captured from a region, a single display, or a multi-monitor desktop.
Browse historical releases and previous builds.
Common questions about Action!.
Action! captures fullscreen games and applications, the entire desktop, a selected screen region, or one chosen application with the rest of the display hidden. It also records web player video, system audio, microphone commentary, and still screenshots, so the same tool covers tutorials, gameplay highlights, podcasts, and benchmarks.
Encoding is offloaded to the graphics hardware rather than the CPU, which keeps system load low and lets games hold their frame rate. Action! also writes video straight to MP4 or its own FICV format instead of converting a temporary file, which avoids a second processing pass.
Time-Shift keeps gameplay in a rolling buffer rather than writing everything to disk. When something worth keeping happens, one hotkey saves the preceding moments as a finished clip, which is useful for competitive matches, boss fights, and unexpected glitches where you cannot predict the action in advance.
Yes. Broadcasts from Action! go to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Ustream, Livestream, and any custom RTMP endpoint, and the stream can be saved to disk at the same time. Streaming uses H.264 video with AAC audio, and hardware acceleration helps maintain smoother frame rates at higher resolutions.
Mirillis offers a free companion remote-control app that mirrors the recording status and frame rate and can start, pause, or stop a capture from a phone. Custom hotkeys are supported on the desktop as well, and Logitech G13, G15, and G19 keyboards can display frame rate and recording time on their LCD panels.
Greenscreen Mode removes a solid-color background behind you, so almost any webcam works as long as the wall or cloth behind you is uniform. Intel RealSense cameras go further and cut the background out automatically without any colored backdrop, which is convenient when the recording setup has to move between rooms.
Action! is a screen and gameplay recorder from Mirillis that captures games, desktop activity, web videos, and audio at high frame rates, then exports or live streams the results. It pairs webcam overlays and benchmark stats with hardware-accelerated encoding.
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