There are two kinds of audio (this trips everyone up)
When people say “record with audio,” they usually mean one of two completely separate sources, and a good screen recorder lets you control each independently:
| Source | What it captures | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | Your voice | Narrating a demo, walking through a bug, leaving a video note |
| Tab / system audio | The sound your computer plays | Capturing a video, a meeting, music, or an app’s sounds |
For a narrated walkthrough over a silent app: mic on, tab audio off. To capture a videowith your commentary over it: both on. They mix into a single track, no editing required.
Step-by-step
- Open the recorder. Click the Opivv icon in your toolbar (or press Alt+Shift+R). The setup overlay appears on the current page.
- Turn on your microphone. Toggle the mic on to narrate. Chrome asks for permission once. Click Allow. Pick the right input if you have several.
- Turn on tab/system audio. Recording a tab? Enable tab audio to capture the sound the page plays (a video, a call, an app). This is separate from your mic.
- Record. Hit Start recording. Both audio sources are mixed into one track automatically.
- Stop and share. Click stop on the timer pill. The clip uploads and the share link is copied. Viewers hear everything you captured.
“I recorded my screen but there’s no sound”: fixes
- Tab audio only works when recording a tab. If you picked Entire screen, the page’s sound may not be captured. Switch to This tab to grab tab audio cleanly.
- Microphone permission was blocked. Click the camera/mic icon in Chrome’s address bar and set the mic to Allow, then reopen the recorder.
- Wrong input selected. Headset plugged in after Chrome started? Reselect your mic in the setup overlay.
- You’re muted at the OS level. Check system volume / input levels. The recorder can only capture what your computer can hear.
- Mac system audio. macOS doesn’t expose system audio to the browser as freely as Windows. Recording a tab (with tab audio) is the reliable way to capture page sound on a Mac.
Tips for clean audio
- Talk while you click. Narration is what makes a screen recording worth watching.
- Quiet room, close mic. A cheap headset mic beats laptop speakers-distance every time.
- Mute notifications so a Slack ping doesn’t land in your recording.
- Need a transcript? Pro turns your audio into searchable text automatically.
Common questions
Is it free? Yes, Opivv records screen + audio free for up to 5 minutes per clip, with unlimited share links. Pro ($5/mo) unlocks 2-hour recordings, 1080p, and AI transcripts.
Where to next? Add a facecam with screen + camera & mic, or see the full record your screen in Chrome walkthrough.