Troubleshooting guide for Kaltura Capture desktop recorder

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If Kaltura Capture isn't working the way you expect, this guide walks you through quick fixes for common installation, recording, uploading, and configuration issues.

Installation and startup issues

Can’t find Kaltura Capture

You download Kaltura Capture from your institution's Content Hubs, legacy Video Portal, or LMS. Where you find it depends on whether Theming is enabled on your site:

• If Theming is enabled, select Capture from the +Create menu in Content Hubs or LMS Extensions.
• If Theming isn't enabled, select Capture from the Add New menu in the legacy Video Portal or LMS Video integrations.

+Create menu showing Kaltura Capture in an LMS site

If you don't see the Kaltura Capture option, contact your institution's IT department or support team.

Kaltura Capture download doesn't start

If selecting Download reloads the page instead of downloading Kaltura Capture, your organization's network or system configuration is typically the cause.

Contact your IT administrator to make sure your organization's firewall or endpoint security software isn't blocking software downloads.

If the issue continues after your administrator confirms the configuration, contact Kaltura Support.

Kaltura Capture won't install

If Kaltura Capture won't install or won't open, perform a clean installation.

Back up your recordings

1. Open the Recordings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Recordings folder further down this guide.
2. Find the recordings you want to keep (.mp4 files).
3. Select the files, right-click, and select Copy.
4. Paste the files into another location, such as your Desktop or Documents folder.

Reinstall Kaltura Capture

1. Go to Settings, select Apps, and then select Installed apps.
2. Search for Kaltura Capture in the list.
3. Select the three dots next to it, and then select Uninstall.
4. Confirm when prompted.
5. If any of the following folders remain in the Kaltura Capture installation directory after you uninstall, delete them:
   • Bin
   • Settings
   • Setup
6. Restart your computer.
7. Download and install the latest version of Kaltura Capture. To find the latest version, see Kaltura Capture Release Notes. To install it, see Install Kaltura Capture for Windows or Install Kaltura Capture for Mac.

Uploading issues

Uploaded recording appears green

If your recording plays correctly on your computer but appears green after upload, configure Kaltura Capture to use the CPU encoder.

Windows

1. Right-click your desktop and select Display settings.
2. Scroll down and select Graphics.
3. Under Choose an app to set preference, select Desktop app.
4. Select Browse. File Explorer opens.
5. Double-click Local Disk (C:).
6. Open Program Files, then Kaltura, and then Capture.
7. Select KalturaCapture.exe, and then select Add.
8. After it's added, select Options.
9. Select Save.

Disable hardware optimization

1. Open the Settings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Settings folder further down this guide.
2. Open localSettings.json in a text editor like Notepad. For example, right-click the file, select Open with, and then select Notepad.
3. Under the captureEngine section, add "hwOptimisations": false.

   

4. Save the file and restart the app.

Upload stuck in Pending

If an upload stays in the Pending state, you can reset the upload status.

1. Open the Recordings folder, and then open the completed folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Recordings folder further down this guide.
2. Find the .json file that matches the recording (the name and time are similar), and open it in a text editor like Notepad. For example, right-click the file, select Open with, and then select Notepad.
3. Find the line that starts with "uploadStatus" and delete everything below that line. Leave the closing } at the end of the file.
4. Replace the line with "uploadStatus": "auto".

   

5. Save the file.
6. Move both the recording file and the edited .json file back to the main Recordings folder (replace username with your Windows username): C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Kaltura\Capture\Recordings. To move the files:
   1. Select the edited .json file and the matching video file (usually .mp4).
   2. Right-click and select Cut.
   3. Go back to the main Recordings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Recordings folder further down this guide.
   4. Right-click in the folder and select Paste.
7. Open Kaltura Capture.

Kaltura Capture detects the recording and tries the upload again.

Upload stuck in Cancelling

If an upload stays in the Cancelling state, you can reset it and restore the Upload button.

1. Open the Recordings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Recordings folder further down this guide.
2. Find the .json file that matches your recording, and open it in a text editor like Notepad. For example, right-click the file, select Open with, and then select Notepad.
3. Find the line that starts with "uploadStatus" and delete everything below it. Leave the closing } at the end.
4. Replace the line with "uploadStatus": "manual". This tells the app to allow manual upload.

   

5. Save the file.
6. Open Kaltura Capture.

The Upload button appears next to the recording, so you can upload it again.

Recording and input issues

Recording won't start

If you receive the message Failed to start recording. Please try again., your screen resolution or display scaling is often the cause.

Try the following:

1. Set your screen resolution to 1024 × 768.
2. Set your display scaling to 100%.
3. Restart Kaltura Capture and try recording again.

If the issue persists, verify that your computer meets the requirements described in Kaltura Capture prerequisites and system requirements.

Camera or microphone isn't working (Mac)

If Kaltura Capture can’t access your camera or microphone, macOS might be blocking it because of privacy settings.

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences, depending on your macOS version).
2. Select Privacy & Security.
3. Select Camera.
4. Make sure Kaltura Capture is enabled.
5. Select Microphone.
6. Make sure Kaltura Capture is enabled.
7. Restart Kaltura Capture.

Kaltura Capture doesn’t work over Remote Desktop

Kaltura Capture isn't supported in Remote Desktop (RDP), Citrix, VMware, or other virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments.

You might see errors like:

• Fail to load settings
• Failed to preview primary/secondary device

Run Kaltura Capture directly on your local computer instead of through a remote desktop session.

Can’t record system audio (Mac)

macOS doesn’t allow apps to record system audio by default. This is a known limitation, and Kaltura Capture can't override it.

If you need to capture system audio on a Mac, talk to your customer success manager (CSM) or Kaltura Support about the available options.

Download and find recordings

Download both streams (desktop view and presenter view)

Each Kaltura Capture recording creates two separate streams: Desktop (Primary) and Camera (Secondary).

To download both recordings:

1. Go to My Media in your Video Portal.
2. Search for the recording using its entry ID.

   

The search shows both media entries of the Kaltura Capture recording: the desktop view and the presenter view.

3. Open one of the media entries, and then select the Downloads tab.
4. Next to Available formats, select Source.
5. Select Save, and then select Go to media.

   

6. Select the Download option to download the file.

   

7. Repeat for the second media entry.

Recover the original recording files

The original recording files remain on the computer where you created the recording. If you're using a different computer, these files aren't available.

To recover the original files:

1. Open the Recordings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Recordings folder further down this guide.
2. Find the two .mp4 files created for the recording. These are your original screen and camera recordings. Their names look similar and have the same timestamp.
3. Right-click each file and select Copy.
4. Paste the files into another location, such as your Desktop or Documents folder.

From there, you can rename, edit, or upload the files wherever you need.

Configuration tips

Change Kaltura Capture settings manually

Some advanced settings can only be changed by editing the app’s configuration file.

1. Open the Settings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Settings folder further down this guide.
2. Open localSettings.json in a text editor like Notepad. For example, right-click the file, select Open with, and then select Notepad.
3. Update the setting you need. For example, to turn off automatic uploads, change "LoadUploaderInApp":true to "LoadUploaderInApp":false.
4. Save the file.
5. If required, restart Kaltura Capture.

Stop Kaltura Capture from launching automatically

Windows

Option 1:

1. Go to Settings, select Apps, and then select Startup.
2. Find Kaltura Capture in the list.
3. Turn off the startup toggle.

Option 2:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Paste this path into the address bar (replace username with your Windows username): C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
3. If a Kaltura Capture shortcut exists, right-click it and select Delete.

Mac

1. Go to System Settings (or System Preferences), and then select Users & Groups.
2. Select the Login Items tab.
3. Select Kaltura Capture in the list.
4. Select the remove button (-).

Alternative (both Windows and Mac)

You can also turn off automatic startup by editing the configuration file.

1. Open the Settings folder. If you're not sure how, see Access the Settings folder further down this guide.
2. Open localSettings.json in a text editor like Notepad. For example, right-click the file, select Open with, and then select Notepad.
3. Change "silentStart": false to "silentStart": true.
4. Save the file and close the editor.

Error messages

If you receive any of the following error messages while recording, verify that Kaltura Capture has permission to access your screen, camera, and microphone:

• Failed to start recording. Please try again.
• Failed to stop recording. Please try again.
• Failed to load secondary device. Please restart the application.
• Failed to load audio device. Please restart the application.
• Failed to close recording file.

To learn how to adjust permissions, see Install Kaltura Capture for Windows or Install Kaltura Capture for Mac.

After you update the required permissions, restart your computer and try again.

Logging and diagnostics

Upload logs and get a token ID

If Kaltura Support asks for logs, you can upload them directly from Kaltura Capture.

1. Open Kaltura Capture.
2. Select Manage, and then select Settings.
3. Select Upload logs.
4. Copy the displayed Token ID and send it to Kaltura Support.

Admin and deployment

Get the latest version for managed deployment

1. Download the latest installer from Kaltura Capture Release Notes.
2. Copy the direct download link (for example, https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/.../KalturaCapture_admin_4.x.x.msi) and provide it to your IT team or whoever is responsible for software deployment at your organization.

Monitor Kaltura Capture with Process Monitor (advanced)

If you're troubleshooting an advanced issue, Microsoft Process Monitor (Procmon) can help identify files, folders, and registry keys that Kaltura Capture is trying to access.

1. Download Microsoft Process Monitor.
2. Open Procmon64.exe.
3. Go to Tools, and then select Process Tree.
4. Find KalturaCapture.exe, right-click it, and select Add Process and children to Include Filter.

Review the captured events to identify access failures or other errors. If the issue persists, contact Kaltura Support.

Access the Recordings folder

Some troubleshooting procedures require access to the folder where Kaltura Capture stores recordings.

Windows

Option 1

1. Open File Explorer (select the folder icon in your taskbar).
2. In the left panel, go to This PC, then Local Disk (C:), then Users, then the folder with your username, then AppData, Local, Kaltura, Capture, and finally Recordings.

Option 2

1. Open File Explorer (select the folder icon in your taskbar).
2. Copy this path (replace username with your Windows username): C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Kaltura\Capture\Recordings
3. Paste it into the address bar at the top and press Enter.

Mac

If you're using a Mac, follow these steps to find your Kaltura Capture recordings.

Option 1

1. Open Finder (the blue-and-white face icon in your Dock).
2. In the top menu bar, select Go, and then select Go to Folder.
3. Paste this path (replace username with your Mac username): /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Kaltura/Capture/Recordings
4. Select Go.

Option 2

1. Open Finder (the blue-and-white face icon in your Dock).
2. Select Macintosh HD, then Users, and then the folder with your username.
3. Hold the Option key, select the Go menu, and then select Library.
4. Go to Preferences, then Kaltura, then Capture, and then Recordings.

Access the Settings folder

Some troubleshooting procedures require access to the Settings folder, which stores Kaltura Capture configuration files.

Windows

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Paste this path into the address bar (replace username with your Windows username): C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Kaltura\Capture\Settings
3. Press Enter.

Mac

1. Open Finder, select Go, and then select Go to Folder.
2. Paste this path (replace username with your Mac username): /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Kaltura/Capture/Settings
3. Select Go.

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