Filed under: Multimedia, Software
Camtasia for Mac looks like a screencasting powerhouse
It hasn't exactly been a secret that I (and several others at TUAW) have been big fans of ScreenFlow since its release. Up until yesterday, I didn't really think it had much serious competition in the professional screencasting field. That seems to have changed with the release of Camtasia for Mac. At the same $99US price tag as ScreenFlow, Camtasia is offering a very similar interface with some impressive capabilities.
Camtasia has long been considered a heavyweight in the PC world, and its Mac debut has been anxiously awaited. While it hasn't exactly reached feature-parity with the PC version, it's been quite a pleasure to try out. Some of the features it's lacking in comparison to its PC counterpart include region recording, narration-only recording and ScreenDraw. However, its capabilities in the area of direct media manipulation are quite well-developed. For a complete feature comparison, check the TechSmith website or grab the comparison PDF.
A quick run-through with a review copy convinced me that this is some serious competition for ScreenFlow. One of the coolest features I played with was the SmartFocus action, which can be applied to an entire clip or just a region in the editor. It automatically determines what the point of focus at any given time should be, and zooms that area. Additionally, you can highlight the foreground window, add text and shape callouts, and work with imported media. The only problem I noticed immediately was with changing colors of library elements (arrows, etc.). I haven't figured that out in my brief trial, and haven't had a chance to ask yet. I'm hoping that's not a missing feature, as it seems relatively important to me.
A complete array of QuickTime formats can be exported, and presets for YouTube, Screencast.com and iTunes are included. There's a default export which gave me a 10.5MB QuickTime file for a 47-second clip, at a 960x600 resolution. The "Advanced Export" option provides the opportunity to tweak settings and export to all the standard formats. There's some mismatch between the PC and Mac export capabilities, though, making cross-platform projects difficult (file format comparison).
Camtasia for Mac requires that all of your video cards be Quartz Extreme-enabled. If you run any USB->DVI hardware, be sure to disconnect it before you launch the application. Also, TechSmith warns against running Perian with Camtasia. I tried it and didn't have any problems -- but it was for a short record/export experiment and I'm guessing they have good reason for pointing out the potential conflict. I would probably heed that advice when working on a more important project. Camtasia for Mac is currently available at the Camtasia website as a free trial, and can be purchased for $99US, or a 5-pack for $495US.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Posimotion said 4:39PM on 8-26-2009
I have used the app for Windows for a log time and now that an app is coming to the Mac, with this many features, I am off my seat about it. Throw the good ole iPhone simulator up on the screen and capture a how to of our apps...absolutely phenomenal! Can not wait for it to arrive and big ups / thanks to everyone at Techsmith
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John Smith said 4:50PM on 8-26-2009
Look at the comparison chart link between the Windows and Mac version. You will change your excitement to outright jaw dropping awe to the fact they left so much out!
This is too watered down, (albeit a beginning) I can't figure out why they left so many features out of the Mac version.
lookatthepiggy said 4:51PM on 8-26-2009
a recent perian update specifically called out a bugfix for camtasia. Maybe that solved the problem.
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drumstik76 said 4:56PM on 8-26-2009
I've been playing with Camtasia for a few days now and to be honest I think I am going to stick with ScreenFlow for now.
The big thing for me is that the zooming in and out of various parts of the screen didn't seem as smooth in Camtasia as they do for ScreenFlow - Not to mention the raping of features between the PC and Mac version... not cool.
At this point, I'm glad I didn't spend my hard earned green on this. Maybe in a few months I'll take another look.
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Jash Sayani said 5:10PM on 8-26-2009
Already got it! Nice app. But its similar to ScreenFlow where functionality is concerned.
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ericvicenti said 6:40PM on 8-26-2009
WOW, nice discount on the 5-pack!
At that rate, 100 copies would cost only.. $9,900
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Rick said 7:08PM on 8-26-2009
Screenflow is a better solution in my opinion. The features are virtually identical (v2.0 is coming out soon to match the direct YouTube upload, etc), and the interface is more fluid from a usability perspective.
That said, future editions will likely have more features as Camtasia has a longer history in this market overall.
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Trick said 7:00PM on 8-26-2009
They better hurry and sell a bunch before the new cat comes out on Friday....
"Record your screen.
Catch the action taking place on your screen with screen recording. Start recording and QuickTime Player captures the activity on your screen and creates a movie file. It’s perfect for creating instructional media or when you need more than a simple screen shot."
"Save for the web.
QuickTime Player makes it easy to prepare media files for the web. It converts your media to optimized movies for uploading to YouTube or MobileMe and for playback on a Mac, PC, or iPhone."
http://www.apple.com/macosx/refinements/enhancements-refinements.html
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Rick said 8:40PM on 8-26-2009
This will work well for some basic demos, but if you want to do more advanced stuff like: full window zoom-ins, single app window zoom ins, animated effects, voice-over instruction, background-music, splicing-scenes-together, multi-layer editing, iSight video overlay, etc.... you'll need a full solution like Camtasia or Screenflow.
developerreview said 7:24PM on 8-26-2009
I agree with Rick. It seems to be a step back if you ask me. Still it would be interesting to see how this progresses. Still ScreenFlow is better then this. Just my opinion.
http://iphoneapplications4life.com/?p=42565
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Rick said 8:34PM on 8-26-2009
Yeah, I actually waited for Camtasia to be released before buying my legit copy of Screenflow... temporarily used a "free" copy to tide me over ;).
After trying them both out for a few sample projects... I got my license for Screenflow. Much cleaner "mac-like" interface, easier to set animation points, and better export results. Looking forward to v2.0 due out soon.
Murphy Mac said 8:18PM on 8-26-2009
Looking forward to trying this out. Anyone know if you can make a given freeze frame play for a set duration. That's something I wanted in screenflow...
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Rick said 11:30PM on 8-26-2009
You can do that with both Screenflow and Camtasia. Just screencap that moment (either live while recording, or from the playback later), import that screencap as a media element, and then insert it where you need it (setting the duration to whatever you want).
Bit of a work-around, but is a very usable solution.
Troy Stein said 11:09PM on 8-27-2009
In Camtasia for Mac simply save a frame. Here's how
http://screencast.com/t/UsfH68zfyd (1 min video).
Guardian24 said 9:14PM on 8-26-2009
My money is on ScreenFlow
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Hamish said 11:51PM on 8-26-2009
I am looking for a solution that allows me to export a Keynote / Powerpoint presentation into a Flash format for the web complete with audio and an index.
Articulate on Windows does this; the approach is to export the screencast from within the application rather than just taking a bitmapped screenshot of the presentation. Articulate also allows for a navigable table of context - users can skip ahead or replay a slide from the ToC.
The architecture here is that it authors from within the app and therefore captures more metadata.
Any suggestions around a Mac alternative? I understand Adobe Captivate will be released soon for the Mac... does this achieve something similar to Articulate?
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wvdbosch said 5:47AM on 8-27-2009
Hey Hamish,
Give Profcast a try. Don't believe there's flash export functionality but it was the best tool I could find to record my lectures synched to slides and publish them to my students.
http://www.profcast.com/public/index.php
Rick said 8:42AM on 8-27-2009
Adobe are working on a Mac version of Captivate, the PC version allows you to import Powerpoint so hopefully the Mac version will do that to. There's a beta you can sign up for:
http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/2009/05/the_beta_for_captivate_on_mac.html
Rick Curran said 8:44AM on 8-27-2009
by the way the comment from 'Rick' above is not the same 'Rick' as has previously commented. We had the same profile name set!
Rick Kettner said 12:54PM on 8-27-2009
Aha... I just added my last name as well... to avoid future confusion.