Screencasting -- the not-so-ancient art of recording the computer screen for the entertainment and enrichment of others -- has evolved into quite a Hydra of options. How do the myriad gladiators in this arena stack up? I've tried everything I could find that could record a little movement on the screen, and selected 8 contenders for the matchup. We'll start this boxing match off with the free apps, and then see if the "money" apps stack enough features on to make them worth the cash.
Posts with tag screencasting
TUAW Faceoff: Screencasting
ScreenFlow 1.1 picks up the pace
ScreenFlow 1.1 hit today, and there are over 80 fixes and improvements in the release notes for the current top-dog Mac screencasting application. If you weren't excited the first time we covered this, it might be time to look again. As for me, I had already forged a committed relationship with ScreenFlow. It's always a pleasure to see your partner get smarter and better looking after you tie the knot.
The new version exports faster, thankfully. The press release says export speeds are up 20 to 40% (across most presets), but a little TUAW testing showed that the web-preset exports were 40% faster and then some. And that's with video and audio actions, embedded QuickTime video and an additional MP3 audio track. Export time was a drawback of version 1.0 that I was willing to live with, but I'm quite grateful that I don't have to anymore.
I haven't experienced the oft-mentioned crashing that was plaguing some users, but improvements to overall stability may be of interest to those who have. There are interface improvements such as audio waveforms visible in the tracks, as well as the addition of markers which can be converted to QuickTime chapters. I won't drone on about the dozens of other fixes/changes right now but -- if release notes are your thing -- you can read them here. Or just grab the demo and see it in action. ScreenFlow has a price tag of $99 for a registered version, and 1.1 is a free upgrade for current owners.
ScreenFlow: The killer screencasting app is here
Whether you love them or hate them, screencasts made on Macs just got exponentially better. We at TUAW are in awe of the latest contender for your screencasting love: ScreenFlow, from Vara Software (the maker of Wirecast and Videocue). The feature set is, well, unbelievable in comparison to what is currently available on our platform of choice. And it's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink solution, with a fantastic editor, amazing effects and simultaneous recording of a video camera (or iSight), your full screen, microphone audio and computer audio without even kicking up my fans. Am I gushing? Definitely.
The fans on my MacBook Pro tend to go nuts after a little while of full-screen recording. Screenium was pretty good with that, but it was only a fraction of the solution that ScreenFlow seems to be. The real magic of ScreenFlow starts after the recording is finished. Once you're in the editor, you find that it's tracked all of your movements, foreground windows, keypresses, etc. with precision.
You can cut and fade, zoom and rotate, add callouts for foreground windows or mouse clicks ... I'm still in amazement. No longer will I need Mouseposé; not only does it automate the process of highlighting the mouse position and calling out clicks wherever you want them, it relieves any need to be hitting hotkeys to turn it on and off while you record. Is this finally the Mac Camtasia? Quite probably.
ScreenFlow costs $99.99 and is available for purchase. A fully-functional (watermarked) demo is right here along with a screencast that's seriously worth watching.
Want to see a Mac version of Captivate? Let Adobe know.
We've mentioned a few screen capture and screencasting apps here recently, but interest in finding new and shiny tools for the job still seems high. There are a couple of possibilities on the porting and development front that might excite the screencast community:
First, Jing Project developer TechSmith - long a dominant vendor for Windows screencasting tools - has indicated that further Mac development is in the cards: the Mac plans page says "...we are actively pursuing a Mac version of Camtasia Studio" and evaluating a release of SnagIt for the Mac. I've used Camtasia on the Windows side and I like it, which makes me optimistic for the Mac version's future. You can sign up for email updates at the TechSmith Mac page, or follow the feature request link if there's something you can't live without.
On the other side of the fence is Adobe's Captivate 3, a high-end screencasting and presentation tool for Windows that's aimed at instructional designers and training applications. While it's pricey, casual users can leverage it to create podcasts or 'casual learning' environments quickly and easily. There isn't an official roadmap for Captivate development on the Mac yet, but Adobe representatives were clear in a recent conference call on the product: if you want to see Captivate come to the Mac, let Adobe know via the company's feature request form.
