Jump to content
Hash, Inc. Forums

Camtasia to capture screens for tutorials?


williamgaylord

Recommended Posts

Anybody have any advice on screen capture software for constructing tutorials, etc? I've seen some wonderful tutorials produced by members of the Animation Master forum done with Camtasia, and I think the price tag is fairly reasonable, considering that I may be able to recoup the cost with some projects I have in mind.

 

Any alternatives of such a caliber worth considering?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Hash Fellow

I've been using free HyperCam 2

 

http://www.hyperionics.com/

 

It can do a whole screen or a selected portion and captures up to 10fps.

 

I capture to large AVI and re-compress in QuickTime Pro. I find i frequently need to "extract" the audio track and paste the video track back onto it to get perfect audio synch. This is also something easy to do in QuickTime Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

I've been hoping to compile a write-up about screen capture programs for some time now but it's still one of those back burner things.

 

I'm a big fan of Camtasia. I took the plunge a few years ago and have never regretted the decision. If anything it may do more than what most need in a screencapture program. As a disclaimer I will admit that I don't own the current version... although I'd like to... mostly because I haven't taken advantage of the version I already have in making tutorials. I have used it extensively in capturing onscreen video and for that it's been worth the price of admission many times over. The current version has some improvements that make it well worth a look. If you can afford it... and need high quality screen capture... you won't go wrong with Camtasia. Some of it's editing and organizational capabilities are very unique as well and you won't find those in other programs.

 

The problem I have with recommending programs such as Hypercam is that it is shareware and yet users treat it as freeware. I don't mean to get preachy about it here but it's one of those downward spiral things that makes it harder for everyone to earn a buck and lack of (financial) support makes it hard to maintain and improve any software. My recommendation: If you use it, pay the few pennies to license the stuff.

 

I fully expect that within the next few years video capture will be standard with every operating system. I half suspect that the reason it isn't standard already is to allay fears of illegal capture of video. It's hard to imagine that patents might be preventing screen capture from becoming ubiquitous but that may also be a factor. Java enabled video capture is starting to take off online and there are several free options available that don't even require installation on your computer. These programs are what I was hoping to highlight in my never-to-be-published-write-up; to let everyone know they have video screencapture capability already.

 

The following is pretty interesting example in the form of a website that is easily shareable and works with both PCs and Macs: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

The paid version appears to currently be $12 a year for online storage/capture.

As I recall you can only maintain one 15 minute capture online with the free service. That may be enough for most people.

I wrote to the administrators a few months ago about purchasing one of their volume discounts for multiple users but never heard back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
I'll note that HyperCam 2 is "Now completely free for world-wide use." according to their page and no longer shareware or trial-ware.

 

Outstanding! :)

 

One thing that Hypercam has over many other screencapture programs is annotation capability. IMO you really want this capability.

If your screencapture program doesn't have that seek out a program to fill that gap.

 

Note: Camtasia has annotation capability but I haven't used it extensively enough to make a full assessment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...