In the last post I listed
the best screen capture tools for taking images of your computer screen.In this post it's the turn of ScreenCast tools.A screencast is a video recording of your computer screen with audio or annotations often seen in online tutorials.Regular readers will have seen many screencast tutorials I have posted here on Spice Up Your Blog.
A screencast is a great way to create tutorials and unique blog content.The main factors I look for in a screencast tool is for it to be simple to use, have good editing options and quick options to save online or publish to YouTube.
So let's get to the list, I have listed 5 screencast tools I have personally tried.As with most online tools there are free and paid options so this will be part of your decision.
ScreenCast O Matic (SOC) - Free/Paid
I start with this as it is the tool I have been using for the last few years.As I stated above I have a few features that I require and I feel SOC provides them.SOC uses Java which might not suit everyone but I find it no problem and it means there is no download required.The edit features are easy to use and you can save the video to your computer, SOC, YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Box, Drop Box.Another feature I like is you can turn short videos into animated Gifs.
Now there is a free and paid version and the free version is very limited and the video will contain a watermark.I use the pro version and it costs $15 per year which I feel is reasonable.
Link - http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)- Free
This is a tool a lot of people recommend as it's free and open source.OBS has picture in picture (add your webcam feed to the corner of the screencast) among it's many options.OBS also has good post record edit options and being open source new features are being added all the time.
Link - http://obsproject.com/Camtasia Studio - Paid
Camtasia Studio is probably the most popular with professionals and has some amazing options and has a windows and mac version.Like ScreenCast O Matic you have lost of edit options and the options to upload to the same sites including YouTube HD.I guess the reason many people look for a different option is the price tag of $299.
Link - http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.htmlScreenr - Free/Paid
Screenr is in some ways similar to ScreenCast O Matic, it runs on Java which again requires no download.Screenr also has a paid and free version with the free version lacking in many areas, however if you just want a quick screencast it will do the job.
Link - http://www.screenr.com/CamStudio - Free
Not to be confused with Camtasia studio Cam studio is a freeware screen recorder.Cam studio has many of the features of paid tools but maybe lacks some of the video edit tools.
http://camstudio.org/So that's my list but I would like to hear what you think, are you using a great screencast tool I have not listed ?
Author - Paul Crowe is the owner and main author of Spice Up Your Blog.Paul lives in Ireland, has been blogging since 2006 and writing Spice Up Your Blog since 2009.You can find him in the usual social networks.
Libellés : Blog-Tools, Blogging-Resources