Screencasting on a Mac?
So, I've spent the majority of my weekend (apart from posting like a madwoman), trying out ... or trying to find screencasting tools for the Mac. Here is what I found:
A. The following windows only programs can kiss my PowerBooked bum:
Camtasia Studio, Adobe Captivate, Viewlet Builder (although they do have a Linux product so a half a point for them), BB Flashback, and about a dozen or so not-so-great alternatives. You can tell from their demos that they don't have Mac versions...because they are fugly. Seriously, wouldn't you want to develop for a Mac audience just to make your product demos look better?
B. The following programs were promising but turned out to be way problematic:
Snapz Pro...so much promise. But the editing tools are non-existent and when imported into iMovie, the quality goes bad. :( (Snapz meet AppZapper)
vnc2swf...um...even the name makes me want to cry with frustration. I have to download what? Python, PyMedia and what? There is no 'interface' to speak of. You lost me at vnc2swf.
And a bevvy of others that are either short on features (can't select a specific part of the screen or lack an interface or can't edit, etc.).
I actually went into this project with much hope and excitement. I was going to spend my $300+ to get the best product I could get that would record clicks with fancy flashes, allow me to draw 'description bubbles' and allow me to lay music and sound effects. I'm baffled that I can't even find a program!
Anyone know of any in development? I'll gladly be a guinea pig. I already sent letters of disgust to the Windows only people. Or...something that records inside of the browser...(heh. Okay, maybe I was being a little hasty.)?
A. The following windows only programs can kiss my PowerBooked bum:
Camtasia Studio, Adobe Captivate, Viewlet Builder (although they do have a Linux product so a half a point for them), BB Flashback, and about a dozen or so not-so-great alternatives. You can tell from their demos that they don't have Mac versions...because they are fugly. Seriously, wouldn't you want to develop for a Mac audience just to make your product demos look better?
B. The following programs were promising but turned out to be way problematic:
Snapz Pro...so much promise. But the editing tools are non-existent and when imported into iMovie, the quality goes bad. :( (Snapz meet AppZapper)
vnc2swf...um...even the name makes me want to cry with frustration. I have to download what? Python, PyMedia and what? There is no 'interface' to speak of. You lost me at vnc2swf.
And a bevvy of others that are either short on features (can't select a specific part of the screen or lack an interface or can't edit, etc.).
I actually went into this project with much hope and excitement. I was going to spend my $300+ to get the best product I could get that would record clicks with fancy flashes, allow me to draw 'description bubbles' and allow me to lay music and sound effects. I'm baffled that I can't even find a program!
Anyone know of any in development? I'll gladly be a guinea pig. I already sent letters of disgust to the Windows only people. Or...something that records inside of the browser...(heh. Okay, maybe I was being a little hasty.)?
11 Comments:
Lifehacker.com listed iShowU as a download of the day not too long ago. Might be worth checking out.
We used iShowU in preference to the other you mentioned to do our screencast for syncbridge.com. It just was easier to use.
iShowU is a revelation -- I was using Snapz Pro and running into nasty audio sync problems. I use Mousepose and Flysketch to get the doodles and highlights onto my screen, and it's all still a few hundred bucks cheaper than Camtasia would be on my Windows box.
Hullo! Serendipitous discovery of this blog! I was completely won over by: "Companies with pure hearts will trump companies with money in the end." I hope to dialogue with you on this point. I am the CEO of a tiny company in Calcutta, engaged in a global niche enterprise. This company is pure heart. Its cheering to read your conviction!
For now, you might like to read:
http://cuckooscall.blogspot.com/2006/08/richard-stallman-in-calcutta.html
and
http://cuckooscall.blogspot.com/2006/08/more-on-richard-stallman-in-calcutta.html
Best,
rama
i quickly chatted with allan odgaard (textmate creator) since he always produces excellent screencasts. he also recommended iShowU.
One of our faculty likes ScreenRecord
http://www.miensoftware.com/screenrecord.html
but never tried it
Oh man! I was about to suggest Macromedia Captivate (a terrific piece of software I've only used on the PC), but thought I should verify they have a Mac version. No such luck. That sucks!
Jake
communityguy.com
We used Camtasia for our Nuvvo Tour because we couldn't find anything suitable on the Mac. Snapz Pro sucks.
This iShowU looks promising though!
Great post. We're considering making a mac version of Camtasia. Its a small survey. I'd love to get anyone's feedback!
http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225KKUB3JMP
Troy Stein
Camtasia Product Manager
Cool OSX Apps recently highlighted a program called Screen Mimic. I dont know if it's any good, but it's getting 4 1/2 out of 5 stars currently.
Tara - there's actually a Mac version of Viewletbuilder though Qarbon doesn't speak much about it.
Here's the download Link
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