What is the screencast software for?

The screencast or screen recording allows you to edit a video with the recording of what happens on your computer screen.

It is a very good tool to make a video tutorial on a web application, because it shows the public exactly the steps they must do, and also to show some slides that you have created dynamically while you explain them.

There are several softwares that allow you to record what is happening on your screen, all of it or just a portion of it. Below we explain the characteristics of the main ones so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

 

1- Camtasia

This software is the most complete and used for screencasting and editing.

It is paid and has a version for Windows and Mac. It has a free trial version for 30 days, which leaves a watermark. It is somewhat expensive, but keep in mind that it is a very acceptable video editorvideo editor, with which you will save having other software.

It contains 2 parts: Camtasia Studio Recorder and Camtasia Studio Editor. The first allows you to record the PC screen to make video tutorials, presentations or announcements. The second is a simple video editor, compatible with the CAMREC files generated during the recording.

This screencast software also integrates options to work with audio. You can use any sound file to which they have rights.

The software offers three screencast options: record the entire screen, record a specific application or define a region of the screen to be recorded. In addition, it allows recording with iOS-based mobiles and integrating color key techniques (chroma key).

The best feature of Camtasia is the editing features. With this program you will go from a basic product to a professional style video.

Camtasia Studio comes with various effects and tools like annotations, transitions, animations and themes built in as standard. You can adjust the size and quality of the video to fit different publishing platforms, and the best quality it offers is Full HD and the refresh rate of 60 frames per second.

 

2- ScreenFlow

Paid program but unlimited free trial version (with watermark).

Available only for Mac.

This screencast software is used both to record the screen and the webcam and to edit our videos. It allows us to record in the same video the input of the microphone and the sound of the computer at the same time. After making a screen recording, the editor automatically opens.

By having an editor, it allows us greater versatility, such as introducing lettering, changing backgrounds, superimposing images, varying the scale, changing brightness and contrast, applying filters, modifying the display time.

As for visual effects, during editing we can modify the shape of the cursor, highlight it, make the keyboard letters appear when we write, zoom in, add labels, transitions, etc.

The audio editing options are to modify the volume of each track, raise the speaker’s line above the background music, stabilize (smooth), duplicate the Mono input to both channels, reduce background noise, add effects, etc. Allows you to export the video in MP4 Full HD.

 

3- Snagit

This screencast software is designed by the same creators of Camtasia.

It has a free 15-day trial version and a paid version. It works for both Windows and Mac.

With this screencast software we will be able to record videos from static or dynamic captures (by scrolling) of the screen, which we must prepare previously.

Kind of like a PowerPoint presentation recording. It has accessories such as arrows, boxes, underlines, images or labels, which we can add while recording the video.

It allows you to put a background color, to see or not the cursor, to blur parts of the image (to erase private information) and to make cropping of an image.

When finished we can save the file as a gift (without audio) or MP4, and publish it on YouTube, screencast.com, Camtasia or Twitter.

 

4- Screencast-O-Matic

This screencast software has a free version that allows 15 minutes of recording, but with a watermark. It is available for Windows, Mac and Chromebook and can be used from the browser.

When you install it, it will ask you for permission to record screen, image and sound. You must authorize all three permissions to use it. A

s soon as you open the program, you will have to select the area of ​​your desktop that you want it to record. You will also have to select if you want to record the screen, the webcam image or both and the sound, from the microphone or from the PC speaker.

It allows you to save in MP4, AVI and FLV formats, and publish directly to YouTube

 

 

5- CamStudio 

CamStudio is a free application, very light and simple. It only works with Windows.

It allows you to change the quality of the video, gives you the possibility to choose whether or not you want to record the audio, from the microphone or from the speaker.

You also have the option to record the entire window or a portion. It even has a few effects.

It is an ideal screencast software to get into screencast recording without spending anything.