Screen Capture Programs?

[esites]

I know there has been some discussion elsewhere in the forums regarding screen capture programs, but now that there are some new programs and new versions of old programs, I am going to ask the question once again.

What screen capture programs (both still and motion) are the best?

I know that Macromedia's Captivate is out there now... has anyone used it? Also, I have been looking at TechSmith's Camtasia/Snagit combo... looks pretty good too. I am sure there are many cheaper programs out there as well, so if you would, please fill me with your opinions - I know they are out there!

Basically, I am looking for a good all-around program(s) for making some tutorials, distributing presentations, and stuff like that. I am not afraid to spend a little money if it will give me great results or save me time (and money) in the long run.

[sheptech]

I've used SnagIt before and liked it a lot. ScreenHunter is a decent free alternative. For my own work I use the screen-capture ability built into Paint Shop Pro which I can't recommend highly enough.

[esites]

I am pretty sure that SnagIt is the best for still capture, but I am mostly interested in motion capture... for demo video purposes.

[Silverbug]

i use the printscreen button on my keyboard cant say i've really had any need for anything else.

[generic]

downlowded captivate, it is real nice, it even ads in anticipated test boxes when you click on a button, etc that you can edit. I will be purchasing it once it is boxed and shipped later next week. Now the price, wow $500 is a bit steep, but your productivitytime will be cut down, so in the long run, it is worth it.

also used in past, instant demo, works nice, but not as pro as captivate.

dont buy it for a simple "printscreen" capture you need for a graphic, but for demos, it rocks.

greg

[awen]

Originally Posted by Silverbug

i use the printscreen button on my keyboard cant say i've really had any need for anything else.

Ditto! Why get a program to do what Windows does with a keystroke anyway?

Press your "Print Screen" button, then open up your favorite image editor, (Such as the highly recommended Paint Shop Pro) and paste it in as a new image. You can then crop it down to the parts you want, add pointers and text, etc. viola!

[craigdunlop]

If you're making interactive presentation/simulation software, the ol' "print screen" button is a very slow way for developing these.

Has anyone tried the viewlet products by Qarbon recently, they were some of the best a couple of years ago? I think macromedias products are up there now.

For just capturing screen video I'd go with TechSmith's Camtasia/Snagit combo

cheers

[esites]

I have been working with the Camtasia trial for a couple of days, and it looks pretty good. The Camtasia/Snagit combo priced at $319 seems to be quite a deal. I was exeptionally impressed with TechSmith as a company. Free tech support, and they were very cooperative in giving me help in extending my SnagIt trial period for an additional 15 days. In that respect, Macromedia really bites... Unless you want to spend big bucks for support, you are basically on your own.

I have DL'ed the trial for Captivate... I do love Macromedia's products, so I am hoping for Captivate to knock my socks off in some way.

In defense of using a capture program like SnagIt in place of PrintScr, programs offer some nice features like auto-scrolling to capture an entire window not just the screen and the ability to automatically extract all the graphics on a web page.

Anyway, I really appreciate the opinions and still welcome all that may come.

[esites]

Thanks for the Quarbon tip... their programs definately deserve a look at. Their prices look even better than TechSmith's because they break their utilities down into smaller chunks. I will compare and report back.

[DigitalSkyline]

I've used this one before its pretty simple and cheap:
http://www.screen-capture.net/

[nhdonny]

I use Camtasia and Snagit all day long in my real job producing educational videos for AutoCAD users. >> www.4dtechnologies.net

I cannot say enough good about Camtasia but I have to add that Techsmith is absolutely incredible for support. The site is full of tutorial videos using their own tools and the forums get answers. Most problems revolve around Codec issues.

We have 4 or 5 author/teachers all over the place recording for us using Camtasia. They may be running AutoCAD, Word, excel or all the above. The AVI files come to me and using Camtasia, I edit, cut etc then produce as wmv or even Flash with menus. One click Flash production is very cool.

Techsmith

Snagit, also from TS, is always running in my task bar and I use it many times a day.. One of its awesome features is capturing text as text from a screen or region capture.

[mresell]

irfanview has a great free fast graphic/video util/viewer. Supports many formats. With plugins. Not anything like the others mentioned, but very handy at times. It has a built in screen capture, but no motion capture(don't think).

[Two Roads Media]

For Mac users, I highly recommend Snapz Pro. The best version (all of $60) even lets you capture up to a minute of movement on the screen and saves it as a Quicktime file. Very handy for tutorials.

[craigdunlop]

I used to use a program called Cameraman for Mac to capture screen video many years ago, maybe it's disappeared now...

[esites]

Ok, here is an update...

After spending some time with both Camtasia and Captivate, I want both!

They are similar products that each have some really strong points. I will pass on some of my findings so that others will benefit from the thread.

Camtasia Pros

- Easy to use
- Great Support! Extremely helpful during the eval process. Good demos on their site as well. Best of all, it is FREE!!!
- The Camtasia/SnagIt combo has absolutely the best still screen capture utility... If you need this type of thing on a regular basis, it is way better than the Print Screen key.
- Exports to AVI, Flash, Quicktime and more...
- Can email quick demos right from the application... so handy for sending to people asking "how do I do this".

Camtasia Cons

- Except for SnagIt screen shots, Camtasia is a full motion editor only. Does not have the cool auto screen shot with auto annotations that Captivate has.
- Editing of independent items (annotations, buttons, etc...) is not as powerful as Captivate, but most people may not need that much control.

Captivate Pros

- Directly exports into Flash for further editing but is not necessary since the built-in editing is more than adequate for most projects.
- Absolutely the coolest auto features... auto screen shot captures, auto annotations, auto mouse movement paths.
- Also has a really cool feature that can autosize your application's window to the resolution that you want to capture in. Love it, love it, love it!
- For product demos, the file size is much smaller since it uses static screen shots with animation instead of full motion video. Note: You can do full motion video with this program, but for many applications the animated screen shots works so much better.
- Has a nice CD menu creation utilitiy with templates built in.

Captivate Cons

- Only exports to Flash format... Biggest fault!!!
- Have to manually add some screen shots when using the auto features to get drop down menu examples, but that is just an F9 key away.
- Higher price, but for those who want to make smaller demo files in less time, this shouldn't be a problem for serious users.
- Costly tech support.

To be fair, there is another program that looks like it has great features too... it is by Qarbon. Hard to tell what it is all about since there are so many modules. The description of products is tough to follow on their site. Also, when I DL'ed the demo, it wasn't the version that I asked for. Seems to have some of the auto features that Captivate has at what appears to be a smaller cost so it is worth a second look. They also have an impressive list of clients, so I am assuming that the product is actually quite good. I do thing that the other products appear to be better at first glance... and usually first instinct is correct... let me know if any of you see more than I do.

I will add more information as I come across it.

To try these products you can get free trials at:

Tech Smith's Camtasia/SnagIt Combo: www.techsmith.com
Macromedia's Captivate: www.macromedia.com
Qarbon's Viewlet Modules: www.qarbon.com

Let me know if this helps.