Collection Of The Best ScreenCast Tools For Screen Recording

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.html

Screenr - 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.

List Of Useful Traffic Monitoring Tools For Bloggers

Guest Post - Our host is Teyona Dame, who lists some of the best traffic tools for you.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

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In today’s digital domain, where the race for fame extends across the waves of a different medium altogether, the following traffic monitoring tools should prove of immense help to bloggers.Click Here To View Full Post >>

7 Best Tools For Your Next Blog Giveaway

Guest Post - Our host is Charles Dearing, Giveaways and competitions are now very popular for bloggers, in this post Charles guides you to some free tools to help you with your giveaways.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Promotions and giveaways are effective means to attract more visitors to your site, and a way to give thanks to your loyal readers. Here are seven of the best tools that you can use for your next blog giveaway:
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A New Blog This Google Chrome Extension For Blogger

Blogger and Google Chrome today made a 'Blog This' extension available for the Google Chrome Browser.Blog This lets you instantly share any web page on your blog.Once Downloaded simply clicking the Blog This icon in the browser address bar will open your Blogger post editor with a link to the page your on included in the editor.If you highlight some text on the page before clicking the Blog This button that text will also be pre-loaded into the post editor with the link.So for example if you wanted to share this post on your blog you would highlight a few lines of text, click your Blog This button and your post editor would open in a new window with that text and a link to this post already in place.
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Get The Blogger Buddy Gadget And Post Directly From Your Desktop

Many of you will be familiar with desktop gadgets on windows vista and windows 7 and you may have visited the Windows Live gadget gallery.Gadgets such as Games that you can play on your desktop are very popular along with gadgets you may also use on iGoogle such as Weather gadgets, Clocks and Calenders, YouTube Video gadgets and so on.If you ain't seen them as the title suggest they are gadgets that you can have on your computers desktop, they load when you turn on your computer and you don't need to open a browser to use them.One gadget you may be interested in is the Blogger Buddy Gadget.
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