Camtasia ( /kæmˈteɪʒə/) (formerly Camtasia Studio) is a software suite, created and published by TechSmith, for creating video tutorials and presentations directly via screencast, or via a direct recording plug-in to Microsoft PowerPoint. The screen area to be recorded can be chosen freely, and audio or other multimedia recordings may be recorded at the same time or added separately from any other source and integrated in the Camtasia component of the product. Both versions of Camtasia started as enhanced screen capture programs and have evolved to integrate screen capture and post-processing tools targeted at the educational and information multimedia development marketplace.
Camtasia consists of two major components:
Camtasia Recorder - a separate tool for capturing screen audio and video
Camtasia editor - the component for which the entire product is named, which is now a multimedia authoring tool with the industry standard "timeline" interface for managing multiple clips in a stacked track form plus enhancements summarized below.
Contents :
1. Camtasia Recorder
2. Post-production
3. Rendering and deployment
4. Reviews
5. See also
6. References
7. External links
Camtasia Recorder :
In Camtasia Recorder, the presenter can start and stop recording with a hotkey combination at any time, at which point the recording can be halted and resumed or Camtasia Recorder can render the input that has been captured into a CAMREC format. The CAMREC file can be saved to disk or directly imported into the Camtasia component for editing. Camtasia Recorder allows audio recording while screen-capturing is in progress, so the presenter can capture live narration during a demonstration or presentation. Camtasia also supports dubbing in other audio tracks or voiceover during post-capture editing. Users may also download an Add-In for Microsoft Power Point that will allow them to easily initiate recording of a presentation from within Power Point itself.
Post-production :
After capturing a presentation in the Camatasia Recorder, the Camtasia component can be used to modify audio and video displayed as tracks by using the timeline control and object library interface with an integrated preview window. The image in the infobox to the right is a screen capture of the timeline interface. In addition, Camtasia allows voice overlay for the presenter or editor, as well as the ability to add sound effects in many different formats including music formats into the clip bin and arrange anywhere on the timeline.
Many presenters prefer to wait until they have finished the screen-capture and then record the narration from a script as the application is playing back the recorded capture. They can do so in the Camtasia editor and overlay the original recorded audio.
Reviews :
The eighth version updates to Camtasia have eliminated some of the prior release issues including excessive rendering times and excessive consumption of system resources during production:
Enhanced multi-track video/audio editing capabilities compared to v7
Improved handling of embedded hyperlinks compared to v7
Higher quality screen action capture compared to v7
Integrated audio-clip enhancement
Integrated tutorial for both Camtasia and PowerPoint plug-in components
Large library of tutorial material
Good support resources, both online and via text chat. Options for in-person telephone support available for fully licensed versions
Educational discount license for students and instructor K-12 or university use
Camtasia's shortcomings noted in the PC World review of January 17, 2013 and CNET review of June 19, 2012 are as follows:
PC World noted that "Camtasia has evolved from being the go-to program for software demonstrators to a full-featured education/information video tool" from this 4 1/2 star review. An earlier 2005 review is still relevant, which states that, though "powerful," Camtasia can be "a little overwhelming at the start" to new users, though the learning curve is easily manageable.
See also :
1. Comparison of screencasting software
2. Distance education
3. Instructional design
4. Podcast
