Camtasia Studio 7.1 |
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| Developer(s) | TechSmith |
| Stable release | 7.1 / 12 October 2010[1] |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows[2] |
| Type | Screencasting and video editing software |
| License | Trialware |
| Website | www.techsmith.com/camtasia/ |
| Stable release | 1.2 / 12 October 2010[3] |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Mac OS X[4] |
| License | Trialware |
| Website | www.techsmith.com/camtasiamac/ |
Camtasia Studio and Camtasia for Mac are screen video capture software, published by TechSmith. The user defines the area of the screen or the window that is to be captured, a setting that is set before the recording begins. Camtasia Studio also allows the user to record audio from a microphone or speakers, and to place a webcam's video footage on the screen.
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The presenter carries out all steps of the demonstration in sequence and is able to jump from one application to another without interrupting the recording process. The presenter is able to stop recording with a hotkey combination at any time, at which point the software renders the input that has been captured, and applies user-defined settings, such as when and how to display the cursor. Newer versions of Camtasia offer the option to draw a circle around the cursor whenever the mouse is clicked, to better illustrate the actions of the presenter.
After the presentation has been captured, the presenter is able to revise it by cutting and/or pasting different parts, as needed. In addition, the presenter is also able to overlay their voice, as well as sound effects or music onto the presentation. Camtasia allows audio recording while screen-capturing is in progress, so the presenter can narrate the demonstration as it is carried out. Most presenters, however, 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.
The program allows files to be stored in its own proprietary format, which is only readable by Camtasia itself; this format allows for fairly small file sizes, even for longer presentations. Camtasia also allows the generated video stream to be exported to common video formats which can be read by most computers, even if the Camtasia software is not installed, such as MPEG-2 or MPEG-4.
Long rendering times and excessive consumption of system resources during production are cited as some of Camtasia Studio's shortcomings, especially for older versions. PC World described Camtasia Studio as "the premier screencasting tool", which, though "powerful," can be "a little overwhelming at the start".[5]