First things first. If you’re not familiar with Camtasia, it’s popular screen recording software put out by TechSmith that allows you to make videos of whatever you see on your screen.
I’ve been a long time Camtasia user, all the way back from the company’s beginnings. In fact, every screen recording I do (on Windows) is done with Camtasia.
But late last fall, Camtasia introduced their newest version…6.0. And a lot of people weren’t happy. First, the new version was slow, buggy and so prone to “weird things” that I told my students not to upgrade to it…at least at the time.
Thankfully, TechSmith was quick to address these issues and about a month later all was well. But there were still some miffed users.
Why?
Because in version 6 of Camtasia, they switched from creating FLV files of your video recordings to creating MP4 files. MP4 files use the H.264 codec, which gives you very high quality video at very small file sizes.
Personally, I had no problem with this change…and I believe it was the right move for them to make. Plus, the MP4 files created by Camtasia were fast-start enabled, meaning you could simply rename the video file extensions created by Camtasia from .MP4 to .FLV if you wanted to embed the videos in your own FLV player (which is what I do).
But still, this was a fact lost on a lot of people. They apparently didn’t want the newfangled “MP4 thing” and instead, wanted their old, familiar FLV files back. Or it could have been they didn’t know they needed to update their video players and version of Flash to play H.264 videos.
In any case, with the latest release of Camtasia (6.0.2), TechSmith has complied with user demand. You can now produce either FLV or MP4 files out of the software.
So, if you’re a Camtasia 6 user who has been longing for the old, FLV files like you were used to…they are now available again. What’s more, TechSmith is providing the update for free.
To learn more, just visit the TechSmith site by clicking here.
Nice. Camtasia is a powerful screen recorder. And there are various output formats.
Hello Dave,
I’m using camtasia but I have a problem when I try to record a gchat video session. I get the message that the microphone is already in use and it will not begin recording at all.
Do you have any suggestions to this problem?
Thank you!
Mario
What is your audio source set to?
Go into Camtasia Recorder Tools > Options > Audio tab and change the settings to What U Hear or Microphone and Speaker Audio (but you have to have a sound card that supports these…or these options won’t show up).
You can also check out this post in the Camtasia forum, where one of the Camtasia developers explains why problems like these occur (it’s about half way down in the forum post):
http://forums.techsmith.com/showthread.php?p=34613
I have a problem regarding Camtasia 6: Troubleshooting the Preview Screen. The clip appears in the Clip Bin as well as in the TimeLine Sections but I can not make it appeared within the Preview Windows.
Hey Dave
Really enjoy your tips and podcasts! I think I speak for many when I say “thanks” for taking time to post your videos, tips, and answers online for us to benefit.
I just updated from Camtasia 3 to the latest version 6 and purchased the new Ultra HD Flip camera which produces to MPEG4 (same as Mino HD).
I saw a marketer who used the Mino to import the MPEG4 video into Camtasia and save as MPEG4 flash and the video looked and sounded great online. But when I import the MPEG4 movie I created with the Ultra HD Flip, Camtasia doesn’t read it.. as if the camera recorded with a cap over the lense.
Plus, the Ultra Flip records in stereo which produces a 16,000 bit audio. Camtasia delivers a warning message about this and states that Camstasia doesn’t support 16k (but 8 and 24, etc.. if I remember correctly).
Do you have any suggestions to get around these two issues?
Would renaming the original MPEG4 to .flv solve the first issue?
Thank you
Dave
I’m having the same problem as Edgar. My Flip Mino HD MP4 files show up in the clip bin and on the timeline but will not play in the preview window. I can’t edit or produce anything with them. Any suggestions?
Hey, I’m having the exact same issue as Edgar and Dave – Flip video not being compatible w/Camtaisa due to 16k bit audio (vs 18/24) and stuff like that. Would love to hear the answer if you have one to post.
Thanks!
…jp
@Dave, @Ken, @JP:
Flip cameras typically use proprietary codecs for MP4 (there are numerous codecs that can be used to create MP4 files)…and…Camtasia is NOT video editing software (it’s screen capture software).
So it’s not surprising that they don’t play well together and it’s up to either company to make sure they do.
Personally, I would just take the footage from a Flip, the screen recordings from Camtasia…and do all of the editing in Sony Vegas.
But if you must edit your Flip footage in Camtasia for whatever reason, then I’d first import the footage into something like Sony Vegas and then export it into a file format Camtasia can use.
I’m thinking of getting the flip so that was a useful tip! thank you. I shouldn’t be so glad of other peoples problems! solving mine.
Hey, Dave – thanks for the follow up. Since I have Vegas Studio, that advice makes perfect sense. You’re awesome!
One more quickie: I’m not entirely satisfied with the Flip HD Mino. Do you have another similar HD pocket-sized video you recommend in it’s place? I really like the fact I can put it in my front pocket, but the flip’s not quite doing it for me in a couple of other ways.
Thanks in advance,
…jp
@JP – No, I don’t have any recommendations for camera’s at that level. With video cameras, you get what you pay for, so all $100-$200 pocket size cameras will generally perform the same.
can you please help me, somebody.
Every time i go to use camtasia 6 screen recorder, it doesn’t work.
the green out line is displayed for about 30 seconds then a message box pops up and says,
camtasia recorder has encountered a problem and needs to close.
it doesn’t give an error code or anything? just says send error report, and of done this at least 20 times now but nothing?
all other camtasia apps work fine.
and i have tried multiple ways of accessing the program but nothing?
iv removed and reinstalled 3 time and nothing?
i have scanned at least 30 times for bugs and infection ect…. but nothing please someone help me.
@James – You need to contact tech support for Camtasia or hit their user forums:
http://forums.techsmith.com/
I have a question. I want to buy a nice HD camcorder to use for video taping functions at school work, and to place online for some professional work. However, I want to use Camtasia for putting together my productions. I know you said Camtasia is a screen capture software, but with Sony Vegas, would a $2,000 HD camcorder work for this purpose?
@ Lee Thompson – Since Camtasia is screen recording software, it is very limited in the types of video files it accepts. And it will not accept footage from an HD video camera…for that you need true video editing software, like Sony Vegas.
Camtasia is intended to create, edit and produce footage that is captured on your computer screen, i.e. software demonstrations, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
Video editing software (like Sony Vegas) is intended to create, edit and produce video captured from a video camera.
Camtasia Studio 7.1 is hugely broken. After just two days of testing, the .camrec file became unusable by Camtasia Studio. The controls literally started jumping around, back and forth, and refused to display the file or to generate video files.
Their quality control department totally sucks to let this terrible software into the field.
Is there anything similar provided by a competitor? There’s no way I can justify buying worthless, broken software, no matter how big their name is.