Top 9 Screen Capture Software for Capturing Screen & Videos
Screen capture software can be used for a whole number of different tasks. Whether you’re looking to record a presentation, record your screen for tutorial purposes or in fact creating YouTube videos and need to record game footage. There’s lots of reasons to use screen capture software and we are going to give you plenty of different choices as to which piece of software you download.
IceCream Screen Recorder
IceCream Screen Recorder is a completely free tool to record and capture your screen. IceCream Screen Recorder has some really neat features such as the ability to record on a certain section of the screen which is great for apps in Windowed mode. IceCream Screen Recorder also allows you to draw on top of your screen recordings for things such as arrows to point to something or circles to highlight an area. IceCream Screen Recorder also has great support for older Windows versions dating back to Windows 2000.
ActivePresenter
ActivePresenter may not have the most attractive piece of software, but it does offer up a great set of features and it’s own post-editing software to allow you to edit your screen recording how you wish. ActivePresenter allows you to add on interactive elements such as callouts, voiceovers, annotations, graphics and more. Making it a great tool for those looking to present or record tutorials.
SnagIt
SnagIt is a great and more modern choice of screen capture software from TechSmith who make other pieces of software we will mention on this post. SnagIt specialises in the ‘Lecture’ area of screen capture software, choosing to allow you to take images and short videos and then annotate on them for improved interactivity and media within lectures.
Ezvid
Ezvid is a great screen capture option for those that are looking to quickly record and upload videos to YouTube. Ezvid comes with editing software, allowing you to do some simple cutting and stitching together of your video before you upload it to YouTube in 720p (it’s free so don’t expect 1080p). It allows you to do voiceovers, control the speed of the video and other little features too.
Jing
Jing is another piece of software from TechSmith who offered SnagIt too. Jing is a free option that allows you to do some simple screen capturing and editing. You are limited to five minutes of video with Jing as it is advertised as a communication tool, allowing you to quickly record and show someone how to do something and then easily share the video with them via the inbuilt software. It’s a great free alternative to SnagIt if your main use of screen capture software would be to record short, snappy videos.
Camtasia
Camtasia is the third and final piece of TechSmith technology on this post. Camtasia is arguably TechSmith’s biggest and most well-known piece of software, used by many gaming YouTubers to record their software. Camtasia offers an easy to use interface, an easy setup and allows you to record certain sections of your screen if you so wish and then go and edit it and upload it to YouTube easily. There’s a free version or a Premium, full-feature version for around $50.
Screenr
Screenr isn’t exactly a piece of screen capture software as there’s no software or download involved to get it. However, Screenr is a browser extension that allows you to quickly and easily record what is going on in your browser with just a few clicks. This would be great for lecturers and anybody else looking to show other people web-based applications, tutorials or services. This is probably the easiest screen capture tool when it comes to simply recording and then publishing somewhere.
TinyTake
TinyTake is another piece of free screen capture software that allows you to record your screen and then do some post-shooting annotations to it. TinyTake allows videos of up to 120 minutes long, meaning you can record really long tutorials, whole lectures or whole presentations using the software, not limited yourself to 5 minutes like other software. The annotation process for TinyTake is nice too, allowing you to draw on top of your videos as they go along, great for lecturers and users using the software for tutorials.
Fraps
Fraps is a piece of well-known screen capture software within the YouTube gaming community. Fraps is clean, simple and allows you to record your game software and screens with as minimal interruption as possible. With Fraps, you open up the software, assign a button to the record button, then once you’re in your game or piece of software, you hit the button and it begins recording and the numbers go from yellow to red. It’s incredibly simple and uses up minimal hard drive space, making it a great choice if you have a weaker computer or want to get the most out of your game.
