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Free software designed to allow users to screencast and create other content

Free software designed to allow users to screencast and create other content

Vote: (112 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Atomi Systems, Inc.

Version: 8.2.0

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(112 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Atomi Systems, Inc.

8.2.0

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • Allows you to cast and record directly from your screen.
  • Editing tools allow you to change the recorded presentation and add files and voiceovers.
  • There are many export options for image, document and video file types.

Cons

  • Has very steep learning curve for the more advanced features, you will need time to learn the program.
  • The highest export resolution is 1080p, so no 4K videos.

ActivePresenter is a screencasting and screen recording program that can be used for presentations. This allows you to record anything you're doing on the screen. You can choose to display the video live as you're going, or you can save the video and show it at a later time. This comes with both a free and paid version with different features.

Basic Features

ActivePresenter is a program that allows you to cast your screen and record what you are doing. Many people will use programs like this to creating educational programs for other people to watch. For example, you can record yourself using a program and explaining the different tools. People can then watch this and learn how to use the program. Instead of using a separate camera to record your screen, which would be subpar quality at best, this records directly what is occurring on the screen.

While this program allows you to cast what you're doing to a live audience, you can also edit recorded videos and add voiceover and effects to the video. You will then need to export the presentation so that other people can view it. There are many different export options that you can choose.

You can choose to export the presentation as static PNG or JPEG images, an HTML slideshow, a PDF or as various Office formats like Word, PowerPoint or Excel. There are also several video formats such as AVI, WMV, MP4, MKV and WebM. Exporting times differ based on length of the recording and your chosen file format, but it usually doesn't take too long.

Editing

While ActivePresenter isn't a full video editor, it does give you editing features that you can use on the screen recordings. This also works to a limited extent with live castings. The editing feature allows you to go through the presentation and see if any section should be removed. For example, if you made a mistake during the initial recording, then you can erase it before exporting the final video.

You can also add many new elements to the presentation before exporting it. You can record a separate voiceover and place it on top of the recording. You can use this to introduce the topic or explain what you're doing. The editing tools also allow you to add notes, graphics and even other videos.

Enhancements

There are several ways to enhance the overall presentation and make it more engaging. ActivePresenter allows you to add quizzes to help viewers score how well they paid attention, branching scenarios so that they can pick what happens next and application simulations where they can see what happens if they click something.

This enhances the overall presentation and makes it more engaging for the audience. Not only that, but an engaged viewer often retains more and feels like the presentation was more valuable. That could be essential if you're selling the presentations or need to ensure that the viewer retains important information.

Free and Paid Versions

You can choose between either a free or paid license. Unlike many other programs that add a watermark to the recording, the free version doesn't include any watermarks and even records in HD quality. That's very rare for free programs, so you can use this for professional recordings. The free version does limit how many tools you can use. For example, you won't have as many tools for quizzes, branching paths or adding other files to your presentation.

The paid version gives you access to all the tools. It might be a good idea to get the free version first and see if you need access to all the tools for your presentations.

Pros

  • Allows you to cast and record directly from your screen.
  • Editing tools allow you to change the recorded presentation and add files and voiceovers.
  • There are many export options for image, document and video file types.

Cons

  • Has very steep learning curve for the more advanced features, you will need time to learn the program.
  • The highest export resolution is 1080p, so no 4K videos.