What do you want to see in the new Camstudio edition?
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Just want some quick ideas- the next version will be "Camstudio 2.5-- Final". I have 1 week of no school, so I'll be sure to program and possibly get some screenshots up. I need some ideas.
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Hi:
Ok, here are some suggestions, along with a couple of things I think should be modified (there's no priority order, I'm writing them just as they come to my mind):
1. I would like the ability to select (not on a per file basis but permanently) the output folder for the generated video when using the option "Automatic file naming" (instead of CamStudio's main folder, which is the default right now).
2. Maybe you could allow the user to select a "base name", working along with an autonumbering feature. Example:
Base name = Video## ---> Will name the files as "Video01.avi", "Video02.avi", etc.
Base name = MyScreen### ---> Will name the files as "MyScreen001.avi", "MyScreen002.avi", etc.
3. It'll be great if you could use some kind of plain-text-file system (like XML, INI, etc.) for translation purposes. However, I don't know if that's feasible at this point or if it means changing too much of the code to achieve it. (* See the post script)
4. When you drop down the Options menu, and because of the amount of lines in it, the status bar gets visually blocked, rendering it pretty much useless if you're counting on it to give you extended information about the diffent items on the menu. You only need to expand the height of CamStudio's main window (or just make it resizable) to fix this issue.
5. This is more of a reminder than a suggestion, sorry, but I reported a bug here: http://camstudio.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=19&page=1#Item_0
6. Another thing that rather falls in the "bug report" category: the way in which "Automatic file naming" currently works has a problem. For example, if CamStudio saves a file that was recorded at 14:05:29 hs. on Feb 17, 2008, the resulting automatic name will be "1722008_145_29.avi". But if you save a file, let say, ten minutes later (14:15:29) the name will be "1722008_1415_29.avi". So, when you later open your explorer and browse through your files, the order won't reflect their creation time (unless, of course, you set the explorer to sort files by creation time instead of name). This really becomes an annoyance if you have a few dozens of them.
This also applies to the date. So, to sum up the problem, CamStudio doesn't take the 0 (zero) into account when gathering the Date/Time info from the system, and that translates into future ordering (by name) problems.
Well, I think that's it (for now? :P). Sorry for the huge post, and thanks for your time and work.
Best regards,
Gabriel.
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* P.S: For the time beeing, I took the liberty of translating Recorder.exe, Player.exe, Playplus.exe and Producer.exe (all from version 2.5 Beta 1) completely to Spanish, which is my first language (it's some kind of a hobby for me). If that's ok with you, CamStudio developer and/or admin of this forum, I can upload the translated files to some hosting service like Megaupload or Mediafire and give you the link, in case you want to include it somewhere in CamStudio's download options.
Just so you know, all I did was changing the English texts to Spanish; every single thing except that remains intact and as designed by the developer.
If you replace the 4 EXE files from "CamStudio.2.5.b1.bin.zip" with those I modified, you have a 100% working Spanish distribution. -
1. the ability to record a full workspace--two monitors in dual view mode for example.
2. record objects form within a window.
3. record window (or objects) even if it losses focus(read it gets covered or minimized).
4. I also like very much to see the Zoom in function. (posted by Kev)
5. how about drawing onto screen while recording? -
Thanks for your feedback, and sorry it took so long to respond. I have read that people want the ability to zoom in on the new CS, and I would like to say that I don't think that I am going to do it. Windows XP and Vista both have a built magnifying glass, and I don't see it as a necessity to make one. But if you put up a convincing argument, I might. :)
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I hadn't thought of the in-recording zoom, but I got curious and tried the Windows XP magifier tool. That thing is pretty horrid, but maybe it's just horrid to me because I don't need it or it's not the way I want to use it. It splits your screen into a "magnified" area versus an "unmagnified" area. You resize the magnified area to however large you want. While you mouse over the unmagnified area, the magnified area shows the exact same thing in the zoom size you set.
If I'm using it in conjuction with CamStudio, this means that if I wanted to zoom, I'd have to drag the the recording area from the unmagnified area to the magnified area and back again to "zoom" in and out. I can see that causing my viewers to throw up all over their keyboards from motion sickness.
Alternatively, I could have the recording area span the magnified and unmagnified areas. Both zoomed and 1:1 views would be recorded though. I couldn't have 1:1 view for most of my recording, but enlarged view for one or two things.
-- J. Lin -
All right, I get what you all mean. I just tried both the Vista and the XP editions, so I know what you all are getting at... But in the meantime there is a free utility that Nick made a post about. Go here: http://www.workerscollection.com/wcollect/english/html/index.html
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I new my ideas weren't original.
So, i dig deeeeep in my memory and I found out that ZoomIt does 4 and 5 from my list of wishes. Neat! -
Hi!
As I mentioned on another post, maybe some re-work on the "Stop recording after pre-set time" feature, specifically:
- get rid of the 7200 second limit
- make the field editable and not just up/down buttons.
Thanks! -
All right, more great suggestions. I'll probably make a poll regarding what you want for the 2.5 Final edition. I hope to have a screenshot up REALLY soon, which has:
-New and improved "Web 2.0" glossy buttons.
-Longer Menus-- Meaning more options for CS
-Help Files
-And probably the memory leaks removed.
Keep on using CS! -
Couple of items:
as to the auto naming using the date and time stamp -- the best method, for sorting purposes would be:
yyyymmdd_hhmm_ss so that it would be 20080405_1118_07 for the time I posted this.
This may seem like a big step backwards, but I was recently recording a meeting with presentations. Some included powerpoint, some were speakers only. The ability to record only audio would be nice. I know that is available from a lot of other programs, but having it in CamStudio, as we have video only options, would mean a single set-up for the meeting and one less piece of software to worry about.
JK -
I don't know if it's possible, but for usability testing purposes it
would be great if the mouse pointer would flash when clicked.
Ideally different colors for left-, right- and double-clicks.
If this falls outside screen recording I'd like tips on how to make
the pointer flash in Windows. -
I would like to see FLV support or better SWF generation options
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It would be great to have an option to
superimpose the keyboard + mouse activities for videotutorials,
like in this video:
http://www.vimeo.com/962741
I LOVE CAMSTUDIO! -
I use camstudio a lot, thing is the video editing software i use to put the clips together (Sony) won't recognize the clips format, is there a way for camstudio to save as other file formats like mpg, otherwise i have to use windows movie maker and that really sucks, thank you, Neo :0)
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I used to get my own screenshots, edit, and post online, then refer to the posting in forums, blogs, etc. The target would usually be photobucket or imgspot or similar. I shifted to Jing from TechSmith to do the same with video. They offer a nice UI to upload to a limited set of defined sites. Jing has business and technical issues that I won't go into here but those issues prompted me to take another close look at CamStudio - and I've since unloaded Jing.
I think it's important to have some of these add-on type functions made available to CamStudio users. For example, I or someone else could code a routine to use a file system watcher that will take videos put into a specific directory and upload them to a defined web/ftp site. So if editing isn't important for little hit-n-run ditties like vblogs then all you need to do is stop recording to have a vid auto-uploaded wherever you want. Or maybe a tray icon with a context menu can do the same - I'm sure you get the drift.
Completely unrelated, "proper" selection of video and audio settings is a very manual and possibly time consuming process. I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate more guidance from the UI on exactly what various settings will do to their videos in terms of quality and file size - or at least a dedicated wiki area that explores the various settings and _why_ people use or don't use specific settings. -
I'd Like to be able to save in GIF Format,
What I used to do was Take AVI, edit them in Windows Movie Maker, then Transfer them to FLash MX for Resizing and Exporting to GIF.
Unfortunately I found my videos to always have lower quality then I wanted and was choppy
EVen though when I looked at the originally Captured Video, it wasnt so bad.
So Direct Link TO GIF Format would be nice
Also, A minor Movie Editing Program would be nice.
Just So I dont have to use so many different programs and watch the quality of my movies slowly go down the tube -
Q: Add the command line version
A: Done!...at least code wise. The project was just added to the solution workspace. That code will be part fo the build until I merge the feaure into the main recorder. However...the single instance code has been restored to functionality so running both recorders may not work.
Q: Movie editor/image export.
A. The export seems reasonable. The editor is a bit more involved.
Q: More formats
A. Can't say we will but it's an obvious direction.
Q: Blending videos/keyboard capture.
A. Sounds like an editor feature. The keyboard stuff I'll have to look at. it seems like a different type of annotation. Mouse capture is easy but keyboard capture can be a problem on systems.
Q: Mouse curso flahs/color.
A. I think that is a possibility. We do the highlight now.
Q: Auto file name format.
A. This should be user configurable.
Q: Zoom during record.
A. Have to think about that. It seems like a window-in-a-window but might dsirupt the running aplication so it may be a post recording operation. -
Hi
As this program is opensource, would it not make sense to include a converter program for an opensource video file format, such as Xiph Theora, as they now have directshow filters for it, and the next releases of Opera and Firefox will support it.
Just a suggestion and I have no idea how much work would be involved in doing this, but a Camstudio codec to Theora codec converter would be awesome. -
I would like to be able to be in AutoPan view and use the keyboard shortcuts or arrow keys to enlarge/make smaller the AutoPan view (keeping same aspect ratio).
This can be particularly useful wen for example showing the whole desktop, then using the enlarge to sort of work as a lens to show a particular menu and then smoothly transform back to the desktop view or fixed region view.
Another thing, is to perhaps use Tabs for the whole program, so different tabs may contain related menus etc, then you could have tooltip for each option. I'm not sure if you can have tooltip in menu mode.
Other than that, great program, didn't know it existed until I searched on YouTube for best screen recording applications and this one got best marks.
Cheers -
I would like to see a timer implemented in this. That way I can have it record whatever I need at any specific times.
There are some TV broadcasts that are shown using flash and the only way to record them is via camstudio. A timer would turn it into a proper video recorder. -
...The current version can already do this. You just haven't configured it properly. Be sure to enable sound by selecting "Record Audio from Speakers" option in the Options menu.
Then afterwords you may need to configure the speaker input settings. You can find that in the Audio Options menu as well. Go to "Audio Options", then find "Audio Options for speakers". Afterwords click the "Audo Search" button at the bottom, so the program will find the appropriate line input to use. If it fails to do that properly, you can try "Manual Search".
There you go. Audio from speakers! -
Hi. I would like CamStudio to be more like a microwave oven, where you can hit a button for certain common, basic functions, like 1 for popcorn, 2 for coffee, 3 for potato.
I would like to see CamStudio have default buttons at the highest quality level for basics like filming segments off a video, rather than leave a non-technical person like me floundering with the many different potential setups.
Thanks for your time. -
I would like to have DirectShow support for recording. Perhaps the easiest way is to support integration with VH Screen Capture Driver http://www.hmelyoff.com/index.php?section=8 but there are probably other freely usable methods as well.
This would make it easier to record embedded MS Player video and overlay effects. It should also allow a higher frame rate than turning scrren acceleration off. -
remove the 2gb limit.. 30 min of video easily passes this, the program is virtually useless with it.. atleast for me..
Higher frame rates.. anything lower then 30 sux.. just sux... sometimes to get good quality it is needed to record at a higher frame rate. to actually get 30fps..playback in many programs..
more codecs.. some of these are just not useable.. motion blurs or is missed entirely in most of them..the compression makes for teribble playback.. even at highest settings..
More control over the resulting file sizes.. and still maintain 30 fps.. A video editing plug-in or feature would greatly reduce un needed sizes.... 3gigs for less then 30min of video is just outragious... and that was 10 fps..ew...
So far tho camstudio gives me the best qaulity and highest frame rates in games.. as long as i keep the compression on.. and keep it below 50.. like for xfire.. but the motion gets these silloettes around them.. so for fast paced games... with lots of things moving through the picture..or spinning around real quick will result in a video.. that is ruined.. -
I think pazsion above is dead right. The 2 or 4Gbyte size limit is a real problem with an otherwise excellent application. This appears to be one of the best peforming screen recorders about. I am trying to record a 1920x1200 screen as fast a possible and camstudio gets the best quality and the highest frame rates, but sadly the files are like 2Gybtes per 30 minutes and I need to get the application to record for about 2 hours reliably. I can live with the big files, but I cant live with the application stopping recording without my knowledge. Its like driving a car with a small fuel tank and no fuel guage.
My thoughts are either somehow solve the file size limit or simply save and create a new file when the 2Gbyte size is reached. (Im quite happy with lots of files with a numerical suffix to them, just as long as I know I have my video - thats the important bit).
I know other applications out there that will do this multiple file saving, but they dont run as fast. Camstudio is great.
I note from a number of other discussions taken place in the past, that quite a few people have had this issue and not really found a work around. So I really think its a problem worth solving before adding on any sexier features........
thanks
Guy -
Panning causes typing to happen outside the capture region, if the mouse pointer is not close the typing area. There's no guarantee that the mouse will be close to the typing.
As a result, we can't use panning. We have to use full-screen capture to be sure nothing is missed.
So we'd love to see "jump to active window", not just mouse panning.
NCH's free "ScreenStream" has a really nice feature where it jumps to the active window at all times. (ScreenStream does not record, it's for screencasting).
http://www.nchsoftware.com/screen/index.html
THANKS FOR GREAT SOFTWARE! -
I would like to see a zoom function like in TechSmith's screen recording products. This would be a really nice feature. :)
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As a newbe, I'm frustrated over the "settings" and "codec's" and very conflicting "video tuts" available on the net. Perhaps some explanation about just what your "Defaults" are set for would be in order.
It seems to me that "defaults" should be toward some "standard" set of programs and actions. Perhaps the free "camstudio" to record, the free "mediacoder" to encode, and the .flv format for uploading to something like the free blip.tv? (Most of the tut's I've seen indicate that camstudios "encoding" isn't the best for flv and recommend mediacoder - don't know why - but it seems to be what I've noticed as well; also have said that youTube is really bad - again what I've noticed [however there does seem to some isolated postings that are good - wish I understood why]) -
OK First off the 2GB limit is the fault of the old AVI Format. It is bound by the rules of the Fat16/32 File Systems. Ugh
Second If you don't have good codecs on your system then you will not find them in your list.
The Camstudio Codec is the one and only one made by the creator of this program. All others are the soul property of there respective owners (ie Divx, Intel)
Third
23.97 FPS is the most of all NTSC DVD's and BluRays You Can"t tell the difference between 24 and 30 nor 23.97 and 29.97. Anything higher is really out of the scope of a ASP software. The reason this program doesn't produce that many FPS is because the way it captures the video. It is being reviewed and worked on.
Fourth. PCM Audio codec use it along side of the camstudio codec you should have no problems. -
I have a use for video annotations (to give me a talking head) while recording my powerpoint lectures. Unfortunately, all I get is a black rectangle, no matter whether I use a webcam or a video capture device. I can resize them, choose which cam to use, nevertheless, I only get a black rectangle (or other shape if I specify oval, etc). The cameras work fine in other applications, so I doubt whether it is the devices or the drivers that are giving me grief. Sure would be a great feature if it worked :) Thanks, Alan
PS: exactly the same thing happens whether I am using 2.0 or the new 2.5b1 on XP machine with SP3 and all MS updates -
The text annotations are very cool, but I am unable to put them in, in real time.
I would like to be able to add the annotations to an existing video.
Also, although I am new to Cam Studio, a manual would be nice. I just added a new camera and am testing Cam Studio, and can't find where it stored my video. Basic, but it would be nice to be able to refer to a manual for this type of stuff. -
I have a Sound Blaster Audigy myself and have no trouble recording sound with CamStudio.
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is there a screen shot feature? can there be one? we really need one thanks
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Taking the the risk of adding a topic that has already been discussed or is there but I failed to find it -
I could use hotkeys to start and stop recordings!
Another thing I would find very useful is a tool to cut up my recordings, where I can decide in what frame to place the cut.
Thanks for asking!
Sigmases -
You can use keyboard shortcuts already: F8 to start/pause recording, F9 to stop recording and save a video file, F10 to stop recording and discard the temporary file. Should you wish to use other keys, you can change these shortcuts by selecting Options --> Keyboard shortcuts.
(Note: At least it is so in the 2.5 beta, I cannot remember how 2.0 was.)
As for your other request, a simple editor like Virtualdub (http://virtualdub.org/) can perform basic cutting of video and save the video without recompressing, should you wish so. -
Prismay,
Dual monitor support has been added and will be available in the next release (not date yet). If you would like to experimet with the DEVELOPMENT release you can visit (http://www.bleeblap.com/CamStudio/weeklybuilds.php) and follow the instructions.
Let me know how the dual-monitor features work for you. Its relatively new and I've only done testing on my machine. Thanks!
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