Review: Video Demoware Tools - Part II Detailed provides detailed test results
Feature: Here we look at Capture, Edit, and Output options of the Video Demoware tools
This is the second, detailed part of our two-part review of video demoware. All during this review we have been calling the software "Video" demoware where a more accurate name would be Animated and Video demoware tools for the simple reason that most of the tools are targeting output to Flash .swf files whether Event Driven Screen Capture or Video screen takers. The Event-Capture tools are targeting Flash animation speeds of 3-10 frames per second while the Video-Taker tools use rates of 20-32 frames per second and target either .swf files or .flv flash video files. Recall that the Event Capture tools may miss something on screen or sometimes may leave the impression of herky-jerky motion or workflow; but typically they produce much more compact demo files for the same screen and screen size than their Video taker counterparts.
But as we shall see below, the Event Capture tools like Captivate, Viewlet Builder and Demo Builder have the advantage during capture that they can identify screen events and add automatically captions when hints pop-up or an object or button is clicked on. Also typing into textfields or pulldown lists are noted in some tools. Net result - it is often easier and faster to finish some Event Capture demos because much of the captioning and highlighting work has already been done for you. So as noted at the outset, the choice of Video Demoware is keyed on the type of captures you need to do; then the Edit functions and Publishing/Output features are equally important second level factors.
The following set of two tables will list
the Capture, Edit and Publish features of the 8 programs we have reviewed and tested. I shall then consider each of the major feature sets and describe which were important during our testing. Finally, I shall highlight which demoware works best in various circumstances.
Demoware Capture
I was surprised that the demoware tools did not use their own output to document extensively how to get started and work effectively with their tools. MadCap Mimic and Turbodemo did the best job of providing video demos of all aspects of using their tools. However, Camtasia Studio does have a good getting started tour and active, show-me help built right into their product.
So then I was less surprised to discover that few of the demoware tools discussed the problem of event capture versus video capture and how users must be responsible for capturing asynchronous events such as Web alerts and popups, collaborative edits, and
other externally induced GUI events when using event capture techniques. Even mouse and keyboard operations are not uniformly captured so users must fill in there as well. The result is that users must beware because the trouble of going back, capturing the missed events and splicing them into the demo is certainly doable; but also very tedious for all of the event capture based tools.
This is why we have listed at the very top and bottom of the two tables whether a tool is an event capture or video taker. Even in the case of Captivate, which does both, users are responsible for switching between event capture and video mode themselves with two hotkeys.
It is interesting that two vendors, Qarbon and Madcap, are working on methods to capture events automatically at variable rates. For example, when MadCap Mimic detects a drag and drop operation, it automatically turns on animation capture (about 7 frames per second) and then turns it off when the drag and drop operations stop. However, the results are a bit jerky on start-up and stopping of drag and drops. Also Madcap still leaves users responsible for other asynchronous events such as popup windows, Web 2.0 table refreshes, etc. Automatic switching of recording based on GUI and external event on screen is the ideal; but the state of the art is still quite primitive. If you have to have absolutely faithful reproduction of the screen - you will have to consider using a video capture tool.
The next important feature during capture is narration and audio. Not all programs can record an audio narration at the same time as screen capture is being done. Adding this later can present problem of syncing the narration with the screen action. I have seen pros do it both ways - narration when screen recording or after. The latter method almost inevitably means a longer edit session. Also you are going to want to decide whether to have enhanced mouse click and keyboard typing sounds if the demoware offers that feature. I generally do take advantage of this as the audio recording /narration picks these signals up weakly and narration can drown them out.
For some demos, the ability to capture a video within the screencast using the video demoware tool is important - showing off You Tube or Yahoo news page or a video conferencing sessions are just a few examples. Again you will have to splice these scenes in with event capture tools and even some video capture tools where the capture rate is too slow.
Another factor to consider is ability to do screen captures on other OS platforms and move them to these primarily Windows based tools
(Qarbon's Viewlet Builder Pro is the major Mac tool). Again be careful here that your demoware can import the capture tool video/animation format. A colleague had to replace all of the screen captures on a time sensitive contract because the capture format could not be read in or converted to Qarbon's Viewlet Cam format.
Finally, Netplay's Instant Demo has a feature that is just emerging
in demoware but that can be potentially very attractive - that is the ability to pan the screen capture. Remember that demo file size increases as the multiple of the screen length and width. So why not take a moving small screen approach. Most of the action is centered on a small area of the screen - use that area as capture size. then when the mouse moves out of the area - just move the screen capture area with the mouse. I have seen demos done this way - and when the action is centered on one area most of the time it works well and saves chunks of disk or video space. But if the mouse moves around too much it has a lost-in-the-periscope, unnerving feel to it.
In sum be sure to know what type of action you will need to record - because that will often be the most important determinant of what demoware tool you use. Yes editing and deployment are important - but be sure to get the capture right.
|
Features
List |
Adobe
Captivate 2 |
Ambrosia Snapz Pro |
FlashDemo |
Mapdcap
mimic |
Netplay
Instant-Demo |
Capture |
| Event capture, video capture, switchable |
Both |
videotaker |
event capture |
event capture |
videotaker |
| App choose, autosize to app |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
| fullscreen, screen area |
y, y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y,y |
|
Mouse movement, clicks, dragging |
y,y,vc |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
|
Auto Project Resizing, powerpoint in |
y,y |
n,n |
n,y |
y,n |
y,n |
| Pan capture area, video in video |
n,y |
y,y |
n,n |
n,y |
y,y |
|
Capture narration, simulated mouse clicks, typing sounds |
y, y, y |
y,y,n |
n,y,y |
n,y,y |
n,n,n |
| Auto insert captions on clicks, hints |
ec, ec |
n |
y,y |
y,n |
n,n |
| Capture tool for Linux, mac, other |
n,n,n |
n,y,n |
n,n,n |
n,n,n |
n,n,n |
Edit |
| Slide viewer, timeline view |
y,y |
na |
y,y |
y,y |
n,y |
| multitracks, lock, view,Video preview |
y,y,y,y |
na |
y,n,n,y |
y,n,n,y |
n,n,n,y |
| Undo & Redo edits |
y,y |
na |
y,y |
y,y |
n,n |
| Balloons, Notes, highlights |
y,y,y |
na |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
1 only,n,n |
| auto calculate time, size of note |
y,p |
na |
n,n |
n,n |
n,n |
| text fonts, size,apptoall, more |
y,y,s,9 |
na |
y,y,y,4 |
y,y,y,7 |
y,y,y,4 |
| Buttons, hotspots |
y,y |
na |
y,y |
y,y |
n, 1 only |
| hotspot cues, border, color |
n,y,y |
na |
n,y,y |
n,y,y |
6, y,y |
| goto frame, URl, code, exit |
y,y,y,y |
na |
y,y,n,n |
y,y,y,y |
y,y,y,y |
| Hyperlinks , textfields |
y,y |
na |
n,y |
n,y |
n,n |
| Draw Custom Objects,rect, oval |
y,y,y |
na |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
n,n |
| insert image, slide, clip |
y,y,y |
na |
y,y,n |
y,y,y |
n, n,y |
| Insert transitions, flash |
y,y |
na |
n,y |
y,y |
n,n |
| sound multitracks,syncing/moves |
y,y |
na |
y,y |
y,y |
n,n |
| sound insert, fades, volume |
y,y,y |
na |
y,n,n |
y,y,y |
y,n,y |
|
Sound editor, easy clear |
y,y |
na |
n,y |
y,y |
y,n |
| Quiz, types, success/fail notes |
4,y |
na |
4,y |
0,n |
1,n |
| Quiz retry, redirection |
y,y |
na |
y,y |
n,n |
n,n |
| Statistics Graph Creation |
s |
na |
n |
n |
n |
Output |
|
Flash, Password, Time Limited Demos |
y,y,y |
y,n,n |
y,y,n |
y,n,n |
y,n,n |
| GIF File, pdf file, word doc |
y,y,y |
n,y,n |
n,n,y |
n,n,n |
n,n,n |
| EXE File Creation, Movie types |
LMW,1 |
M,2 |
W, 3 |
n,2 |
y,n |
|
control bar, video, audio quality |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
| User info, html, other languages |
y,y,1 |
y,n,y |
y,y,1 |
y,y,16 |
y,y,1 |
|
Export screenshots as BMP, JPG, GIF |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
n,n,n |
| target disk, dvd, ftp, email |
y,n,y,y |
y,y,n,n |
y,y,y,y |
y,n,y,n |
y,n,n,n |
| Output reports, scorm, aicc |
y,y,y |
n,n,n |
y,y,n |
n,n,n |
y,y,n |
| Streaming enhanced compression |
y |
n |
y |
y |
n |
| type of capture |
Both |
videotaker |
event capture |
event capture |
videotaker |
|
Features
List |
Adobe
Captivate 2 |
Ambrosia Snapz Pro |
FlashDemo |
madcap mimic |
Netplay
Instant-Demo |
Demoware Editing
As you might expect, the tools match their editing capabilities with their capturing mode. So again Adobe Captivate is the most complete demoware too lin editing features because it offers
both video and event-based capture methods. So Captivate has a slide, slide sorter, and video timeline view in its editor along with a movie preview screen. All of these come into play depending on whether you are editing a slide or a video clip - and in Captivate the two can be mixed many times over in the same demo.
Now one would think that a multitrack timeline would only be required by the video capture/taker tools like Camtasia Studio or Qarbon Viewlet Cam. Not so. Each slide in an event capture product like Tanida Demo Builder and Qarbon Viewlet Builder can have several objects on screen including sound clips requiring different durations - in fact this feature allows precise control of each slide and so this feature helps to divide the pro from the mid range demoware tools. Another distinguishing feature of the pro tools is the ease with users can undo and redo edits.
Almost all of the tools offer balloon captions, notes, and highlights. But some tools like Adobe Captivate, Qarbon Viewlet Builder and Tanida Demo Builder make it simple to add text to captions and notes because they automatically resize the balloon or note to the text size and expand the time duration with length of the text as well. Demo Builder is the best at this feature. Also the pro tools tend to have more text styling, object alignment, sizing and placement functions. Adobe Captivate and Madcap Mimic are best here and also with optional drawing and objects available for inclusion on their demo reels.
Among the video taker tools Camtasia Studio is the easiest to edit with. It is so powerful it can be used as a video editor and image slideshow creation tool as described here. One feature that makes Camtasia particularly attractive is the clip markers - yes there are two. The frame covered by the marker furthest down the timeline or currently being moved appears in the movie preview area. Having two markers makes it trivial to mark off a clip for cutting out of the video. In contrast, Adobe Captivate does not allow you to cut or delete parts of a video clip or sequence. The only way is to edit the offending clip in a video editor like Adobe Premiere Elements or Ulead Video Studio in post production. Ditto, the same problem for Qarbon's Viewlet Cam.
Here is the table of features for the second group of Video Demoware creation tools
|
Features
List |
Qarbon
viewlet Bld |
Qarbon
Viewlet Cam |
Tanida
Demo Builder
|
Techsmith
Camtasia 4 |
TurboDemo |
Capture |
| type of capture |
event capture |
Video taker |
event capture |
video taker |
event capture |
| App choose, autosize to app |
n,n |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
n,n |
| fullscreen, screen area |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
|
Mouse movement, clicks, dragging |
n,y,n |
y,y,y |
y,y,n |
y,y,y |
y,y,n |
|
Auto Project Resizing, Powerpoint in |
y,n |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
| Pan capture area, vid in video |
n,n |
n,n |
n,n |
y,y |
n,n |
|
Capture narration, simulated mouse clicks, typing sounds |
n,n,n |
y,y,y |
y,n,y |
y,y,n |
y,n,y |
| Auto insert captions on clicks, hints |
y,y |
n,n |
y,y |
n,n |
y,n |
| Capture tool for Linux, mac, oth |
y,y,y |
y,y,n |
n,n,n |
n,n,n |
y,y,n |
Edit |
| Slide viewer, timeline view |
y,n |
n,y |
p,y |
n,y |
y,n |
| multitracks, lock, view,Video preview |
n,n,n,n |
y,y,y,y |
y,n,n,y |
y,p,n,y |
n,n,n,y |
| Undo & Redo edits |
y,y |
y,n |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
| Balloons, Notes, highlights |
y,y,n |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
| auto calculate time, size of note |
p,y |
y,n |
y,y |
y,p |
n,n |
| text fonts, size,apptoall, more |
y,y,s,4 |
y,y,n,3 |
y,y,y,6 |
y,y,y,8 |
y,y,y, 4 |
| Buttons, hotspots |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
n,y |
y,y |
| hotspot cues, border, color |
n,y,y |
n,y,y |
n, y,y |
n,y,y |
1,n,y |
| goto frame, URl, code, exit |
y,y,s,n |
y,y,s,y |
y,y,y,y |
y,y,n,y |
y,y,n,n |
| Hyperlinks , textfields |
y,y |
n,y |
n,y |
n,y |
n,y |
| Draw Custom Objects,rect, oval |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
n,y,y |
n,y,n |
y,y,y |
| insert image, slide, clip |
y,y,n |
y,y,n |
y,y,y |
y,n,y |
y,y,y |
| insert transitions, flash |
n,n |
n,n |
n,y |
y,y |
y,n |
| sound multitracks, syncing/moves |
n,y |
y,y |
n,y |
y,y |
n,n |
| sound insert, fades, volume |
y,n,n |
y,n,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
|
Sound editor, easy clear |
n,y |
n,y |
y,y |
y,y |
y,y |
|
Quiz, types, success/fail notes |
y,3,y |
n,0,n |
y,1,n |
y,2,y |
y,2,y |
| Quiz retry, redirection |
y,y |
n,n |
n,n |
y,y |
y,y |
| Statistics Graph Creation |
n |
n |
n |
n |
y |
| SCORM, AICC output |
y,y |
n,n |
y,y |
y,n |
y,y |
Output |
| flash, password, Time Limited Demos |
y,n,n |
y,n,n |
y,y,n |
y,n,n |
y,y,n |
|
GIF animated File, pdf file, word doc |
y,y,n |
y,n,n |
y,n,y |
y,n,n |
y,y,y |
| EXE File Creation, Movie types |
LMW,1 |
W,1 |
LMW,1 |
MW,7 |
W,3 |
|
control bar, video, audio quality |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
| User info, html, other languages |
y,y,6 |
y,y,1 |
y,y,y |
y,y,1 |
y,y,6 |
|
Export slides as BMP, JPG, GIF |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
y,y,y |
| Target disk, DVD, FTP, emAIL |
y,n,n,n |
y,n,n,n |
y,n,y,y |
y,y,n,y |
y,cd,n,n |
| Output reports, scorm, aicc |
y,y,y |
y,n,n |
y,y,n |
n,y,y |
y,y,y |
| Streaming enhanced compression |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
| type of capture |
event capture |
Video taker |
event capture |
video taker |
event capture |
|
Features
List |
qarbon
viewlet bld |
Qarbon
Viewlet cam |
Tanida
Demobuilder |
Techsmith
camtasia 4 |
TurboDemo |
Because not all of the demoware tools allow narration on capture, it is important that they have good audio insertion and editing tools. Again, we can discriminate between the medium and pro range tools by considering whether the tools allow fade-in and out, volume control and have a separate audio editor. This allows the user to manage audio clips - with the better tools allowing some stretch/squeeze of the audio to fit fixed clip sizes. in addition simple things like being able to quickly clear tracks or move the audio clip back and forth along the slide/clip timeline are invaluable aids to getting a demo done quickly and effectively.
Perhaps
the most important editing feature is the ability to add buttons, text fields and/or hotspots on the
slides and clips. These objects allow the demo designer to do 3 things:
1)change the sequence of the demo either stopping, restarting or branching to a new place in the demo;
2)adding text fields or option buttons which allow the user to enter info or answer questions;
3)
based on responses received in the text fields or option buttons the demo designer can do many things:
a)ask more questions in quiz fashion;
b)score the answers to the questions or quiz items and then take action;
c)as before the action may be to repeat a section of the demo or skip one by redirecting a a new slide;
d)or the action may be to send a message to a server scoring the user;
e)or branch to a URL with a new level of demo, etc.
In short, one of the pro features of demoware tools is the ability to program new sequences through the demo based on simple button clicks (user preference) or answers to questions (training tests). In addition some of the tools provide SCORM or AICC test results or reports for interfacing with any LMS-Learning Management System that supports these scoring APIs. Adobe Captivate, Qarbon Viewlet Builder and Techsmith Camtasia Studio have the most complete set of "programming" plus quiz/survey features among the demoware tools.
Finally, many of the demoware tools provide the ability to edit the captions for international use. However, MadCap's Mimic goes one better allowing users to not only work in their native tongue (8 languages) but also produce captioning and output in 16 languages. There are a variety of other specialized editing features which we cover in our reviews of the top demoware tools: Adobe Captivate and Techsmith Camtasia Studio.
Demoware Deployment/Publishing
As you might guess from our long discussion of the various compression methods and codecs in the first part of the review, the number and range of options for output can be quite wide among the demoware tools. However, some tools like Adobe Captivate and MadCap Mimic have taken a mean and lean approach to output. Adobe Captivate outputs to file, Breeze or FTP server, Word, eMail or into a standalone executable for Linux, Mac or Windows - all of these options as long as you choose black for the color .... uh Flash for the filetype(but 3 choices Flash 6, 7, or 8 player compatible but not the latest Flash 9). No AVI, QuickTime, Windows MetaFile, - third party tools can do the conversion. Size of our Hearts test demo - 660KB .SWF for Flash Player 8.
MadCap Mimic takes the same approach with less target candidates - just disk or FTP server. But output can be to Flash .SWF (6.238 MBs for our hearts test demo) or to the proprietary MadCap video format(they provide a free player - its 690KB for the hearts test demo).
In contrast, Camtasia Studio gives a wide range of output targets and a broad choice of video filetypes as well. In our first publishing, we used AVI file format to disk using Techsmith's own codec and the hearts demo ended up 1.44MBs in file size. We then switched to Web output using Flash and the hearts demo size turned up as 630KB for the .SWF file and 860KB with all the HTML, JavaScript, CSS and XML files. But Techsmith offers the best choice of output options and video filetypes of all the demoware tools:
Output options: Disk, CD, Web, eMail, Server
File formats: Flash, Windows Metafile, Apple QuickTime, AVI, MP3 audio only, Real Player, Camtasia Realplayer, iPod/iTunes, and GIF Animation format. For each format there are video and audio compression options plus a variety of specialized delivery settings.
In sum, Camtasia Studio has one of the best set of publishing options among all the demoware programs. And to add to that there is step by step Help using a Publishing wizard and special help links.
An output option that I paid close attention to was the ability to create a standalone executable and on a variety of OS platforms - this is the reverse of the video capture problem confronting most demoware tools. Adobe Captivate, Qarbon Viewlet Builder (especially the free version 4 which runs in Linux, Mac, Solaris and Windows), and Tanida DemoBuilder all can create Linux, Mac and Windows executables.Also, if a file is output in .SWF format, there are several free utilities that will convert the file into an executable for Linux, Mac and Windows.
Another output option that may be of interest to users, is the ability to out put slides or frames in image format - JPG, BMP, or GIF. This can be very useful in creating written documentation from the demoware. In fact Adobe Captivate, Flashdemo Tanida DemoBuilder, and Turbodemo also output to Windows Word files - again making written documentation from demoware easier to do.
Summary
If you have followed our review in all its detail, it is obvious that Adobe Captivate 2 at $599 consistently has the broadest and most versatile features: dual capture modes, most formatting and programming options, broad range of target outputs. Captivate falls down in three areas - it only runs in Windows, it only outputs Flash file formats, and it does not allow complete editing of video captures. But on the other hand we have not mentioned some of special features like text animations, the ability to do complex programming through JavaScript, a Visual Branching view for creating complex scenarios and simulations, plus tight integration with eLearning software like Questionmark Perception, Adobe Authorware, and a variety of top end LMS tools. So the first recommendation would be for Captivate especially if you are planning to do demoware with added quizzes, summaries and links to other Learning Management Systems.
On the medium price end, Camtasia Studio 4 at $299 stands out with top notch features behind its video captures including quizzes and surveys. Camtasia also has a much broader choice of video and animation file formats than any other demoware tool. Finally, some users already familiar with video editors like Ulead's Video Studio or Adobe's Premiere Pro or Elements, will find Camtasia easy to learn and get started in. Here is our detailed review.
However, as noted at the beginning there are unique features to MadCap Mimic with its comprehensive internationalizations, Qarbon Viewlet Builder with its free version 4(the latest version is 5.0), Tanida Demo Builder with its Word documentation output that can make these programs compelling demoware tools. Matching your specific needs to the demoware feature set will be worth your while.
Finally expect demoware tools to improve in 4 areas - capture on more platforms including mobile screens; ability to capture asynchronous events directly from GUI redraws; more smart auto-insertion of captioning and highlights on objects as more GUI resources are recognized by demoware tools, and more wizard based design of GUI learning sessions as demoware picks up where PowerPoint and presentation programs left off.
In sum, demoware tools are actually quite powerful and can build up top notch presentations, quick documentation handouts, identify the context around misbehaving programs as well as producing product demos and advanced training sessions. See here for how we used Camtasia Studio to produce an image slideshow for a camera club competition. Yep demoware is that flexible.
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