Record/Capture HD Screencasts Online (Screen Recording Tools)

Screencasts can be very useful to prepare a tutorial or to explain something to the not-so savvy client. But many people think that creating screencasts is a time consuming and complicated process, which is not really so. Ever wanted to create screencasts online, without using any software? Yes, you do not need any software to do this task and we can use a web app for this purpose. We’ll be taking a look at two useful tools for online screen recording.

Record Screencasts Online Using Screenr

Screenr is a free web based screen recording tool that can capture computer screen using any web browser. All you need is Java runtime environment installed. Without Java, this tool won’t work.

There is no complications involved using this tool. Screenr’s interface is as simple as it can be, you can record screencasts upto 5 minutes and can also add voice to your video.

From the homepage, click on “Launch Screen Recorder Now”. After the video is recorded, press Alt+D to stop the video and then you will be able to see a preview of the video. Once satisfied with the result, you can Sign in and publish the video. Video created using this method is of HD (720p) quality. The video can then be downloaded as MP4 file or can be published to YouTube. If you don’t want to choose any of these options, then you can also just get the embed code to embed this video to your site.

There are also social networking icons to share this video on Twitter or Facebook. Screenr is a full fledged tool, with only two limitations – records video of only 5 minutes and no option to add annotations in the video.

Create Screencasts Online Using Screencast-O-Matic

Here’s another tool that does the same task. Screencast-O-Matic is yet another useful tool to help you record High Definition (HD) Screencast online, without using any software. This is a one-click recording solution using your browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Yes, its compatible with all three OS and all browsers. Like screenr, you will need to have Java installed.

To record screencasts, from the homepage, click on “Start Recording” button. Resize the frame which suits you and then press the “red” button to start recording. When done, press Alt+P to pause the recording. This app also supports Microphone, that means you can record videos with voice narration.

What sets this apart is its 15 minutes long video recording, whereas Screenr offers just 5 minutes of recording. The support for capturing through web camera is also a plus point.

Screencast-O-Matic Features
Adjust screen size (frame)
15 Minutes of recording
Free video hosting
Record web camera
Export to MP4, AVI, FLV movie
Upload to YouTube directly

After the video is published, you have three options: Upload it to screencast-o-matic, upload to YouTube or Save as Video file (MP4, AVI or FLV). This web tool seems to be feature rich and eliminates the need of using any software (like Camtasia) for this purpose. (There’s also a Pro version of Screencast-O-Matic which costs $12 per year and offers more features, compared to free version)

The plus points of online screencasting tool is that you do not need to install any software, nor you need to shell out any bucks to purchase application. Screencast are also known as screen capture.