I regularly have to make screen/video captures in the course of my day, and a service that I currently use for this is Jing. My best case use for this is to create a video tutorial or a detailed screen grab for a client – need to see how to create a new admin for a Facebook Page? No problem, I can whip up a quick 30 second video showing my client exactly how to do that. The end use for an application like this is great – I’m happy, and more importantly my client is happy. Of course having the ability to create a very nice video to embed on a website is also a nice plus!

So, I recently became aware of another service that also offers up the ability to do a video capture, Screenr, and as I like to do, this became a great opportunity to review my own work flow process.

Here is a quick embed of a Screenr video I just posted.

Screenr Embed Code:

As I mention in the video, a few things that I like about Screenr:

  • Super easy to use. Size up your recording window and hit the RED record button and you are on your way.
  • No download required.
  • Very easy to embed – they also have a great feature which allows you to re-size your video which makes embedding that much easier!
  • Very integrated into the social scene allowing your video a much better opportunity to go viral. I like this feature a great deal as it relies on a growing community.

Downsides:

  • There currently is not an ability to publish private videos. This was a big limitation for me.
  • I’d like the ability to register directly on the site rather than having to connect with one of my existing profiles. I’m sure these are good people but I’d just as soon have the ability to wall off this service from the rest of my existing profiles.

Big Takeaway – this service is great. If they can solve my first downside I’d probably use them regularly for my video screencasts.

As fate would have it, today I also received a notice from Jing that my annual subscription to the pro level was due today.

Video Embed Code (without re-sizing to fit my blog style):

And here is a screen capture with Jing. I made some annotations to give you a sense of some of the tools you can use with Jing. I also re-sized this image straight from the embed code.

Overall I like Jing a great deal. A few of the things I like:

  • The product is very stable – TechSmith has been in business for a while and this product in particular has had plenty of time to mature and to evolve.
  • Very easy to use.
  • The screen captures are great.
  • With the “Pro” level you are afforded some great add-ons.
  • Offers the ability to provide private videos and images – an absolute must if you need to share information with a client.
  • Offers up very comprehensive documentation.

Downsides:

  • Embedding is a bit cumbersome, even more so if you need to re-size your images/screen.
  • The documentation is thorough but if you really want to excel with this product you need to spend a little time with it (I don’t think that is a bad thing, but in comparison to Screenr, Jing requires a little more brain power to make work).
  • No built in community aspect, although like Screenr, they do offer up the capacity to comment on each piece of media should you not want to embed it.

Big Takeaway – this is also a great service. With the ability to make your media private, I’d say Jing is a must. Also, in case you were wondering, yes, I did re-up with Jing today.

Closing thoughts: I’ll continue to play with Screenr, and I think there video embeds look nicer so certainly for my blog I’ll continue to use this service, but when it comes to client work where privacy is a must Jing will remain my go to service.

Also I do think it is interesting to see how these services have evolved, with Jing being a little more established in this space their service has a few more steps involved, some of which provide very discernable benefits, but as the new kid on the blog, Screenr has taken a decidedly “social” approach as a way to differentiate their service in a very competitive environment.

Play around with both services, and also don’t forget to hit play on both of this videos to get a sense of the picture quality. Truthfully I think both videos look very nice in terms of picture quality and they also look great in full screen. Depending on your needs I’m sure you will be happy with either of these companies when it comes to video captures, and yes, both services offer up a free version, but Jing does have a pro version as well.

A very nice hat tip to Freelance Folder for exposing me to Screenr!

Update: Jing has recently discontinued their “Pro” level option with this product and instead they are pushing users towards an alternate service called Snagit which offers much of what Jing offered and then some. I understand the free version of Jing is still available but I’ve been very happy with Snagit.