New Screencasting Tool For OSX: Screencast

We mac screencasters are relatively limited in our options when it comes to screen recording applications. The only two worth the time of day, in my humble opinion, are iShowU and Snapz Pro. I ditched Snapz a good while back thanks to the instant rendering and extensive options available in iShowU, which I now use exclusively.

However, as of this week there is another contender - the aptly named Screencast from Araelium Group.

I just had a check of the demo, and it holds up pretty nicely. The interface is nice and pared down, and rather pretty to look at. The recordings come out looking great (especially in the screencasters’ favorite recording codec “Animation”), and have all of the usual QT output options. Of course system audio and mic recording are both options, too.

What makes it stand out for me (besides being a steal at $29) is the inclusion of three features missing in our other contenders:

1. The ability to show mouse clicks on screen with a little marker, which otherwise requires the use of either Mouseposé or OmniDazzle, adding to the apps you need to use in your screencasts
2. The ability to show keyboard shortcuts on screen, which is something you can only do with Mouseposeé at the moment as far as I’m aware
3. The inclusion of a very useful aspect ratio setting in the recording window selection. With this setting activated, I can scale the window to any size, and it will always remain within the aspect ratio parameters I have specified, which is priceless for anyone that wants a crisp, undistorted video, regardless of the different recording sizes you mix together

I haven’t committed to buying it yet, given that iShowU, Mouseposee and OmniDazzle work well for me, but I am definitely thinking about it. If you haven’t grabbed yourself a screencasting app for the mac yet, this one is definitely worth considering.

The only possible downside is that the video is rendered after the recording, as is the case with Snapz. This means that you will have at least a short wait ahead of you at the end of a recording, whereas IShowU somehow manages to render files out instantly, which rocks.

With that said, as the files are saved in a nifty little sidebar, this means that you can export them to multiple formats right from the app, which might save a bit of time heading over to Compressor or Quicktime Pro.

Screencast costs $29 and is available from Araelium’s website, where you can also download a free trial.