I have just finished experimenting with Screenr and am so impressed by the quality of the service I wanted to pass along my recommendation in case anyone is interested in taking a look.

Screenr is a web-based screencast tool that enables you to quickly capture tutorials, demonstrations or other videos and have them processed and made available on the web. Having tried to use similar services in the past, I haven’t always had the best results – so going into my experiment with Screenr I was somewhat apprehensive about what to expect. However I can happily say that the service has completely blown away my lukewarm expectations and left me seriously impressed.

Not only is the service easy to set-up, easy to use, and quick to process – the quality of the output is extremely impressive. I’ve been messing around with screencasts using CamStudio for quite some time now and haven’t managed to get anywhere near the same quality – even with files that are upwards of several hundred megabytes. I’m not sure how Screenr does it behind the scenes exactly; what I do know is that it’s an incredible tool that I’ll be using far more of.

I should note that during the recording of this particular clip I hypothesised that the recordings take place via streaming through Screenr. I then continued on to wonder what affect latency might have on the quality of the recording. However having just completed the process from start to finish it’s clear to me that I was incorrect in my assumptions. Recordings appear to take place locally and are then uploaded to Screenr afterwards. This has the effect of really smooth flowing transitions that are really easy to watch.

Videos are limited to 5 minutes in length, and are processed in two formats – a web version and an HD iPhone/iPod version. Amazingly no client-side software installations are required to set things up – you’re merely prompted to allow the use of an applet.

Upon completion of the recording you are given the opportunity to distribute a link to the recording via Twitter (account creation is a snap since you can authenticate using your Twitter credentials), upload the clip to YouTube, download an awesome MP4 version of the clip, use an embed code snippet for use in 3rd party websites, as well as a link.

Truly, Screenr is an incredible piece of work, and I’m really looking forward to using it more in the near future. Awesome job ladies and gents!

CamStudio has served me well for the last several months (and dozens of videos), however the AVI files that are native to the application can be massive. For example a 10 minute recording at 85% quality yields a roughly 350 megabyte file. So when it comes time to upload these for sharing and distribution it can be literally hours before the videos are available and the process can be finished.

So I’ve begun to explore new ways of working in the hopes of coming up with a model that will be more conducive to rapid deployment of screencasts.

The following video clips outline my experiences with the current iteration. This is very much a work in progress – and as such the clips serve as much to document my own progress as they do to share my experiences with others. However the results seem promising, so I wanted to pass along my findings so far.

The Model

The model includes the following:

• Jing for recording of screencasts: http://www.jingproject.com/
• A self-hosted WordPress blog for hosting and delivery of files
• The SWFObj WordPress plugin for embedding of SWF format

According to the website, “Jing is free software that adds visuals to your coversations”. The program is available for both Mac and PC platforms (I recommend recordmydesktop for Linux) and is a really quick and easy way to capture and present your demonstrations or training in a dynamic way.

For free JING licenses the only available file format for recordings is SWF, or Adobe Shockwave. From what I experienced tonight this offers really nice quality for low-moving content (like images and text) while keeping the file size quite small. A 5 minute clip for is around 12 megabytes for example.

SWF not supported by YouTube, Blip.TV

The problem that’s introduced in use of SWF file formats, though, is where to store and deliver the screencasts. Despite YouTube’s support site indicating SWF files were supported, when I tried to actually upload one it failed during processing. At Blip.TV I didn’t even get that far; they wouldn’t even let me start the upload. So the prospect of using SWF immediately eliminates most of the big players in online video.

As a result I decided to look into hosting and delivering the files from my blog’s server. This required the introduction of a new plugin that could cope with SWF files – of which there seem to be several to choose from.

At the moment I’m gone with one called SWFObj WordPress plugin by OrangeSPLOTCH, though it’s likely I may experiment with others to determine the most effective solution.

New media players required for SWF Files

The other hurdle I’m facing in the use of SWF files is how best to share them. I am a firm believer in open source, open education, and making content and resources freely available for reuse and reinvention. As such I plan on including download links to the files alongside the embedded instances.

The problem once again, though, is in a relative lack of support for SWF files by most current media players. So in order to play these files people will need to download and install a new program.

Fortunately a quick search in Google for “open source swf player” reveals there seem to be many to choose from. I’ve yet to investigate this area fully, but for the moment the ones worth looking at are:

SWF & FLV Player for Mac: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/swfflvplayer.html
Gnash for Linux and PC: http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/

More investigation required
This brings us to the present, and the areas that still need investigating. It’s early days in this experiment and therefore too soon to come to any firm conclusions on whether this is a worthwhile change to make. In particular the perspectives of readers and viewers regarding the screencasts will be important to determine. Also in terms of reach and impact it may prove that circumventing YouTube and Blip.TV is unwise, and that I can make the greatest difference – and be of the most use – by exploring as many distribution channels as possible.

All these are questions I’m exploring and considering. If you have thoughts or perspectives on this matter I’m all ears! In the meantime the following clips will hopefully add a visual element to this discussion.

The clips are best viewed fullscreen. To do this, either click on the monitor in the lower-right hand corner of the video player or click on the download link.

Part One: Jing Overview, Installing SWFObj WP plugin, uploading SWF files

[swfobj src="http://techticker.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jing_wp_pt1.swf" align="none"]

Right-Click and Save-as to Download: http://techticker.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jing_wp_pt1.swf

Part Two: Embedding SWF files, SWFObj Settings, SWF Players

[swfobj src="http://techticker.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jing-wp-pt2.swf" align="none"]
Right-Click and Save-as to Download: http://techticker.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jing-wp-pt2.swf

Linden Labs, the folks who bring us SecondLife, have an amazing support library of videos available for download that cover a wide range of topics.  I only discovered them yesterday but have already watched nearly 20 of them.  They’ve cleared up so much confusion for me!

Anyway the post where I initially found the link was called “‘Inside the Lab’ Podcast, a Discussion on Education in Second Life“.  I’ve yet to read this yet, but that topic alone sounds worth a read.

More importantly the support resources are available via a few different means (see the above link for the full options).  Personally I prefer the podcast option, which is located via this link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=151557204

The link looks unusual if you’re not familiar with podcasting, but if you load it in your browser you’ll find you’re notified that the content will be loaded in iTunes and asked to confirm.

The content is appropriate for a range of experience levels – including brand new users.  I think it’s also a really nice example of what support possibilities exist when considering use of video tutorials.

Finally, if you’re considering building in SL but don’t know where to start, the tutorials point to an amazing in-world resource centre known as the Ivory Tower which depicts how the build tools can be used from the most simple block through highly intricate arrangements.

The in-world location of the Ivory Tower is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Natoma/208/171/26

Might be worth a field trip I think  I’ve already had a quick look and will definitely be heading back again soon.  Most likely later today in fact.