Introducing Jing: Video and Screenshot Capture for Mac User
I was somewhat to disappointed to go on SnagIt's download page and find out the application was not supported for Mac OS X. However, I didn't have to go far to find Jing, created by the same company that brought you SnagIt, Techsmith.
And even better, Jing is free.
Techsmith launched Jing as a project back in July 2007, and it's no secret they might come out with a premium version. Currently, Jing uses screencast.com to host files and provides the user with 2GB of storage and 2GB of transfer sound. After capturing an image or video, the user can:
1) add text, arrows, or highlighted selected areas
2) instantly grab html code and imbed the image or video to their site
3) upload the file to screencast.com, flickr, ftp, or the user hard drive
Jing doesn't offer the same user functionality as SnagIt, and they explain this reason in the QA section on their website:
"...the key difference is about workflow. Jing is designed to be fast-visual communication shared with others in a variety of locations. Capture. Annotate. Share."
I ran into just one issue when capturing a video of a video.
I was trying to capture short video clips from home movies, originally on vhs and transferred to DVD_RV, and show my mom how easily she can use the application.
Here was the problem: Jing does not record the sound of the video, rather uses the voice recorder to capture the user's voice. Cool feature, but not what we wanted.
After reading (skimming) through the Jing site, I found the solution: Soundflower.
Soundflower is a free open source application system extension that "allows applications to pass audio to other applications."
And after reading this (below), it all made sense to me:
"Soundflower creates an internal input and output channel; you can tell your system that you want your audio pointed at the internal output and your recording pointed at the Soundflower input. This creates a software loop inside your machine that points your system audio right to your recorder. This means that programs like Jing (which records the default system input) records your system audio.
The downside to this is that while your system audio is rerouted with Soundflower, you can't hear it from your speakers or headphones. That's where Soundflower comes in. It pulls off some trickery and allows you to hear what Jing is recording."
It took some getting used to and I've had multiple cups of coffee to keep me on edge, but I've done it. I have captured a short movie clip from a DVD_VR (with sound!), that had originally been recorded on a VHS Camcorder in 1987.
Technology has come so far.
Techsmith launched Jing as a project back in July 2007, and it's no secret they might come out with a premium version. Currently, Jing uses screencast.com to host files and provides the user with 2GB of storage and 2GB of transfer sound. After capturing an image or video, the user can:
1) add text, arrows, or highlighted selected areas
2) instantly grab html code and imbed the image or video to their site
3) upload the file to screencast.com, flickr, ftp, or the user hard drive
Jing doesn't offer the same user functionality as SnagIt, and they explain this reason in the QA section on their website:
"...the key difference is about workflow. Jing is designed to be fast-visual communication shared with others in a variety of locations. Capture. Annotate. Share."
I ran into just one issue when capturing a video of a video.
I was trying to capture short video clips from home movies, originally on vhs and transferred to DVD_RV, and show my mom how easily she can use the application.
Here was the problem: Jing does not record the sound of the video, rather uses the voice recorder to capture the user's voice. Cool feature, but not what we wanted.
After reading (skimming) through the Jing site, I found the solution: Soundflower.
Soundflower is a free open source application system extension that "allows applications to pass audio to other applications."
And after reading this (below), it all made sense to me:
"Soundflower creates an internal input and output channel; you can tell your system that you want your audio pointed at the internal output and your recording pointed at the Soundflower input. This creates a software loop inside your machine that points your system audio right to your recorder. This means that programs like Jing (which records the default system input) records your system audio.
The downside to this is that while your system audio is rerouted with Soundflower, you can't hear it from your speakers or headphones. That's where Soundflower comes in. It pulls off some trickery and allows you to hear what Jing is recording."
It took some getting used to and I've had multiple cups of coffee to keep me on edge, but I've done it. I have captured a short movie clip from a DVD_VR (with sound!), that had originally been recorded on a VHS Camcorder in 1987.
Technology has come so far.
