Free Expression screen video capture software from Microsoft

I have tested various screen capture products in the past, always looking for the free version. It's a request I often get where an academic requires some form of screen capture in order to incorporate a vodcast as part of their repertoire of teaching materials for the VLE,  a virtual learning environment or simply as a video tutorial. 

I have used Adobe Captivate, TechSmith Camtasia Studio (very good) but these are all pay versions. What about free ones? There are those in various guises, some very basic like CamStudio which works well, however, as a user you have to know your video codecs to get the best out of most, and other ones are typically locked down with limitations. One of the better free versions I have come across is kindly provided by Microsoft, called 'Expression 4'.

N.B. those of you running to grab the free software, ensure you go to this download page (avoid the trial versions unless you want the pro version trials...). Please check the system requirements before installing. During installation the free version may ask you for a key, just click past that without entering anything.  For Windows 7 PCs, this should work as above, however 

Windows XP users 'may also' be promoted to install the .NET Framework 4 in addition to expression (a lengthy task).  Ensure that the .NET install file is renamed to include .exe at the end to ensure it runs.  .NET takes  a while to install, so leave plenty of time. Then reinstall Expression 

Capture interface

Personally I think Microsoft have been very generous, it comes in two parts, the screen capture encoder allows audio and video to be captured simultaneously (and even allows you to choose which microphones or audio output you require within the settings menu - shown below). The editor also provides some very useful  options with the ability to output in a range of formats (I would recommend leaving it as default, which is WMV format - make a note of where you are saving your files!) 

The main limitation for the free version appears to be the 10min capture limit.  Personally I don't think that is bad at all, as it gives most people time to take a breath and record a new section, each segment can be assembled together later.  The Capture interface provides: microphone on/off, main volume control, webcam (if you have one), settings, your previous capture list, and of course the record (as shown above).  When selecting the record option you are presented with an area to capture, either full screen or custom.

Choose the audio you want to capture!

I tend to encourage users to adopt PowerPoint 2010 for it's excellent tools (familiarity) and providing an all round lecture experience for their students outside of the classroom, it's also an approach being used to good effect in distance learning projects such as the Hydrographic Academy. Video compatibility if often an issue, fortunately, Expression 4 (free version) outputs in WMV, which allows them to be embedded straight into a slide with ease. WMV is also rather good for YouTube uploads too ;) 
Fortunately  the encoder also works on Windows XP (at the time of writing this post) However - I'm not sure how good it will fair on older systems? ...You may wish to try it and see...

To add to this arsenal of tools, I must not forget the excellent free Windows Live Movie Maker (Windows 7 and greater), which all adds up to some pretty powerful tools for editing an creating professional teaching and learning videos. Output your screen videos from Expression as WMV, you can then easily drop them straight into Movie Maker timeline, add titles, streamline and then upload straight to your YouTube. Of course it also has options to create stand alone WMV or even produce your own DVD if you want to go the whole hog.  

Happy editing :)

Free converter suite for video and stills

Looking for a decent video, sound or still image file converter?

I have been experimenting with a completely free piece of software for the last few months, that actually does a reasonable job of converting (also batch conversions) most video file formats to popular mobile and PC versions. Its called FreeStudio, but why is it free? According to the website they make their money out of advertising from an installation of a navigation bar that appears in your web browsers... However I will point out that it is possible to deselect the install of this web bar in the early stages, and would recommend doing so. When you see the option to install this web bar, ensure you have unchecked from the bottom up, none of them should be selected. If you do forget, it is possible to un-check it from showing in the 'settings' area of your browser.

Ok, that bit out of the way... The software is pretty comprehensive and there is even a screen capture software (currently without sound) that does a very good job. Most of the video converting areas are geared up to converting from DVD to video file formats, (you can only do this with DVD's you have permission to copy, of course)

The 'Mobiles' area allows conversion from just about any file format to a format specific to that device. Batches of files can also be converted to a reasonable MP4 video format using for example, the 'video to Android' and selecting a resolution that suited my needs. The options for quality of rendering: economy, standard or high are available. Standard is pretty good for most needs, if you are using a small screen economy is probably good enough for most. So far I can say outputs work great on my HTC android phone using standard quality setting.

There is nothing strictly for any video to PC use, although I actually found the MP4s from the mobile conversions worked well on PCs. I think the trick is to use the mobile converters and select an output resolution that is closest to your needs on the PC.

It's certainly worth looking through all the various options available, as the programmers have made a big effort to keep the interfaces simple and easy to use.

Yes you can capture some video streams from the web...What I will remind users is that capturing media from the web without the correct permissions from the original authors is most likely in breach of copyright (on many levels - hosting company, creators and owners). Ensure that there is some creative commons licence (or similar) associated with its use. The commonly used version is attribution-non commercial (which is fine for educational use). Avoid Share-alike, unless you wish to distribute your work with the same licence (it's a requirement for using this creative commons agreement I'm afraid). For all other materials, assume that you cannot use it to be on the safe side. The other option is to contact the owner and ask...

Oh and there is even some interesting 3D converters they are developing, but needs the traditional glasses for it to work... ;)

A big thank you to Freestudio for an excellent set of resources. I hope to see many more developments in the future!