Creating lossless SWF Flash (and other) video

[Martin Wynne]

It's jolly pleased I am.

After years of swearing at Camtasia, cursing its flaky callout editor, and being infuriated by its dropping of lossless Flash output ( see: http://helpman.it-authoring.com/viewtop ... 016#p49016 ) I have now discovered screen recorder software which does everything I want -- BB Flashback Pro:

http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk

Exports include traditional lossless SWF Flash for crisp line graphics, which can include full interactive effects -- pause/restart on displaying a callout, buttons to open a URL in the browser or execute javascript on the page. (In Camtasia these are available only in HTML5 formats.) The pointer on a text callout is fully adjustable to point exactly to the item you want. The mouse cursor is recorded separately from the screen image and can be re-recorded over sections of the edited video or automatically smoothed between clicks. Inactive sections of the video can be automatically removed, so you can stop and think while recording without watching the clock.

The distributable standalone executable player has many more functions than the (now dropped) Camtasia player, includes the full interactive functions (apart from javascript of course), and can open downloaded files. This means you can include the player with your application install, and users can download the Flashback video files without the security restrictions when downloading exe files.

The user interface is a bit clunky in places, but there is a well-written user manual in proper English.

Apparently it has been around for about 10 years, so I'm mystified why I have only just discovered it and why as far as I can find it has never been mentioned on this forum. What's more it turns out to be a UK product made only a few miles from here, and costs quite a bit less than Camtasia.

There's a 30-day trial and an "Express" free version which excludes any editing functions.

I have no connection with Blueberry other than a very satisfied customer having paid the full price. I'm now happily making videos the way I have always wanted them. For someone who can fumble a mouse for England, the mouse smoothing alone is worth the asking price and saves hours of frame editing.

Martin.

[Marc]

Another great one is Demo Builder (http://www.demo-builder.com). And a few more are listed here: http://www.indoition.com/screencasting-tools-survey.htm

[Tim Green]

Hi Martin,

Thanks a lot for posting this, Blueberry sounds very interesting. The fact that they have a Delphi SDK and their bug reporting/screencast tool also look potentially useful.

[Martin Wynne]

Blueberry sounds very interesting.

Hi Tim,

They have also produced a case study about the development of Flashback: http://www.bbconsult.co.uk/Documents/BB ... -Study.pdf

It contains the usual marketing flannel, but is still interesting and not the sort of thing you normally find when trying new software.

Martin.

[Tim Green]

Hi Martin,

Nice... I've tested the Express version and find the UI also has a lot of very nice ideas that show that someone has really been thinking about what a professional use will actually need to produce good results. Lots of nice little touches. The only real problem is that Flash is becoming less and less relevant with the inexorable rise of mobile devices...

[Martin Wynne]

The only real problem is that Flash is becoming less and less relevant with the inexorable rise of mobile devices...

Hi Tim,

The name "Flashback" is misleading. The Pro version can export to all the usual formats including H264 and MP4 (I haven't tested them):

flashback_export.png

Here is their guide to the different formats, including the native FBR video format: http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/bbflashback ... rmats.aspx

The FBR(.fbr) file contains the entire video and all edits, callouts, audio, etc., in a single file. This is more convenient for later re-editing than in Camtasia for example where you have separate project and multiple media files. This also makes it easy to have FBR files available for user downloading to play in the distributable Micro Player. Downloaded FBR files can be opened in the player without the security restrictions on downloading exe files every time.

regards,

Martin.

[Tim Green]

Hi Martin,

I know it also produces other output formats, but the problem is that those don't support interactivity. What's missing in this space at the moment is an interactive format for demo-screencasts that will work without Flash...

[Martin Wynne]

Just to add that I sent an email to the MD of Blueberry and received a reply within 7 minutes. Amazing support.

This topic is beginning to read like an ad for FlashBack.

Martin.