Camtasia Studio + Camtasia for Mac = Cool on iPad
Posted on Monday July 26, 2010 by Betsy Weber
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I may have a new addiction. I'm pretty smitten with my iPad. I even bought a new purse that the iPad would fit in so I can carry it around with me all the time. :-) Yes, I have a weakness for gadgets.
One of the reasons I got the iPad was so I could watch and show Camtasia videos on it - the larger 9.7 inch screen is perfect for viewing screencasts. I've heard from several people wonderfing if you can view Camtasia videos on the iPad and how to do it. Well, the good news is that is it possible to play Camtasia Studio, Camtasia for Mac and Jing screencasts on the iPad! There are some tricks. Mike Curtis, an Information Developer at TechSmith has created a screencast that will show you how to successfully create a screencast for your iPad.
Check out the 4 minute screencast below. Mike will walk you through recording dimensions, file formats, codecs, settings and more.
There is also a help topic here that deals with a range of mobile issues. It also explaines how to get from Camtasia for Mac to the iPad.
And, in case you're wondering, Jing Pro MP4 videos will play on the iPad. We recommend you use 1024×768 (hold control key for Jing to snap to the dimension). Jing videos will not play if they exceed the number of pixels in 1280 × 720. Basically, if the video does not work, you will need to make it smaller.
Once you create your videos, you'll need to load your videos onto the iPad. First, you need iTunes. Then you need to sync your iPad with iTunes. Once the iPad is connected to your computer, use the Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and iTunes U panes to select which videos to sync. There is a more detailed tutorial here (look for the sections on Syncing and Syncing Videos). This can be a lot of work. If you don't want to do that, Screencast.com is a good option. You can enable the download link if you want people to have the native viewing experience.
And, if you decide you want to make lots of videos for your iPad. Save your production settings up as a Preset - that way you set it up just once and re-use the settings over and over. Here's how you set one up.
Anyone making screencasts for the iPad? I'd love to see them! Have any tips to share?
Comments (6)
Just curious, wouldn't it be possible to merely drop your screencasts into Dropbox on your laptop or desktop computer and then play them right off the iPad once everything was synced up?
Posted by John Nash | July 27, 2010 5:54 PM
Posted on July 27, 2010 17:54
Hi John,
Yep you could run a video through iTunes too.
One thing I consider is if I'm putting the video on a blog like Besty did, what can I do to maximize the likelihood that a mobile viewer will be able to play the video? (And that it's decent quality for people viewing on a large, traditional monitor.)
For example, when I read Betsy's post on my iPhone, the video cannot play. I could have used settings and dimensions that would have worked on the iPhone, Android, iPad and traditional web viewing, but then I thought I'd maximize this one for the iPad.
One thing I like about this method and using Screencast.com embed code is that I can pop out a video and use the embed code and bypass any conversions or need to transfer actual files to others.
Ugh. Yeah, I wouldn't want to suggest this is the definitive solution. I'd be interested to hear how others might be trying to navigate the quickly changing rules of mobile viewing.
Mike Curtis, TechSmith
Posted by Mike Curtis, TechSmith | July 27, 2010 9:53 PM
Posted on July 27, 2010 21:53
Can you outline the process for a Windows env. please.
Posted by Daniel | August 5, 2010 4:44 PM
Posted on August 5, 2010 16:44
Hi Daniel,
Do you mean instead of the video a step-by-step print out of sorts?
Mike Curtis, TechSmith
Posted by Mike Curtis, TechSmith | August 9, 2010 7:01 AM
Posted on August 9, 2010 07:01
I was excited to see this screencast on how to produce for ipads... but I have tried now 4 times and every time I try to produce the video, camtesia crashes on me. Frustrating and I have no idea why and what to do about it!
Posted by Beth | September 1, 2010 8:46 AM
Posted on September 1, 2010 08:46
Is there a way of turning the camtasia video for ipad into an application to sell, or would that require a separate process altogether.
Also I have camtasia for windows so would like to know if it is possible to convert a video from camtasia windows into a workable video for the ipad?
Thanks
Posted by Pete | September 6, 2011 11:55 AM
Posted on September 6, 2011 11:55