Problems. I was really hoping it would work well, as I'm a technology teacher and this would be perfect. It seems to have installed OK, runs OK, even records and stops as expected. Nice... until you try to play the resulting file. Media Player pops up "Unspecified Error.." no matter what kind of file I try to save the tests as.

Hope there is a solution...

Nice support from the vendor who just replied to my email question#25:
http://www.softdivshareware.com/recordzilla-enable-stereo-mix.html

Thnx GAOTD & SoftDiv!

Does anyone know if you can add text to the output file?

It installed fine on Windows Vista 64 bit. Tested it on an online video and recorded the video fine. However,I realized the playback had no sound. I went to the settings on the program and under "audio" tab I noticed it was blank. I clicked the dropdown and nothing showed. It did not recognize my audio device and the record audio form is blank as well.So a no-go for me. Although it seemed like a nice program,it needs to get bugs fixed. Uninstalling. Bummer

Everything worked as stated. Neat little program to record and then demonstrate how-to-instructions on a PC. My one problem was the recording process was eating up 97% of my CPU. So when I would record my cursor opening a program, the program took forever to open.

Starting on Windows 7-64 bit AFTER registration was quoted as complete, msgbox "Run-time error ’13′:
Type mismatch" appears and application starts is cancelled. Not a 64-bit problem as XP-compatibility mode or installation on system running Windows XP itself displays same error.
Note that first start worked (not registered yet) and main window was displayed - as soon as registration is done, retsrat fails with given message.
Any solution?

Just installed Recordzilla on Vista Home Premium/64 bit: the video seems ok but the audio is static on various players and saved formats ?!?
Any thoughts from the Recordzilla techies? Based on other comments I'm not the only one with this issue.

Thnx,
Dan

Did anyone have any success getting Recordzilla to run on Vista 64 bit?
Thnx,
Dan

Too buggy to use, terrible install. There are so many screen capture utilities, I haven't tried very many. Most have performance issues, audio synchronization issues, quality issues, etc. People have mentioned several, I've tried BSR Screen Recorder. Even the free version of Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 comes with a decent capture utility and codec. Other software can use the capture codec. It doesn't have any problems with hardware-accelerated video. Although it can supposedly capture up to 60 FPS, I find 20 FPS is more usually the actual capture rate, and 15 FPS is best if you don't want dropped frames. The free version of Expression Encoder will only encode to VC-1 WMV, there's a setting just for screen captures. As with most codecs, there are size limits. It can edit but lacks annotation, you can add captions with free tools like URUWorks Subtitle Workshop and embed them in the WMV (use the Script Commands panel in Expression Encoder). WMP will scale the image down to accomodate the captions, however.

Stepok Image Lab has the free SCRec SCREEN2EXE. They have their own SSCV2 codec which they claim produces exceptionally small files. However, it works by encoding text or images, it doesn't do well with mixed text and images. Most people also wouldn't trust an executable for a demo.

Windows 7 has the Problem Steps Recorder, which isn't bad for producing extremely small files (zipped MHTML). It would be OK for showing your relatives how to do things, but a company wouldn't want to use a problem reporting format.

For recording your computer's audio, it helps if your sound drivers support Stereo Mix. On Vista and higher, bring up the Recording Devices panel of your Sound properties. Right-click, and make sure "Show Disabled Devices" is selected. If you have a disabled Stereo Mix, select it, select Properties, and at the bottom of the General panel, select "Use this device (enable)".

Keep getting Access Denied errors of various kinds when trying to install on Win 7 machine. Gave up.

I own a free computer support forum. Making tutorial videos is often a must. I was very disappointed in the lack of features with this software. This is especially true since it is supposed to be the paid version. I will stick with BB Express free as noted by ashraf above. The only problem with the free version of BB Express is the inability to add pop-up messages to the video. These features are available in the paid version however. Nevertheless, if you upload your videos to youtube as I do, you can add the pop-ups there.

How can you view the recorded screen? None of the video player or pdf program can open the recorded window screen.

For those who aren't capturing any sound, check out the FAQ page:

"10. There is no audio on the recorded video?
Please make sure that you have check the "Record Audio" under the Audio Settings. Check that if you have selected the right audio device and the source. For example;

If you are capturing the sound from internet streaming, CDs, sound from player like RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, QuickTime, and what you hear from the speakers. Look for "Stereo Mix, Stereo, Loopback, Wave, Wave Out Mix, Record Master or All".

For sound capturing from the external devices like radio, tapes, CDs, TV, telephone, and etc. Look for "Line-In".

For direct sound capture from mic, look for "Mic".

(Please note that the source name might be varies according to what sound cards you have)

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users please refer to this tutorial: http://www.softdivshareware.com/recordzilla-enable-stereo-mix.html."


FAQs: http://www.softdivshareware.com/recordzilla-screen-recorder-faq.html

Tutorials: http://www.softdivshareware.com/recordzilla-screen-recorder-tutorials.html


#22, Andrew: Your comment looks like it refers to yesterday's GotD: Clone Terminator . . .

Have a tree outline view of the files, with the ability to select non-sequential files in order to delete. Additionally, have a button that allows 'select all duplicates.' Thanks! This is very fast at finding duplicates, much appreciated.

What a cool tip zZz #10
Thanks for the present!!!


Wiz :0)

Seemed to install ok in Win7x64 and Vista-32bit, BUT neither one seems able to record from the speakers. Decent video recording from a webinar, for example, but NO SOUND! I guess I could put the computer in an empty room and leave the speakers on and have the microphone record, but there's bound to be background noise, echos, and even some lag introduced between the movement of lips and the sound. Odd lapse. I'm eager to use this to record/narrate my own PowerPoint presentations, however. Last point, and i'll submit it as a suggestion, the software does not seem able to recognize when the video has ended, so it keeps recording a stopped image and no sound until I manually terminate the recording! Thanks for the software. I'm sure it will be useful.

#7: "*Video recording not the worst but mpeg 4 would be nice..."

For mp4 try Xvid [or DivX]. For AVC mp4 try one of the VFW versions of X264. You can pick up Xvid &/or X264 via videohelp.com. For DivX see the DivX site -- they have free & payware.

Hi,

I have been searching for a free and fairly comprehensive tool to grab/record and edit streaming video+sound for educational or documentary presentations without any hassle about settings and having to rewire half my (modest) system or being confronted with overall illogical behaviour of software.

From reading all the above (upto Do Do Re #14) I gather that today's giveaway will be of no use to me :-(
Maybe I should tryout zZz's suggestions...

Anyway, I've appreciated GAOTD's offers for some two years now. Be they usefull for me or not, it lestens the burden of searching interminably for really good freebies. For that alone one should visit this site on a daily basis. So, thanks!.. Also for suggestions on this streaming-issue from any visitors here.

Best wishes for Christmass and New Year to all!

Patrick.

Video capture demands fast, efficient coding to get audio/video streams written to disk without dropped frames or problems with audio sync etc... VB [Visual Basic] is not up to the task, & unfortunately that's what Recordzilla uses. It also installs/uses the Windows Media Component setup [wmfdist.exe - 9/4/2003], at the same time dropping GdiPlus.dll in Windows' system folder -- with several versions available GdiPlus.dll should either be in the app's folder, or in Windows \ WinSxS, & not in the system folder where it becomes the default for every app that uses it. Recordzilla uses an older version of the Lame mp3 encoder, lame_enc.dll. And per the Recordzilla FAQ, you may have to disable video acceleration to use it. IMHO there are just too many better alternatives to bother with it... The old, free Windows Media Encoder 9 does screen capture [Google/Bing as it's no longer offered/supported by Microsoft]; you can download & install the Unreal "Screen Capture DirectShow source filter" http://goo.gl/fz73z & then you can use it with most video capture apps, including VirtualDub; here is a blog post about using the VH Screen Capture Driver with VirtualDub http://goo.gl/MTbKV , or just use the screen capture driver built into VirtualDub itself [instructions included in the program's help]; the free CamStudio's listed along with several other apps on videohelp.com's "Screen capture/Screenshots" page http://goo.gl/AYpLu ; search GOTD as several screen capture apps have been featured... prior GOTD offers include Ashampoo Snap -- besides the big sales Ashampoo's been running, a few weeks after installing their Snap 4 trial I got e-mails offering it for just less than $8, & it's a nice app. Bear in mind that capturing video from your screen or a video feed requires a fast codec that may or may not be included with capture software.

Recordzilla'a program folder holds 55 files, 2 folders, & takes up ~24 MB. Setup includes 16 files that *may* be installed to Windows' system folder [it does behave by not replacing files that are already there, so you may get less]. In XP Pro InstallWatch Pro recorded: "4908 registry entries added", but that includes the wmfdist.exe install.

What you want to record, & what you want to record it to or for determines to a big extent the software you'll use. If you're recording a tutorial, fps [Frames Per Second] isn't critical (meaning most apps will work), but you might want to look for additional features that can make it easier to do a better job -- here Camtasia is well known http://goo.gl/5m52M , & you can sometimes find older versions offered free. For recording gameplay, Fraps is popular http://goo.gl/8jtis . For capturing on-line &/or other types of video it's often best to start with what you want your final video to be, then consider your source video & work backwards... In a nutshell if your source isn't great quality, you want to try and record directly to the final format you're after -- every conversion or transcode takes it's toll, & if you start with poorer quality, there just isn't enough quality there to spare. You likely want to focus on finding a capture app (or app & driver combo) that can save your captured video directly to the desired format, with or without a separately installed codec for that format. For example you might use encoding apps from Real, DivX, or Windows Media Encoder 9 etc. for screen capture, because even when/if they're not ideal, if they can be made to work they do save video in their respective formats natively. OTOH if you've got enough original quality to make it through conversion -- And you don't mind the extra time/effort -- you'll almost always get higher quality results using a 2 step process, capturing as much data as possible 1st, then [after any optional editing] encode to your final format. Higher quality encoding, especially to something like the popular H.264, takes time. The problem with that approach is the initial capture codec. For regular video you can use mjpeg [usually pay-ware] or HUFFYUV [free], but many of them can start to fall down at higher resolutions, & you also have to find something that works with your editing software [if you plan on editing] & your final encoder. If for example you find one of the Quicktime formats or DivX ideal, then you have to find a capture app that'll capture to the Quicktime format or DivX. Note that while Windows itself includes "(Uncompressed RGB/YCbCr)", it's not the highest quality that name might imply -- it's not that uncommon for someone to try it & put up with much less quality thinking they can't possibly do better... you can.

Run-time error '13':
Type mismatch

i'm getting this error when i try to run.

Well the output image quality of this tool is quite POOR in my view, especially when compared to the Freeware BB FlashBack Express:

h t t p://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/BBFlashBackExpress.aspx



Another great FREE Alternative worth having a look at, which does not require any installation or download in your PC, is this:


http://www.screenjelly.com/


As you can see this nice free online tool records your screen activity with your voice, allowing you to spread it via Twitter, Facebook or by email.

Great for Social Network campaigns.


Cheers from Italy!!

Installed fine but when I played back a recording, the screen was upside down. Then the computer froze and I had to do a manual reboot. When the computer restarted I lost my customized taskbar - it reverted back to the standard green Start and blue taskbar. Uninstalled.

Audio device is not blank.I can choise:Intel audio or Virtual device.So.for Xp work excelent.

The Audio Device drop-down-selection is blank.

I'm using 64bit Windows 7 and the sound works fine with everything else - but this won't record any.

Shame - it looked like a good program.

If you want to fix on microphone,you must to click on :Volume Control.

For record sound,it is usefull to make setting(click on 3.Audio>Record Audio....:to put to record from microphone if you want to record from microphone,Line in if you want to record from tv tuner(tv or radio).If you save in Swf ,it is more usefull to use VLC media player to play what you record.Gom Player is not good for this.Why?.I don't know.

This will do for moderate video recordings, as Ashraf says it does have a few bugs/glitches mostly but for real pro video creation I stick with Camtasia Studio V6 or new v7+ as it is undoubtably & maybe even arguably the most professional video recorder / editor of it's kind. If all You want to do is record Your screen desktop actions with sound most of the video recorders available will do, some even have free versions:

Screen Steps

Screen Recorder Buddy

ScreenIT

VidToAVI

Desktop Video Recorder

RecADeskTop

so... You get what I am saying, Screen Steps has step recording that I really like but I usually just wanna record tutorials with sound, I have been working on my site ( see my website link ) to incorporate these recorded videos and screen caps into the "worlds" i create there, enjoy and happy holidays.

zZz~"Avid PC Enthusiast Since 1982..."

TIP:

1> Press PRT SCR / Sys Rq Key to CAPTURE Your screen, then
2> right click desktop create .bmp file or if You have it there .jpg
3> then open that newly created picture file immediately w/ "PAINT",
4> Use "PAINT's" Paste Button To paste the captured image into the file buffer, then
5> Save it to whatever format You wish, and to desktop if You wish.

I got in the habit of doing the above using what windows provides, and it cut down on system resources, time, efforts and all the mumbo-jumbo of capturing what I wanted & saving it fast, quick & easy.

Hope this helps just one long time or new pc enthusiast, that will be present enough for the year.

thanks & enjoy!

zZz

does nor record sound (hdmi)
crashes on windows 7 64b

A very simple and clean interface.
Just what I was looking for as I need to make some
instructional vids for friends and family members.
I cannot at this time include audio, however a typed script
works quite well. It is better to have all scripts prepared in advance as the recorder (when viewed) is slower than my typing.
Thumbs up from me. Thanks GOTD, this is the best offering since
Win Utilities, for me.

PS: the output was very clear and I had no problem converting
from avi to flv.

*Video recording not the worst but mpeg 4 would be nice.
*Somehow no options to choose speaker with recording audio - and bad quality from microphone on myb 64 bit.
*No hot key to hit record(only to stop and pause)
Have to try something else as this one needs still more work to be good and worth any money. Any recomendations?

Is very good.Have a good quality.Record sound.BBFlash in free version work only one day.Thank.Good job.

i want to recorded video as mp4 formats but it could not done well. so i search a perfectly screen recorder in google and i get one called PCHand Screen Recorder. it can be a long time to record desktop activity and audio and create the video in avi, MP4, WMV, MPG, FLV, SWF file. go pchand software to free download.

Installed ok on XP SP3, almost…

a) Does not respect your choice in “Start menu” folder. It creates its own anyway.

b) I have no “C” drive. It’s “E". Maybe that’s why I saw the “Error: path not found", when trying to record a window, before the app promptly closed. After choosing a custom output folder it did work.

Video .avi quality was ok, almost comparable to the free “Cam Studio", with the same (default) compressor.

One advantage over (my version of) Cam Studio is that in RecordZilla you can very easily choose a window as the region to record.

It did record sound, but my system has some virtual? sound output/capturing? device installed by another app. That's the device RecordZilla correctly identified and recorded with no problem.

Recordzilla lacks a little Panache and some basic features. It is quite simple to use but basic. For example, you have to select a region whilst the window is open, it should either hide itself whilst you select or wait until you hit the record.

The main window has to be open to record, even for using the hot keys which makes the hot key function a bit pointless. The hot keys should work as they would with most systems. The ability to define the number of seconds countdown is nice but should really be an enhancement to the hotkey functionality (to move cursors to correct location etc) instead of a necessity (to close windows and get the screen in the position you want it in for recording).

There seem to be a number of bugs, including the redraw of the window. It wouldn't record audio streams playing with on screen video, not sure if that is just a missing feature or a bug, the sound was coming from the speakers and the audio settings set correctly for the card.

I think based on the features this won't be a keeper for me

This sounds like a very useful piece of software. I've transferred some old 8mm films to DVD, but it looks like I'll be able to add some explanations to them using this. Here's hoping.

BUT, I installed the package and the software shows the option of purchasing it. No where is there a place to register, as far as I can tell. Is it registered anyway? Any help?

--Michael

The Good
* Allows users to save recorded video as AVI, WMV, SWF, and FLV formats.
* Allows users to record whole screen, a specific window, or a custom region.
* Can record audio from microphone or speakers.
* Allows users to select if they want to include the mouse cursor in videos or not.
* Has the ability to input date and timestamps on videos.
* Gives users the ability to set X second(s) countdown timer before the actual recording begins.
* Can turn off screensavers and hardware acceleration while recording.
* Output videos can be resized to a specific resolution or left at the recording region resolution.
* Has the ability to automatically save videos using a naming scheme.
* Has the ability to schedule recordings.

The Bad
* Not 100% bug free:
o Users cannot click inside the recording region if "Show Selected Area" or "Show Recording Area during Recording" options are enabled.
o Does not properly record sound from speakers (at least not on my computer).
o ...and more.
* Sometimes the popup window to resume/stop/discard video recording shows up behind other open windows.
* No feature to highlight mouse cursor and mouse clicks.
* No video editing/modification features.

Free Alternatives
BB Flashback Express

For final verdict, recommendations, and full review please click here.