When I first started on my entrepreneurial journey I was advised to use some kind of screen capture software to record PowerPoint videos, the pros, and cons of each video software listed below are based on my own experience. 
After much research, I found free recording software called Cam Studio.
Cam studio seemed a good option to use as money was tight at the time. This was the first recording piece of software I ever used, with its very simple design.
Obviously they upgraded the software but it’s still not the best quality that I’ve come across but it’s free and you can record.
The sound quality was tinny and the video quality was not very clear and was also lagging but you can’t complain as it’s free software.
Pros and Cons Of Cam Studio
Pros
Free
Open Source
Easy To Use
No Recording Time Limit
Cons
Output Only AVI and SWF Format
Output Size Is Large
Contains Unwanted Programmes (when Installing)
Cost More CPU Resource
Supports Windows Only
Limited Editing Capabilities
Here is the link
After being limited with Cam Studio I then moved on to a piece of software called Debut
Which seemed like a good piece of software to start off with but it only had a 7 day trial. In that free trial you can record as many videos as you want but you’re still limited.
Debut was quite easy to follow and it records in 720 HD but it was a little bit fiddly as it was missing some important features. With the Debut software the interface was good and easy enough to follow but you have to download an additional programme called video pad to edit your videos which proved to be difficult to use.
Pros and Cons Of Debut
Pros
Easy To Use
Available For PC and Mac
Records in 720 HD
Can Stream To You Tube
Audio Better Than Cam Studio
Can Insert Captions
Cons
Needs Separate Editing Software
Lacks Integrated Editing Module
Takes Time to Render Videos
Videos Not the Best Quality
Minor Problems with Pixilation
Video Jumps in Parts
Here is the link
www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html
Price at the moment for pro edition $60 discounted to $39 for lifetime membership
After struggling with Debut’s editing software I needed to try something new and I discovered a software called OBS. Which offers many important features like real-time audio and video mixing, OBS has the facility to do chroma keying (green screen) and color correction.
The configuration of the software worked out to be difficult for me to use as there were a lot of features involved. As OBS progressed it got a bit more complicated to use, I felt like they shouldn’t have touched it because the quality was good anyway but they thought they could make things better.
It’s a bit like when Nokia tried to go from simple software to something a bit more complex it lost its status in the market, that’s why Samsung and Apple overtook Nokia who was the market leader at the time because they kept things simple, and that’s the same with OBS.
Pros and Cons of OBS
Pros
Free Open Software
Cross Platforms
Streams to Most Live Platforms
20+ Plugins That Enhance Functionalities
Allows You To Choose Video Quality
Cons
Too Many Features
Can’t Link an Audio File as a Source
Constantly Changing Features
Complicated to Use
Here is the link
I did try a software called Camtasia I didn’t really get on to well with it. Camtasia has a 30-day trial and after the trial, you get hounded to buy the product at a onetime fee of £241.43 and £48.24 for yearly maintenance. This software is a large file and will take up a lot of space on your hard drive causing your PC to slow.
You can upgrade this software for £96.48 if you don’t have maintenance but like OBS it has a lot of functionalities that confused me. There’s been too much going on with this software for me but it’s very popular software with a lot of online gurus but I wanted something to use that was very simple.
Pros and Cons of Camtasia
Pros
Can Use on PC or Mac
Built-in Video Editor
Professional Screencasting
Records in Full HD
No Lagging
Comes With Video Templates
Cons
Not Basic
Not Good at Green Screen
Limited Colour Correction
Too Many Features
Can Only Use on One Device at a Time
Once You Upgrade Your Files Can’t be transferred
On 30 Day Trial if a Video is longer than 2 Minutes it leaves a Watermark
Here is the link
www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html
The next piece of software I moved on to was Video Maker FX. I purchased this video software for $27 and it came with ready-made templates, being like powerpoint you can place words on the template with animation attached.
You can put music in the background but I found the problem with video FX was the fact that when you wanted to do a voice-over the rendering on The Voice and the video wasn’t always matching and in time.
The voice-over recording would fall behind and your video would be miles ahead so the words wouldn’t be matching up with the words on the screen so that’s why I started to use another piece of software.
Pros and Cons of Video Maker FX
Pros
Suitable for Windows and Mac
Ready-Made Templates
Very Simple to Use
Animations
Royalty-Free Audio Tracks
Excellent Graphics (35 topics and 240 animated slides)
Cons
Hard to Voice Over
Here is the Link
The last piece of video software I will talk about is called Xsplit and is the one I currently use today.
Xsplit is a gaming piece of software that records the highest quality videos that I’ve ever seen; I bought the broadcaster which is amazing it also comes with video editing software built-in.
You can edit the video afterward and you can have 2, 3, 4, or even 5 screens on record at the same time. The video quality is up to 4k recordability and it’s as simple as just pressing F10 to record and F10 to stop, video editing allows you to cut and slice out of the clip.
Xsplit is very simple to use they show tutorials that are really good they constantly update but they don’t change the layout that much which is good so they kept the Apple way of without going too much into changing the design.
If you want to go live you can live stream straight to YouTube or any social media platform. You can record Skype video calls and it records their voices as well as yours so you can do an interview and the quality of the video is amazing.
It also comes with V Cam so you can add any background so it looks like you could be anywhere in the world, you can use any picture or video from YouTube without the use of Green Screen.
Xsplit records up to 100 frames per second. It’s constantly updating to improve its performance; you can download this software to as many Windows devices as you like.
You can cut out part of your screen so people don’t see the time and date you have on a PowerPoint, It works well if you want to create a video and you don’t want to sit in front of the camera. If you want to record yourself talking the camera I would recommend would be a Logitech HD 1080p which costs about £80 on Amazon and it also comes with a built-in microphone.
Xsplit is not free but it’s worth it, once you purchase it that’s all you need but and there are no other costs.
There are 4 options to purchase.
3 Month License $24.95
12 Month License $59.95
36 Month License $149.95
Lifetime Access was $499 now $199
Pro and Cons of Xsplit
Pros
Amazing Drag and Drop Features
Easy Integration with Other Tools
Supports all File Formats
No Lagging
Simple to Use
No Monthly Fees
No Hidden Costs
Records in 4K
Constant Free Updates
Cons
Need 4GB of Memory
Needs Processor core i3 CPU
Here is the link
OH – In case you’re wondering why I suddenly wanted to learn/use video - it’s due to following the free training on this webinar https://www.l-g-m.net/2021
Because I’m now building my own online business. If you’re considering doing the same, I highly recommend watching the free training or consider getting a coach as I have.
Warmly
Steve Peters
This is a guest post from Steve Peters, if you would like to be considered for a guest post please contact me.
2 replies to "The Unofficial Insiders Guide to Using Video Recording Software"
Steve, seems like you have a logical path through the editors you found. I’m a little surprised you didn’t mention or start with Apple iMovie (or the video editor in Windows). I’m on a Mac so I started with iMovie, and eventually have use BlackMagic’s DaVinci Resolve. Thanks for the article.
Hi Susan
Thanks for your kind comments, I didn’t want to put WindowsMovie Maker into the review because it had a lot of rendering problems and I had no experience of Apple products until recently.
I use it on my phone but still transfer the files to Xsplit to render as certain platforms won’t accept MOV files.
Warmly
Steve