TechSmith's New Camtasia Studio 8 Brings Professional Video Creation To The Masses
OKEMOS -- Okemos-based TechSmith Tuesday introduced Camtasia Studio 8, a new version of its video creation software.
The company says the new software allows virtually anyone to create professional-looking interactive videos for education, training, marketing and sales.
TechSmith promises that all those videos can include all the bells and whistles you would expect from the software video professionals use, but at a fraction of the cost.
The software includes assets such as music, animations, graphics and callouts that make any video more cohesive. In addition, all Camtasia Studio 8 users have access to a comprehensive library of training content and free technical support to ensure they get productive right away.
"We could not be more excited to unveil the new Camtasia Studio 8 to the world," said Shane Lovellette, Camtasia Studio and Camtasia for Mac product manager at TechSmith. "We put our heart and soul into the rebuild. The new Camtasia Studio 8 makes professional-grade video creation possible for everyone who has ever wanted to use it to share what they know. The interface is familiar yet much more intuitive, and major upgrades under the hood include high definition video production and the new TechSmith Smart Player that delivers an optimized viewer experience for nearly every screen size and type."
Camtasia Studio 8 shatters the one-way paradigm of video viewing. TechSmith has added interactive elements including in-video quizzing, in-video linking to Web content and incredibly powerful video sharing options.
Now, adding interactive quizzes to video is as simple as adding a text box to a document. Teachers, trainers and business people can go beyond a simple listing of answers too, gathering detailed information that provides audience insight. They can measure progress, gather viewer information and assess comprehension of ten or one hundred viewers, in class or online, viewing the video with Flash or HTML5, and watched on iPads, Android tablets, most Android smart phones, on laptops and on desktop computers.
Adding a variety of quiz questions is now possible at any point in a video -- beginning, middle and end. Creators can add multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer and true/false questions. As testing is taking place, video creators receive detailed reports via email from TechSmith's cloud service. Creators can sort the quizzing data in any spreadsheet or use SCORM reporting for integration with a learning management system.
The new Camtasia Studio 8 also includes new video "hotspot" capabilities let users embed hyperlinks within any video, moving viewers directly into a call to action. Powerful, yet simple. Fast, and highly-effective for directing students to research or directing customers to product information.
Also, the new TechSmith Smart Player eliminates the need for complex video format decision making, delivering an optimized, interactive experience on nearly any device with one output. Videos will look their best on a three-inch smartphone screen, a tablet, a laptop and a desktop. Before TechSmith Smart Player, videos had to be created multiple times for each screen size. Formatting with the TechSmith Smart Player also ensures viewers can see and use interactive quizzing, hot spot links, table of contents and video search on all devices they use.
More new features of Camtasia Studio 8:
* A new engine: Under its virtual hood, Camtasia Studio 8 was completely taken apart and rebuilt from the ground up using the latest technology. As a result, Camtasia Studio 8 is optimized for high definition, high motion screen video capture and editing. The default recording rate is doubled to capture 30 frames per second for smooth screen video capture, and multiple tracks are not just possible in Camtasia Studio 8, but encouraged.
* Unleash creativity with the new multi-track timeline: Camtasia Studio 8 was designed to remove any barriers to creativity; if a video creator can imagine it, Camtasia Studio 8 makes it possible. Camtasia Studio 8 allows users to edit directly on the preview window canvas for immediate look-and-feel feedback. Users can stack different media elements on top of each other and instantly see the end results in motion. They can group content together for cool effects that can be saved and reused, and they can group items together for batch editing. These new capabilities will save users hours of editing time.
* Create sharp, professional videos with the new asset library: Professional videos are just a drag and drop away thanks to specialized graphic packages including animations, callouts, music and graphics, with more available for download at TechSmith.com. Intriguing audiences has never been easier as the new Camtasia Studio 8 adds a variety of new music tracks, callouts, buttons, banners, and motion backgrounds to any video with drag-and-drop ease. Designed with coordinated assets that automatically work together, the wide selection of themes helps any video look more professional -- so video creators look like design geniuses.
* Captivate audiences with new unlimited animations: Grabbing an audience's attention and keeping it with animated content that helps guide viewers through a video is now easily done. Adding an animation to callouts and images within a video, users can highlight the most important parts of a video to make the production more engaging.
Founded in 1987, TechSmith provides business and academic software tools and services. TechSmith's solutions enable users to capture, record and enhance digital content so they can share information and knowledge in compelling multimedia formats, and allow others to observe, analyze and learn from their experiences. TechSmith products are used by 99 percent of the Fortune 500. Visit www.TechSmith.com for more information.
