macVCR 1.2 Available Free for Download

http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/Blog/files/macvcrfree.html

macVCR 2.2.5 Available

http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/Blog/files/macvcr225.html

www.artenscience.co.uk
Quality Commercial Software and Custom Software Development

macVCR Dedicated Website

macVCR now has a dedicated website: http://www.macvcr.com



www.artenscience.co.uk
Quality Commercial Software and Custom Software Development

25% off macVCR for February Only

http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/Blog/files/macvcr25offebonly.html



www.artenscience.co.uk
Quality Commercial Software and Custom Software Development

Screen Shapshots on Mac OSX Using Skitch

For the last week or so I have been using Skitch to get snapshots from my Mac. Skitch really is quite superb. It looks and feels great and works incredibly well. Definitely Recommended.

I've done a screencast of Skitch in action. The links are below:

Small Movie
Large and Much Better Quality Movie

The movies were captured and annotated using my own product, macVCR.

www.artenscience.co.uk
Quality Commercial Software and Custom Software Development

Wrong macVCR Versions on MacWorld DVD ?

It seems that some of the DVD’s supplied with the February 2009 version of MacWorld magazine do not contain the free version of macVCR, Version 1.2. You can check for this from the About window. The About window for the correct version will look like this:



If your About window is different then you do not have the correct version. I apologise for this, but it is entirely out of my control. You can obtain the correct version from here:

http://www.artenscience.com/autoupdate/latestversions/macvcr1.2.zip

www.artenscience.co.uk
Quality Commercial Software and Custom Software Development

macVCR 1.2 from Arten Science Free with MacWorld Magazine

My product macVCR, version 1.2 can be obtained for Free with the latest edition of MacWorld Magazize (UK). For More Details:

http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/Blog/files/macvcrfreemacworld.html

www.artenscience.co.uk
Quality Commercial Software and Custom Software Development

macVCR 1.2 Screen Capture Software Free with MacFormat Magazine Issue 203

A special version of macVCR, version 1.2 is available for free on the cover CD of MacFormat Magazine, issue 203, available from 10th December 2008.



In addition any user of version 1.2 is entitled to an upgrade to the latest version of macVCR for only £11, a saving of over 20%. Contact me for further details. steve@artenscience.co.uk

www.artenscience.co.uk
Commercial and Bespoke Software Development

macVCR 2.1.7 Released

Today we released macVCR 2.1.7.

2.1.7 features a new Volume Information Screen which shows total and free space on all attached volumes. There is also a revised and expanded 20 page manual.



2.1.7 is a free upgrade for all macVCR customers.

www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR Update to 2.1.1 - Even Better OSX Screen Recording

macVCR now supports annotations which are called in turn from a text file you have created whenever you press the key combination Option + Shift + D. The location of the text file is set within the macVCR preferences. Annotations are displayed on your screen for four seconds as large translucent overlays, ideal for software demonstrations etc. See image below:



We also have a new Icon and Logo for this version courtesy of Zack Weigand:
http://zwei.gotdns.com/zweisoft.

www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR Update to 2.1 - Better OSX Screen Recording

The 2.1 Version of macVCR was primarily to optimise the function of the pointer, how it is shown on the screen during recording, how to switch it on and off quickly and how to make it more intuitive and slicker.

Now you can use the hotkey combination of Shift + Option + P to turn the pointer on or off. When the pointer is on it will follow the mouse and be recorded on the video output. Mouse clicks will be shown as a ‘Target’ crosshairs. This is a more intuitive and convenient method of recording the pointer. Note: The pointer will not follow the mouse when macVCR is the foremost application. This allows you to control macVCR without it being recorded and without switching the pointer off.

2.1 has slightly tidied up the interface with all the options now being shown on the Settings drawer. In addition you now have two additional options which are just for fun. You can Invert the colours of the recorded movie and you can Mirror the movie so that it appears upside down ! See the Screenshots below, it’s iTunes Inverted, Mirrored then Mirrored and Inverted :-)







There is also a bug fix in 2.1 which was caused by checking for a Microphone when one was not available. macVCR 2 does not yet support sound so the code should not have been active.

macVCR v2 has been very popular so far and I’d like to thank all my customers for their patronage. - Steve

www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR and ScreenAudit Bundle - Movies & Pictures !

macVCR and ScreenAudit are now available at a bundled price of £20. That’s a saving of 20% if bought separately. Go on, treat yourself :-)





www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR Screen Recorder v2 Released for OSX

macVCR Version 2 has now been released. macVCR 2 contains the following new features:

Live Camera Feed Option
Resolution Presets
Date and Time Overlay Option
Performance Adjustment
Enhanced Area Selector with Snapshot
Magnify Area at Cursor
Unlimited User Presets

It’s a significant upgrade from version 1 and is free of charge to existing customers.

macVCR can be downloaded from here: http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/macVCR.html





www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR Preview Part 3

An overlay can now be placed on the screen thats shows you a continually updated date and time. This overlay can be dragged anywhere on the screen and will be captured by the screen recording.

macVCR Trial Version available here: http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/macVCR.html



www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR Preview Part 2

Part 2 of my preview of some of the features that will be available in macVCR Version 2, which will be available from next week.



Record Mouse Pointer
There is a new ‘Pointer’ menu. From this menu you can turn the Pointer on or off. The Pointer is designed to be used when you are recording screen activity for training or demonstration purposes.

When the Pointer is switched on, it appears in the centre of your screen. It is a small circular loop with targeting cross hairs. It does not follow the mouse automatically. To move the pointer grab the edge of the circle and move the Pointer to where you wish to perform a mouse action. When you release the mouse button the Pointer is ‘zeroed’ on the object you wish to manipulate, ie: a menu, folder, a button etc. You can then select or click the object through the middle of the loop.

By making the movement of the Pointer with the mouse a conscious decision, it leaves you free to use the mouse on the screen without it being seen in the resulting video, maybe you wish to move the mouse to a second monitor and perform some action, or you wish to manipulate the screen environment without being seen to do so. Using this method that movement will not be seen in the final video.

Use of the Pointer does introduce some additional CPU overhead.

Resolution Presets
The default screen record area is determined by the resolution of the selected monitor. This can be changed manually by overwriting these figures. Now in version 2 you can select from four presets. These are 50%, 25%, 16:9 and 4:3. These presets all work on the currently displayed resolution figures. For example if your default resolution on your Primary monitor is 2560 x 1600 then pressing the 50% button will set this to 1280 x 800. Pressing the 50% button again will reduce this by a further 50%. To reset these figures to their defaults just reselect the radio button for your Primary or Secondary monitor.

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Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

A Preview ... macVCR 2 - Usability Testing Facility !

macVCR Version 2.0 is due for release next week, all current customers and those that purchase before 10th October will get a free upgrade to Version 2, the introductory price for macVCR ends on the 10th and a price increase will be announced.

One of the major new features in version 2 is the ability to display a live feed from your webcam on your desktop. Ideal for usability testing as the subsequent screen recording records both what they did on the computer along with their facial reactions as they are doing it. A screenshot from a demonstration movie is shown below.



Another new feature is the enhanced Area Selector with the ability to capture a high resolution (300 dpi) snapshot, as well as determine the portion of the screen that is subsequently recorded.



I'll release more information soon.

www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR 1.1.3 Released

Another update for macVCR featuring some functionality requested by customers and potential customers.

Todays update adds the following features:

Feature: The ability to record a selected area only, of any of your monitors.
Feature: Speech feedback for certain actions
Feature: The user manual has been refined and updated.

The trial version allows 60 seconds continuous recording.



www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR 1.1.2 Released

Another update for macVCR featuring some functionality requested by customers and potential customers.

Todays update adds the following features:

Feature: Export Quicktime Movie, from the Tools Menu (Many Movie Format Options).
Feature: Compression is now shown as nn% as well as showing the Slider
Feature: Check for Updates menu now available.
Tweak: Refined the AutoUpdate Procedure.

The trial version allows 60 seconds continuous recording and cab be downloaded here: http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/macVCR.html

This Sample Movie was recorded with macVCR using the settings shown below, it was 16Mb in Size. It was then exported as MPEG4 using macVCR and is now 2.1Mb in size.



www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

macVCR 1.1.0 Released

Following the release of macVCR yesterday evening I have received a deluge on emails. Most complimentary, some critical and many with suggestions on how to make the product better, or more useable for a particular purpose. I also had quite a few sales as well which suggests I did something right :-)

Todays update adds the following features:

Adjustable Resolution for the saved movie. The default is for the original resolution of your screen but this can now be changed.
Multiple Monitor Support, record from either of your first two monitors.
New Tools Menu with the option to calculate the Theoretical Maximum Frames Per Second.
FPS and Frame Interval (ms) shown prior to recording.
The settings screen has been re-designed to support the new options.

I have also resolved a small timing issue.



The latest version can be downloaded from here: http://www.artenscience.co.uk/artenscience/macVCR.html

The trial version allows 60 seconds continuous recording.

www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business

Arten Science Releases macVCR Screen Recording Software

We've just released macVCR 1.0.0.

macVCR allows you to record what happens on your computer screen to a Quicktime movie which you can then replay later at your leisure. macVCR doesn't require any form of installation, just double click the Icon and the program will launch.

* Specify Recording Length or Operate Manually
* Adjustable Compression Quality
* Choice of Codecs
* Specify Frames Per Second
* Low Disk and CPU Usage
* Trial Version Available for Download





www.artenscience.co.uk
Honest Expert Independent Technology Advice for Business