Debut video capture software, free option #media #screencapture

With my new laptop installed, I am now slowly catching up on my private software tools that make my life as an online learning provider/researcher/speaker easy. Today I decided to (finally) capture one of my keynotes, so I could use that recording for future speaking opportunities. Sometimes conference organizers demand that you send them a video of one of your public speaking events, as such having some relevant talks at my fingertips makes it easier to fill in my speaker data. 

To capture this video, I wanted to have a very user-friendly screen capture software, that would allow me to quickly edit the movie clip, as well as ensure its video and audio quality. In my first search, I found a link to the debut video capture software, which has a free download option for private use (download can be found here). The tool needed to run on Windows 10 (which it does, as well as Mac OS X 10.4), and I always look at the latest update date... to me it reflects some kind of durability. Debut's latest version update was in January 2016, so I downloaded it to give it a try. I really liked it. Once I downloaded the software, it only took me about 5 minutes to figure out its options, and adjust the settings (encoder, format...) to my own preferences. As I need to be able to deliver media for different screen sizes and purposes (mobile, online learning), I like a full set of options to set before exporting the edited video. 

The tool offers some simple, yet frequently used video capturing features:

• Record videos as avi, wmv, flv, mpg, mp4, mov and more video formats
• Capture video from a webcam, network IP camera or video input device (e.g., VHS recorder)
• Screen capture software records the entire screen, a single window or any selected portion
• Mouse highlighting spotlights the location of the cursor
• Record video alone or video and audio simultaneously
• Record audio from your microphone and speakers simultaneously, ideal for recording video conferences
• Time lapse video recording
• Create photo snapshots of a video at any time
• Add your own text captions or time stamp your video
• Change color settings and video effects before recording
• Adjust the video resolution, size and frame rate for capture
• (free, but it does demand a download) Burn directly to DVD with Express Burn Disc Burner
• (free, but it does demand a download) Works with VideoPad Video Editor Software

It was also easy to edit the movie afterwards, including adding captions (always easy if you want to translate a short video). A truly nice experience, and quick. There is also a paid option for professional use, which is also very low cost (29 EUR).