The 4 Best (and Free!) Screen Recording Tools

Online, December 9, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Have you ever wanted to give your clients a step-by-step walkthrough for something they want to do? Explaining every single mouse click can be tedious and time-consuming for both sides. Luckily for you, there are some great screen recording tools out there which will absolutely make the lives of both you and your clients easier.

Screen recording software are programs which can be utilized to make a video of your own computer screen, providing your clients with a walkthrough which they can pause or replay as many times as they like. On the other hand, you don't have to spend time spelling out every single action. Furthermore, you can use the recording for all of your clients, making screen recording software a must-have for any freelancer who wants to create video tutorials. Finding the right tool in a sea of possibilities is not exactly easy, but that's what we're here for! Here's a list of the four best free screen recording tools out there:

1) Ezvid
Ezvid is pretty much what its name says. It's easy and intuitive to use, allowing you to do almost anything with just a couple of clicks. It has an in-built video recorder, which allows you to split recordings and add text in between actions. Ezvid is one of the most feature-rich screen recording tools out there, at least among the free ones. There are a few drawbacks as well. For one, you can't export the video directly to your computer, but have the option to upload it directly onto YouTube instead. Furthermore, Ezvid actually forces you to use one of their 65 tracks as background music. There is a track named "Silent machine", but it still gives off a faint sound, which could get on your nerves.

2) Jing
Jing is another popular tool which can instantly capture screenshots or videos of your screen. It's fast and simple and allows you to instantly share recorded videos via Twitter, Facebook, Email, and more. What is more, Jing is made by a company called TechSmith, which has a lot of experience in the making of similar tools like Camtasia Studio and Snagit - these guys know their trade well. One of the biggest cons of Jing is its time limit - your videos can only have a length of up to 5 minutes. It is designed for fast and simple recordings and does its job rather well.

3) VLC
VLC is a program most of you probably have on your computer anyway. Most likely though, you do could not be aware of its full functionality. VLC is sometimes described as the Swiss army knife of media players and that's not without reason. Apart from being able to read various video formats, it can actually also serve as a screen recorder as well. Go to View -> Advanced Controls, press Ctrl + C, set the capture device to "Desktop" and you're ready to go. It will do just fine for the more simple recordings, but its functionality is far from that of specialized screen-recording tools. For example, you will have to record your audio separately and then merge it. What is more, you can only record your entire desktop, while most other programs will allow you to choose a specific part of it.

4) Screencast-O-Matic
In case you don't want to download more programs that just fill up your computer but you use just every once in a while, Screencast-O-Matic might be the perfect solution for you. It is not only free, it is directly available online as well! It's as simple as going over to http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ and clicking the big "Start Recording" button. It has a very well-designed interface, is simple to use, and allows you to save your videos or post them to YouTube. Like anything else, Screencast-O-Matic has its drawbacks as well. Videos are limited to 15 minutes, which should be enough in most cases. Using this free software also adds a watermark. Both limitations can be removed by upgrading to a Pro account for 15$ a year, but to be honest they are not that annoying if all you're looking for is a a simple and easy way to make short videos.

These are four of the best screen-recording tools, which offer you a great array of choices. And since they all cost nothing, you have the freedom to try them all out and decide which one fits you best.