Camtasia Studio Learning Center

In this tutorial we'll look at what AVI and CAMREC files are, how they work together, and how to plan for a video made with Camtasia Studio and for editing in other video editing programs like Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut, or any other video editor. We'll also go through how to change the dimensions of the screencast videos you produce, which is helpful when editing screencast video in other editors.

Note: This tutorial does not cover how to use other video editing software. The focus here is to help those already comfortable with other video editing programs use screencast recordings made with Camtasia Studio in those other video editing programs.

Camtasia Studio Video Tutorial

Recording Format Defaults

Camtasia Studio records screencasts as one of two file formats; as a CAMREC or AVI. By default screencast recordings are saved as a CAMREC file. To change the default:

1. Click the Tools menu from Camtasia Recorder.
2. Select Options…
3. Select the File option Save as .CAMREC or Save as AVI.

AVI

An AVI file, which stands for Audio Video Interlace, is a container file made up of two parts; video and audio. The default AVI files that Camtasia Studio creates use TSCC (TechSmith Screen Capture Codec) video and PCM audio (which is an uncompressed audio format; high quality and large file size).

AVI is a standard file format for most video editing software. But, there is a catch; AVI can use any number of different video and audio formats or codecs, which means just because your software says it can open an AVI file, doesn't mean that it will.

Codec

So, what's a codec? A codec is short for encoding and decoding and is used to tell your computer how to play audio or video. TSCC is a codec and so is PCM. But, there are a lot of codecs that work inside of an AVI; some of them you may be familiar with, like DivX, DV, MP3, and WAV.

For any program to open an AVI file your computer has to have the codecs used for the video and audio. Since Camtasia Studio uses TSCC to record video, you need to have TSCC installed on any computer you want to use to edit the videos. Hopefully this is never a problem, since TechSmith lets you download the TSCC codec free of charge. Download the codecs.

QuickTime and EnSharpen

There are a couple more video formats we need to mention if you want to edit video on an Apple computer. The EnSharpen codec, also made by TechSmith, is like TSCC except designed for QuickTime and the Apple Mac. Installing the EnSharpen codec will let Mac users play AVI files in the QuickTime player and use Mac video editing software like Final Cut. Download EnSharpen.

.CAMREC

Camtasia Studio uses a custom file format, a CAMREC file, by default when recording video. A CAMREC file is another type of container file that can hold more than one video file. So, a CAMREC file can hold the AVI file from your screencast recording as well as hold the video from a webcam to use as a Picture-in-Picture. The CAMREC file lets you easily use and manage two videos in one easy package.

Other video editing software can't read or open a CAMREC file, only Camtasia Studio can open the files. So, to open your screencast recording in another video editor, you need to extract the contents of the CAMREC file, which is easy to do.

To extract the contents of a CAMREC file:

1. Right-click the CAMREC file either in Camtasia Studio or in Windows Explorer.
2. Select Extract.
3. Select the file to extract (there will always be an AVI file, and sometimes a WMV, which is your picture-in-picture video).

Working with Third-Party Video Editors

Once the AVI file is extracted from the CAMREC file you can use the AVI with any third-party video editor as long as you have the TSCC or EnSharpen codec installed on the computer. Remember, the codec tells the video editor how to open and play the video. By default, when installing Camtasia Studio, the TSCC codec is installed. If you don't have Camtasia Studio installed on the computer you wish to use to edit the video, you can download TSCC or EnSharpen codec.

Standard and Non-Standard Video Dimensions

When editing a screencast recording in another video editor you need to be aware that standard video has standard dimensions and screencast recordings don't have standard dimensions. A screencast recording could have any dimensions you like, which is perfectly fine for viewing on a computer, but the same video may not look good on a television. What this means is that you'll need to do one of the following to work with your screencast recording:

• Change the preferences in the other video editor to handle non-standard video dimensions.
• Or, when recording a screencast use a standard dimension that the third-party editor can recognize.

Changing Preferences

If you choose to change the preferences in your video editor, you'll need to reference the software's Help file. Both Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro can support non-standard video dimensions, it's just a matter of setting up the project properly and rendering the video in format that can accept non-standard dimensions.

To be honest, you should be very familiar with the video editing software you use if you want to edit video with non-standard dimensions, or at least be willing to experiment. It may take a while for the screen recordings to import and export the way you want them to, but it can be done.

Using Standard Dimensions

If you decide to record your video in a standard format, use Camtasia Recorder's fixed Region Capture.

To set up a Fixed Region, use either:

• The New Recording Wizard to set up your recording dimensions.
• Or, from the Camtasia Recorder
  1. Click the down-arrow next to the capture-type.
  2. Select Fixed Region.
     
  3. Enter the Width as 720.
  4. Enter the Height as 480.
     
  5. Click OK.

  Note:The 720x480 dimensions in the example above are standard for North America. If you are creating a video that will play on a European or South American television you'll need to use 720x576 instead.

Scaling Video

Since 720x480 is a small recording size, you may want to try scaling your video. By scaling you video you can record a larger area and then resize the recording when you produce it. This works well when there is very little detail to show in the video. If you do need to show a lot of detail, such as small font or precise mouse gestures, you can also apply Zoom & Pan to your recording.

To scale your video, use a multiple of 720x480. The table below shows some common multiples that will allow your video to scale appropriately.

Once you have your video recorded and edited, you can produce the video using the 720x480 dimensions. You may lose some details in this process, such as text and graphics with gradients, but you'll be able to show more of the screen.

To produce your video with specific dimensions:

1. Use the Production Wizard.
2. During the Production Wizard, look for the Size options.
3. Click the Change Dimensions button.

4. The Video Dimensions Preview window opens and from here you can change the dimensions of the video.
5. When you're finished, click OK and produce your video as you normally would.