Comparison: ScreenCast-O-Matic vs. Adobe Presenter

Vinnie has been taking a look at the screen capture utility ScreenCast-O-Matic. The program packs a lot of punch in the free version and adds significant utility in the Pro version for an additional $12/year. One of the most important features is output formats as we continue our search for an alternative to Adobe Presenter. Presenter is one of the most popular tools at the College but which outputs only in Flash. This leaves out student viewers with iOS products including the iPad and iPhone.

The result of Vinnie's evaluation is the following chart comparing the three products on commonly used features. Unfortunately, ScreenCast-O-Matic does not appear to be a viable alternative for the creation of narrated PowerPoints due to the lack of editing features. Thanks again to Vinnie for compiling this data.

• ScreenCast-O-matic is a tool for recording of the computer screen.
•  Adobe presenter is a plugin for PowerPoint for creation of multimedia PowerPoints.

	ScreenCast-O-matic Free	ScreenCast-O-matic Pro	Adobe Presenter
Cost	Free	$12/yr	$150 for 1 license or $375 for 5 licenses
Playback on iPads	X	X
Record on PC or Mac	X	X
Free hosting	X	X
Record time	15 min	Unlimited	Unlimited
Access recording tool outside browser		X	X
Record with webcam	X	X	X
Narrate one slide at a time			X
Edit recordings within the recording program		X	X
Edit recordings requires video editing or re-recording the presentation
Add video and audio			X
Attach documents			X
Include quizzes			X
Add bio and image			X
Synchronize animations with audio			X
Update single slides			X
Users can be prompted to click to proceed in presentation			X
Easy navigation between slides			X
No watermark when publishing		X	X
Publish to YouTube HD	X	X
Publish to AVI	X	X
Publish to MP4	X	X
Publish to Flash			X
Publish to Google Docs		X
Published files are small			X
Users can download and modify published files	X	X
Produce screen shots		X
Password protect screencasts		X