How to improve recording quality in your Screencast-o-matic videos

the author, Chad, giving two thumbs up for Screencast-o-matice

Screencast-o-matic is a very affordable software that you can use to create screencasts, screen recordings, and instructional videos. I’ve used SOM for years and highly recommend it. It’s pretty easy to use and most folks get up and running pretty quickly. However, some users may find that their first few videos aren’t as good as they expected them to be. Here are some tips to improve the quality of the recordings.

Use Maximum Resolution Available

If you plan to upload your video to YouTube, Vimeo, or any other online host, it’s likely that viewers will want to view your video in full screen mode, especially if you are recording a web page with text. If you record at a low resolution, then the video will be fuzzy when viewed full screen.

If you’re recording on a laptop, check the maximum resolution of your laptop screen in your computer’s display settings. Many business class and inexpensive personal laptops often have maximum resolutions such as 1366 x 768, which is not Full HD. If you can only record on a laptop, make sure you use the “Full Screen” setting in Screencast-o-matic (both full screen . While full screen is only a few pixels more than the 720p setting, you’ll be capturing as much resolution as possible. It will still be a bit fuzzy when played full screen, but perhaps not as bad since you are capturing every available pixel on your screen.

the Fullscreen option in Screencast-o-matic — Select “Fullscreen” for optimal resolution

Use an external monitor or TV

If you have one of those laptops with a low-res screen, you can increase the resolution by plugging into an external monitor or TV. As an example, my laptop only has a max of 1366 x 768, but when I plug into an external monitor, the resolution is 1920 x 1080 (full HD). This means that if I record on the external monitor in full HD, Screencast-o-matic captures the monitor resolution and the video will not be fuzzy when played on full screen mode on YouTube.

Once you plug into an external monitor, check and adjust your display settings. You can probably increase the resolution to full HD (1920 x 1080) on most modern monitors.

Get a better camera

If you are using an inexpensive or business class laptop, your webcam probably stinks. It might have a maximum resolution of 720p, that is okay for Teams and Zoom meetings, but it just won’t cut it if you want crisp on-camera video of yourself.

Use an external webcam

One option is to use an external webcam. My preferred brand is Logitech. They have a variety of webcams at different price points, but just choose one that is Full HD — you don’t need 4k for instructional video. I use the Logitech C920. I especially appreciate that you can use either the LogiCapture or G-Hub software to customize your camera settings. This keeps you from looking like a Smurf if the white balance is off, or like you are in a witness protection program due to poor camera exposure.

Customize your camera settings with Logitech G-Hub

Use your phone’s video camera

If you don’t have a better webcam (or they are sold out due to a global pandemic and everyone’s working from home) you can also use your phone to record yourself. I suggest using a tripod to hold your phone and avoid shaky footage. While most phones have both a front-facing (selfie) camera and a rear-facing camera, the rear-facing camera is generally a better camera and offers a higher maximum resolution. While it may seem easier to see yourself while recording on the selfie camera, you’ll have much better results using the rear-facing camera on your phone. Make sure you set the camera settings to Full HD (1920 x 1080).

Once you record your video, you need to get the video file on the computer that has Screencast-o-matic installed. The file will be too large to email, so you’ll need to either transfer via USB or a cloud service (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. ). Use the Import button in Screencast-o-matic to import the file into the editor. If you are importing the phone file into a video you recorded of your computer screen, , you will probably need to adjust the audio volumes to match since they are from two different audio sources.

Use an external microphone

Typically the mics on our laptops are not very good. If you want to get better audio, I suggest using an external microphone. This can be as simple as a conference call headset or your phone’s earbuds. If you want to get more elaborate, the Blue microphones are highly recommended and easy to use.

If you are using an external webcam, that audio is generally better than you computer’s mic, but it will pick up extra noises around the house/office.

If you want to capture better audio when using your phone’s video camera, I suggest either a lavalier mic or a phone-specific shotgun mic.

Check out some tutorials

I hope this post helps you improve the quality of your videos. I’ve found the Screencast-o-matic tutorials useful in building my skills as well. Finally, check out other blog posts on home office and video production setups. I especially like this post that offers suggestions for setups at different price points. Good luck!

November 12, 2020

Improving my WFH video tutorial setup for better audio and video quality

Chad is talking on camera to his webcam while shooting a video

My first videos in my new work-from-home basement office were a bit rushed, so I didn’t have much time to work out all of the details before recording the research sessions for my students. While the content was okay, I wasn’t happy with the quality of the audio and video. I watched a few YouTube videos and some Lynda training, and have adapted some ideas to improve my video tutorial setup.

The picture above shows my latest setup when making videos at home.

Blinds are open to let in natural light. I make adjustments depending on time of day, weather it is sunny or cloudy, etc.
Logitech C920 Webcam attached to a chair with a Joby Gorillapod
Blue Yeti microphone (recently acquired) on the stool just below the mic
Left monitor shows Screencast-o-matic used for recording
Right monitor shows Logitech G Hub used for adjusting webcam settings (more on this in a later post)

Before making the changes

Here’s what the video looked like before I made the changes outlined above.

Webcam sitting on top of monitor, making adjustments of the camera angle a little limiting
Background is a mess, though reflects reality of my life at that moment. (I have to day the guitars on the wall do make me look cooler, I think?)
Blinds are open and overhead lights are on, but the webcam was on “Full Auto”. As a result, I am a bit blue in the video
Audio recorded with a headset — not necessarily bad, especially if you’re going for the “air traffic controller” look. However, the audio was “tinny” sounding
Nice flannel shirt

After

Webcam at eye level and a bit closer to the subject. (supposedly this creates more trust with the audience)
Less cluttered background — No Legos on the floor, open bathroom doors, or sons playing Xbox photobombing me
Background picture, lamp and plant are not distracting, but still provide something to provide some depth to the video image
Blinds open to the left, overhead light on, two lamps behind me. This makes the video less pixelated.
Webcam settings (exposure, white balance, saturation, etc.) were tweaked manually (more on this in another post)
I still need to work on the white balance. While I’m not as blue as the “Before” shot, I am a bit too warm in this shot.
I’m not doing any color correction (yet) as I just edit in Screencast-o-matic, so I need to get the white balance as close as possible when I record
I also feel like I need a key light for off to the right and behind the camera to help balance the light from the window
Different day, same flannel shirt
Same shiny head, too

Video resources that helped

Here’s a selection of the videos that gave me ideas for improvements.

Lynda.com Training

YouTube

April 6, 2020

A change in my video recording process

screenshot of Logitech Webcam Interface — The Logitech Webcam Software

A while back I posted about how I was occasionally finding lip sync lag (ala “Kung Fu Theater” when I recorded my on-camera video introductions and conclusions using Screencast-o-matic. No matter what I did, I would still experience some lag when recording my face, and my lips and words did not quite match up in the final video. They appeared to be out of sync by a couple of frames. I’ve since changed my process and have now removed the lag entirely.

I now use the Logitech Webcam Software to record my introductions. I use my webcam to record my video, but still use the Blue Yeti to record my voice, as the Logitech software allows you to choose a microphone source separate from the webcam. This keeps the audio levels consistent between the Logitech software and Screencast-o-matic records, so I don’t have to do much fiddling with audio in my movie editor.

Since I am editing my videos in Windows MovieMaker (yes, it still works!), the additional step in recording in Logitech doesn’t really take any additional time. After I record the Screencast-o-matic demonstration, I download the video file to my computer, and the file, along with the Logitech video file, into MovieMaker to edit.

June 22, 2016

Testing audio and video quality (and lag) with Screencast-o-matic, a Blue Yeti microphone, and Logitech C920 Webcam

I made this short video to test the audio and video quality of the Blue Yeti microphone and the Logitech C920 webcam using Screencast-o-matic. Sometimes if you use the audio from another mic like the Blue Yeti, but record your video another source, such as I do with the Logitech C920 Webcam, there can be some voice-to-video lag. When the lag is present, the lips of the speaker will be out of sync with the audio and it can look like a badly dubbed 1970’s Kung-Fu Theater film.

In the video below, I tested using just audio from the webcam, and then audio from the Blue Yeti mic, to see if there was any lag. I had just restarted my computer, so the internal memory and page file was pretty empty, and I had all other apps closed except for Screencast-o-matic. I did not detect any lag in the video from either audio source. The sound quality is also noticeably better using the audio from the Blue Yeti microphone. It appears that if you find lag, restarting your computer and closing all extra applications will help with producing better quality, and in-sync, audio and video.

March 19, 2015

My new and improved setup for making instructional videos

Last summer I started using some new hardware that has made my video making a lot easier. The new setup helps me make better quality videos while reducing steps and saving a substantial amount of time.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/volsinohio/14380857098/in/photostream/

Some time ago I shared how I make my instructional videos. In that post I detailed how I recorded my video introductions with a dedicated camcorder (or using the video mode on a standard camera) and then captured the screencast using Screencast-o-matic. I was recording the camcorder audio with a lavalier mic, but recording the desktop audio with a gaming microphone headset. While the audio was good, the levels from the two different sources never quite matched, despite my best attempts to equalize them in my video editor. My old process also required me to plug the camcorder into my desktop computer, then download the video from the camera. While this did not take a huge amount of time, it was an extra step.

The picture above shows my new and improved setup. On the left is a Logitech HD Webcam that records up to 1080P video. On the right is a Blue Yeti Microphone that records excellent audio. Both are connected to my computer via USB. I’ve stopped using the video camcorder altogether and now just record my introductory video with the webcam, Blue Yeti, and Screencast-o-matic. I then record the desktop demonstration with Screencast-o-matic and the Blue Yeti mic. Because I am using the Blue Yeti for the audio source for both the introduction and the screencast, there isn’t any need to adjust the audio levels. Both sound awesome since they are from the same source!

Since the Webcam is already attached to my computer, I don’t have to combine multiple video files. I will usually record in the introduction (and outro) at the end of my screencast, using the same video file. I then export the file to my desktop and then do my editing in the old faithful Windows Live Moviemaker. Unfortunately, the editing in SOM is still a little slow and clunky on my machine.

In general, the quality of the video is superior to my old method and my new method definitely saves me a lot of time. However, there are times when the video can lag behind the audio in the on-camera personal introduction segments. This is usually caused by having too many applications open on my computer while recording video, so closing unneeded programs helps.

The other drawback of this setup is that since my camera and mic are tied to my desktop, I am by default tied to my desktop. Should I want to take my show on the road and do a video introduction outside my office I’ll need to use a different camera. Other than that it’s a great setup.

December 22, 2014