Windows Software to record from Webcam & Screen

Question

I'm looking for software which can simultaneously record video from my computer's web cam at the same time as recording the content displayed on screen.

More Detailed Requirements

• Run on Windows 7
• Be cheap (< ~70 USD)
• Be simple (i.e. easy to learn for basic recording features at least)
• Record videos up to 3 hours in length.
• Quality is not overly important so long as it's possible to see and hear what's going on.
• The video will be published as a file; we don't need any broadcast/streaming facilities
• Basic post production video editing tools (examples below) would be useful, though not essential
  • adjust audio levels in sections of the video
  • cutting and splicing facilities
  • ability to switch between cam, screen, and composite feeds

Background

My specific use case: we're about to have a number of software demos for various products and would like to record these. We can then make these videos available to the end users so they can see what was said & get an idea of what the products looked like without them needing to sit through each demo (saving them time, easing the logistics of organising the demos and keeping number of people present down to avoid too many tangents). We're likely to also use this tool for some user training videos once the eventual products are selected.

Research

So far I've found a number of potential solutions, but have no personal experience with any. Reading their sites though they claim to record from various input sources it's not clear if simultaneous input (i.e. cam & screen) recording is possible, or if there are limits on video length.

• NCH Debut: http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture
• Open Broadcast Software: http://obsproject.com
• Many Cam: http://manycam.com
• XSplit: http://www.xsplit.com

Any recommendations would be much appreciated; thank-you in advance.

Answer 1

Personally I use Camtasia Studio and SnagIt. TechSmith, the vendor, has created their own codec for their software which IMO works excellent.

You will probably find Camtasia a bit stiff when it comes to the price compared to your budget, but I mentioned SnagIt for this reason although it's primarily to capture screenshots it do have built-in video recording as well using the same codec as its big brother.

It's simpler and you will probably want to convert the result and edit it in a third-party editor (Camtasia Studio comes with its own editor which is in part why the price is higher).

I never recorded 3 hours but I did more than an hour which was without problem. The key factor here is to have enough space on the disk you record to.

My 2 cents..