Ok. So for years now I’ve been using TechSmith’s Camtasia Studio. I’ve always thought their software was great to dictate and record the screen. Now they’ve gone completely silly. Oh, and I mean in a good way. About two weeks ago I asked their Evangelist Activities Coordinator, Kristina, about their support for editing MP4 files. It was quite simple. I just picked up a new Flip MinoHD camcorder and wanted to edit the clips I recorded in Camtasia by inserting screencasts. At the time, she told me I couldn’t do it. So, I converted my video using Adobe Premiere Pro. I got this bloated piece of junk out and into Camtasia. It ended up working for what I needed, but I was very disappointed.

Earlier today, TechSmith announced Camtasia Studio 6.01 which provided this functionality. They’ve also cleared up 99% of the open issues in the product. I’ve never witnessed a video editing software that loads, captures, edits, and saves as fast as this. I’d give this 6 stars out of 5!

Here is what is included in the Camtasia Studio 6.01 maintenance update:

General:

  • Added the ability to include and edit .MP4 files on the timeline.
  • Added the ability to include and edit TechSmith video .SWF files on the timeline.
  • Added a short-cut key for a “Play from beginning” control in the Editor preview window.
  • Added a Help menu option in Editor to allow online registration of the product after it has been purchased.
  • Added the Audio Setup dialog into Camtasia Recorder.
  • Added an option to change the key frame interval for MP4 productions.
  • Added an option for changing from a bit rate encoding setting for MP4 to a quality encoding setting for MP4 productions.

Studio:

  • Fixed an issue where Zoom and Pan keyframes would not be carried across splits or extended frames when placed just before the split.
  • Fixed an issue with undo requiring multiple steps to undo a single step when using a hotkey for transitions or callouts.
  • Fixed an issue in Record Camera and Voice Narration where a blank frame would added.
  • Fixed an issue in iTunes production settings where some settings would get reset at the wrong time.
  • Fixed an crash that would be caused by producing to the .MP4 format with a 2 frame per second video setting.
  • Fixed an issue where a first frame file was being generated when it should not be.
  • Fixed an issue where the preview window in Editor would not correctly display the project dimensions when switching between projects.
  • Fixed an issue where the produce project location would update to be the same as a zipped project location after the project was exported.
  • Fixed an issue with auto-save not working when moving a project from Windows XP to Windows Vista or from Windows Vista to Windows XP.
  • Fixed an issue where audio production options would be available although there was no audio on the timeline.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause an inaccurate message to appear when cancelling production while producing to the .MP4 file format.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the playback in the preview window to stop or start playing when toggling the Shrink TO Fit setting.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the Screencast.com plug-in to not allow a different log in to be used during the production process.
  • Removed the verification field for e-mail address from the Screencast.com log in process.
  • Added the system tray icon to be displayed during the upload process to Screencast.com.
  • Fixed an issue when choosing a single video with TOC template would cause callouts not to be shown in the produced video.
  • Fixed some indexing issues in the AVI file format that could cause unexpected editing results, incomplete productions or corrupt projects.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when entering a very large duration for Title Clips.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause PiP clips to be placed at the start of the timeline instead of where it was supposed to be placed.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the first frame to not be displayed correctly on Screencast.com.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the last folder used would not be recalled and used correctly when uploading to Screencast.com.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause cuts on the timeline to not behave as expected.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the preview window title to not update correctly after multiple undo steps.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the audio clips to stop responding to move commands on the timeline.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the Upload to FTP feature to not work as expected.
  • Fixed an issue when making certain selections on the timeline would not respond correctly when trying to zoom in on the timeline view.
  • Fixed an issue with the option to “Auto-extend last video frame” would not be properly enabled.
  • Fixed an issue with an incorrect video frame being displayed after adding a clip to the timeline.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause a crash when choosing to change the production dimensions when using the MP4/SWF format.
  • Fixed some program crashes that were related to some conflicting files from other software vendors.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause callouts to be placed in the improper locations in a produced file.

PPT Add-in:

  • Fixed an issue where you would receive an out of date .camproj file when recording from the PPT Add-in.

Recorder:

  • Fixed an issue with the Minimize to system tray setting did not react to the user setting.
  • Fixed an issue where the ALT+SPACE+N shortcut would not minimize the Recorder application.
  • Added the functionality of the Effects tool bar opening when using the ScreenDraw hotkeys.
  • Fixed an issue with some Recorder effects not being able to be turned on while recording.
  • Added an option to change whether a video is added to the timeline and clip bin when choosing to edit after recording.
  • Fixed an issue with the Capture, Tools and Help menus being truncated when the Recorder is placed above the selected area during recording.
  • Added some text for when the mouse is hovered over the Recorder system tray icon.
  • Fixed an issue where the Tools Options menu in Recorder would not update correctly based on the system dpi setting.
  • Fixed an issue with the recorder UI repositioning unexpectedly when recording Microsoft Excel.
  • Fixed an issue where Recorder would not properly record applications when the preview window is undocked.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the record settings to not be retained between instances of Recorder.