What is a vodcast?: Difference between revisions

Most webcams come with their own software on CDs that is installed alongside the drivers. But there are other options available. For Windows users there is [http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/movie-maker#t1=overview Windows Movie Maker] that allows the capture of webcam footage and some general editing -- all for free. Windows users can also use [http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/ Debut Video Capture Software] from NCH Software for free, provided the video is used non-commercially. Lastly, Mac users can capture webcam footage using [http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ Apple's QuickTime Player].

A popular form of vodcast these days involves the capture of video game footage with the player's audio. There are two main pieces of software that specialize in this form of capture: [http://exkode.com/dxtory-features-en.html Dxtory] and [http://www.fraps.com/ Fraps]. Both of these programs capture footage in a lossless format and at varying frame rates. It is recommended that a separate hard disk be used in conjunction with the software, as the recording can be very resource intensive and the file outputs are typically quite large.

A form of vodcasting that is gaining in popularity. Streaming is done live, as opposed to being recorded, and works much like live television programs. Users stream their video to certain web-based video platforms, like [http://www.justin.tv/ Justin.tv] or [http://www.twitch.tv/ Twitch] where viewers can watch it live and interact with the streamer via text-based comments. Two popular pieces of software that are designed for streaming are [http://obsproject.com/index Open Broadcaster Software] and [https://www.xsplit.com/ XSplit].  

With the exception of the Google+ Hangouts, most video will require some editing before it can be published. To aid in this endeavor are a variety of programs that can fully edit a video, like [http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiope Sony's Movie Studio], [http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere-elements.html Adobe Premier Elements], or [http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/ Apple's Final Cut Pro X]. If you feel your video does not need the full editing treatment and you just wish to compress it down for uploading, there are free programs around to help with that, like [http://handbrake.fr/ Handbrake] that can convert and compress a video so it will be accepted by the various internet video publishing platforms, like YouTube.