As you may have realized by now, we are big fans of screencasts here at ReadWriteWeb, and every time a new tool comes along that makes screencasting easier and more accessible, we can’t help but give it a try. The latest screencasting tool to come across our desks is ScreenToaster, which, unlike most of its competitors, runs directly from your browser. While its functionality is limited compared to fully featured screencasting suites like Camtasia Studio or ScreenFlow, ScreenToaster turns out to be a great little tool if you want to create a short demo video or tutorial.
ScreenToaster is currently in private beta testing, but you can sign up for an invite here.
Features
In some respects, ScreenToaster is very similar to Jing, one of our screencasting tools. Just like Jing (and most other screencasting tools), ScreenToaster allows you to choose which parts of your screen you want to record, add subtitles, and then host those videos online. ScreenToaster, of course, also allows you to embed these videos anywhere you want to.
Using ScreenToaster is very easy. Once started, you simply start and stop the recording with a keyboard shortcut and easily add voice-over recordings and subtitles afterwards.
One issue with ScreenToaster that might be a showstopper for some is that it can’t record audio while you are recording your screencast. Instead, you have to record your narration afterwards and ScreenToaster will not record any audio that is playing on your computer while you are recording your video. The reason for this is probably technical – ScreenToaster relies on Java for the video recording, but uses Flash for the voice-over. We prefer to record the narration while doing a screencast, as it makes timing your tutorials and demos a lot easier.
Also, as of now, your videos are only available on ScreenToaster itself and you can’t download them to your desktop or convert them to any other file format.
Verdict
The developers are planning to add a lot of the missing features to ScreenToaster in the future. For now, if you just need a simple solution for recording a quick screencast, ScreenToaster performs exactly as advertised and is definitely worth a try.
