3, 2, 1 action! Record your Windows screen

Jessica Dolcourt, Senior Associate Editor April 27, 2010

There are likely a dozen reasons for a person to record the goings-on of his or her computer screen--such as a product demo, tutorial, or even a cry for help. Whatever your impetus, you'll need tools of the trade, such as the four we've picked out here.

Camtasia Studio may cause the most significant drain to your wallet, but its comprehensive video editor also creates impressive, professional-grade results. Despite a learning curve, the tutorials and refurbished design should keep it from overwhelming new users in need of the app's high production values. My Screen Recorder is a midrange option for creating screencasts you can narrate. A preview feature lets you review your movies, but the app lacks Camtasia Studio's polish and editing prowess. Even so, that will be just fine for plenty of folks.

If cheap and cheerful is what you need, the free TipCam is a good choice. While there's no post-production studio for cleaning up audio if you mess up, you can rerecord your narrative. Remote recording is one of a few surprise features. Jing, also by Camtasia's creators, is arguably the most social screencaster of the bunch. It combines screenshots and recordings into a simple app that's been optimized for quickly passing the finished product along--either online, on the desktop, or to friends. The app itself is free, but online storage space could cost you.