The concept of Jing is the always-ready program that instantly captures and shares images and video…from your computer to anywhere.

If I use Jing then I will try to keep around a minute.
If I go over 2 minutes than Camstudio is the way to go for me.
I also have a screencast account so I can upload my different formats.
My two cents...
keep up the good work!!!

It would be nice to have Camstudio for OSX. How about increasing the time to 10 minutes for Jing on OSX until you get Camstudio written for OSX.

I'd say that if a video is over 3 minutes I have to seriously think about whether I really want spend the time to watch it. I think a 5 minute limit for Jing makes sense.

It would be really cool to have an option of using a special command-line-tool for uploading the files. So on Mac you could just use scp or something like this without it beeing really implemented in jing

I'd like to see 10 minute option for videos. 5 is too short IMO and I'm also on a Mac so Camstudio is not an option for me.

I think 5 minutes is enough. I agree that anything over 5 minutes needs Camtasia. I use Jing for responding to students or other quick responses.

I think the 5 minute time limit is perfect. Most of the videos I make I keep to are under 2 minutes or less and I don't use audio on them and tell the user just to watch the video and that I didn't use sound.

I often reach the 5 min limit (without the need for editing in Camstasia). It's very frustrating to record a whole screencast, and everything is a waste because your cut off when your'e about to conclude etc. Remember, when doing a screencast, you often have to do it slow to make the audience understand..

I understand it can't be unlimited, just the limit 3 more minutes.. Would make me very happy!

I use Jing for a few uses:

- Video demo in a blog post. I keep this under the 5 minute mark. I FTP these to my web server.

- How to demos linked to in a help system. I try and keep these under 5 minutes, but they can go over depending upon what I'm doing. I FTP these to my web server.

- Customer Support responses. If people contact me for support and it's too hard to explain over email and I can't reach them by phone, I'll Jing a video for them and upload it to Screencast.com. These are usually under 5 minutes, but could possibly go longer.

I use FTP for any files I want to keep for a long time and have some control over. The link I give out is to the HTML file with Jing embedded in it. This way I can add my Google Analytics code.

I use Screencast.com for more perishable things. Every now and again I'll clean out the space on screencast.com to make room for more. The videos here are ones I don't care to collect stats for and ones that have an end of life (e.g. custom support answers).

It would be great to have the option to go over 5 minutes. It'd be acceptable to only allow those videos to be saved to disk or FTPed to a web server. A 5 minute limit seems reasonable for anything TechSmith needs to host.

My first attempt was a 10 minute bore - I nodded off at least 5 times!

That led me to understand that I needed to make it in and out of there in 2 minutes or under if anyone was to listen to the message voiced in the video.

It is also easier for the viewer if there are not too many 'messages' in one video as the main point could easily get lost and leave them confused.

Jing is awesome in that it's incredibly easy to record a video and have it uploaded to the internet. There are several reasons why I like it better than Camtasia Studio, but mostly because I never need to edit my videos, it's easiest to just record and push. Also, Jing creates ONE file - an SWF. Camtasia creates a whole host of files that must be grouped into a folder. Once you try to modify these files, you're screwed.

I wouldn't mind paying for a product that offers the same functionality of Jing with a few more options and no time limit.

As you can see, my website offers free Java Video Tutorials. I'm currently redesigning the site, and it has been a real pain trying to work with Camtasia's generated files (most specifically, the config.xml files are the culprits.)

I think there should not be any time limit. It is an unnecessary limitation for Jing. Let the user decide at which time they want to stop the capture

I think Jing is a great program, but I think 10 minutes is a more adequate time allotment; its more functional. I found myself rushing through recordings to meet the 5 minute mark.

I don't mind the 5 minute time limit. If I'm recording something longer than 5 minutes, I think I'd want to use a program that gave me more control over the editing phase, so I'd go with Camista. I'm on a PC, so that isn't a problem for me. (Though I don't have Camista, so that IS [grin].)

A recording time limit is very appropriate and perhaps even a size limit ... I attempt to limit most Jing recordings to around 2 MBtyes or less and with few exceptions I will redo any Jing recording that is over 9 MBytes. The ideal time is as short as possible ... we all get bored after 2 or 3 minutes.

The Jing motto is "quick and easy" or "short and simple" recordings that are ideal for sending/viewing via chat and email. Camtasia Studio 5 is ideal for long, complex, edited recordings.

Thanks for my new favorite utility.

I'd have to agree with approx. 2 minutes max. Most of my videos are a matter of seconds. A quality slider might be nice, but I don't know much about the SWF file format (if there even is a lossy version) but sometimes a longer time is required.

Some things could take 5+ minutes to explain to an audience. Most people are OK with waiting for the thing to download if the information is valuable. I would pay for Jing if it had a configurable compression + time limit (within reason of course).

Oh and if it could work w/out crashing on OS X 10.5.3 :)

I would like to see the time increased to 10 min (or at least 7). I would really like to use Jing to record (and have my students record) pecha-kucha style presentations. These are 6 min 40 seconds.

pecha - kucha =
http://www.danpink.com/archives/2007/08/got-pecha-kucha

8-10 minutes would be good for me.

Here is a case where I ran out of time - screencast showing basic creation of Windows XP virtual machine using VMware Fusion:

http://www.screencast.com/t/IzfFcLndxU3

Looking forward to a Mac version of Camtasia Studio.

Very happy with Jing for now though.

Would like to have a more accessible way of copying my screencast URLs though (after the initial upload).

Thanks!

Great work and kudo's on the improvements!

As to the time limit and size assumptions: we do lots of stock charts with voice-over comments; no time for a Camtasia production during market hours; hence JING is the workable solution for us.

And the 5-minute cut-off forces doing multiple clips so as to get the multiple observations across, and posted to our screencast account.

My suggestion is either an 8-10 minute cut-off; or when out of 'project' (beta) status; a for-fee option of a longer duration recording limit.

By the way, the file-size is not an issue; as for charts kept small enough; 5 minutes only uses 3-4 mb's of bandwidth.

thanks again for the great work and support too!

gene
gene inger
www.ingerletter.com

The five minute limit is imposing. Try as I might, a 5 minute limit calls for uselessly severe content or commentary edits... No matter how fast I talk, or how little I cover.

I may just me the only long-winded one here, but rounding it up to 8 ( a magic number) would probably be better. Why? I bet with an 8 Minute limit I would not feel so squeamishly hampered and actually pull off 5:01 without a hitch. See what I mean?

I understand about the file size, but just build in a self-advertising preloader that wastes time and allows the movie to play at 50% loaded. (Back in the days before broadband, we preloaded at greater than 300k!)

Also, 5 is an accountant's number. What, are you guys tallying up receipts for taxes?

No, you guys are magic. Make it eight. Place it on it's side, eight is really infinity...

I know that SWf has limitations for max frames, and I think the 5 minute SWFs are perfect for jing so I never have to worry about making my video fit into flash player. I have made many videos with Jing, and I don't think I have ever come close to the 5 minute limit. 5 minutes is way too long for a one-shot recording.
Actually, if I do a recording that goes to 2 or 3 minutes, I realize I will need edits and annotation, so I might end up recording my Jing again with Camtasia and producing to flv.
Jing is a work of Art. Its nice to see careful, crafted design in a piece of free software.

I like it now, and I have seen too many good ideas go to crap because they tried too hard to appease everyone.

You guys know what you are doing and it shows.
Please take this hint of wisdom from the Far Side:

For your questions above, the thing I would like to see improved is the file size. Its not too bad now, but If there was a checkbox somewhere for jpg compression, i think the smaller file size output would be worth the subtle loss of quality.
Jing videos are too pretty, anyways. You should add some special effects, contrast, black and white, grain (see why you don't want to listen to me?)

I'd really like to see a blog like you have here for Camtasia...

I believe you should remove the time limit all together if you choose to save it locally. Saving a huge file to screencast.com may be a bad idea, but if I have the local space, why not use it?

You'd have to remember that not ALL recordings are made to be quickly shared to other users online.

I could use another app to record and save and save my files to my local HDD, but when JING is already there and ready to go, why not use it?

Some tutorials too, exceed the 5 minute time limit. Those kinds of recordings are invaluable at times.

I often use Jing for on-the-fly tutorials for my colleagues to illustrate something complex but specialised -- the audience may only be half a dozen or so, and it may only be for a few months. So I'd not ever edit these things -- I'd just rerecord it.

For those who want a fallback, use Windows Media Encoder -- it has screen capture for free (although not as convenient as Jing). SnapZ Pro by Ambrosia Software on the Mac is also great for screen casts as well.

I think some intellectual honesty is in order here. This is a classic example of crippleware (the 'upgrade' being Camtasia). Some people will find its limitations perfectly acceptable and the fact that it is free (as in beer) provides cover for the vendor. And please, the "we know what's best for you" attitude is insulting. Would anyone pay money for Jing if there was still this 5-minute time limit?

Jing is perfect as is for "quick and easy" and "short and simple" recordings that are ideal for sending/viewing via chat and email. Those wanting to create long, complex or edited recordings should buy Camtasia Studio 5.

Thanks for "Jing" - I use it several times every day!

5 minutes is more than enough for me. I love to use Jing to rip out a quick answer to a customer question (Where is the menu for blah?). It is fantastic for videos under a minute because it would probably take me longer than that to write the email telling the customer how to do it. I can show them quick and easy, and be on my way.

Once in a while I find myself starting a quick explanation and then thinking this should be a tutorial. I usually wrap up the quick explanation and then switch over to camtasia for longer tutorials. It would be cool if when I went to capture in Jing it would see my Camtasia and I could auto launch it (Grab - Grab with Camtasia).

I love the tool, and I have gotten many customer comments thanking me to a quick grab showing them how to do something rather than a huge email with "click this, then this, then this".

Consuming a lot of caffeine helps me keep these shorter ... but it would be nice to have the safety buffer of 10 minutes for Mac.

Please email as soon as you have Camtasia for Mac - I have my money out already.

Thanks,
Lisa

I'm a reviewer on youtube.com, as my URL; suggests, I've been looking for a free screen recorder/capturer with no limit and that can record the sounds the computers make[like from a speaker] and lastly in usable file types such as WMV which is a cmmonly used file type , it has the same qualities of SFW but it dooes not grow to big in a long time limit, a 5 min vid I think is 30MB not sure, but if jing were made to those specifications i'd be happy to advertise and do a review on the jing software, and highly recommend it

The 5 minute limit should not be imposed. Make it unlimited instead. I don't want to rush a presentation. You have to give time to the audience to digest the video.

Jing is jing is jing! In my opinion, 5 mins is more than enough. Sure it was annoying the first time I found out (obviously having spent 5 minutes using it), but it's all you need when using jing.

It's not a mystery as to why people are asking for more time. They just want a freebie.

We use jing for conversation, and screenflow (as we're mac based) for presentation videos, which we've paid for.

Jing is ace!

I am a mac user, and I love the fact that I can capture from any VM!

As to the 5 min issue. I personally want to use Jing for screencasts, and other tutorials.
I can clearly stop and make different 'parts' but most of my demo's / tutorials are under 10 minutes.

I am a software developer and really like the interface, I would more than willing to pay for product that has such an appealing interface.

I clearly will have to continue to use other programs when I require >5 minutes.

Thanks for the great work that has been done thus far!

Hello,

I just found out about Jing and it is a superb soft. I will be happy to pay for it! I do not like the 5 mn at all. Most of what I do is small tutorial and 5mn is just not enough. It makes rush and it is not good when you try to explain something. I think 10 minutes is the ideal time. I am using my own storage so a limitation to only to save to file will be fine with me if we could get 10 mn limitation.

Thanks for an amazing product and yes I am serious about paying for it!

Mo,

What I really wanna know is what exactly did you do on the webcam that it took up 55megs? :P

I must be way out there or something...I'm not complaining about jing per se. It's a neat little program. But I don't make short videos to teach or to post. I was checking it out as a substitute on my mac for snagit on my pc which has no time limits for video. I use it to capture a game of online pinochle (which may take up to 1 hr) so that I can go back, break down hands and/or learn where I'm screwing up in playing a hand or game or show cheating by others.

In snagit, you can edit how many shots are taken per second to shrink the size of the video, which helps in disk space. Although I could deal with a larger size video, (there's no configuring jing for smaller size video that I can see) a 5 min limit means it's not really usable as a substitute for snagit.

I will say though, that the screen shot portion of jing is so much quicker and easier to use than the native screen capture on a mac (grab), so that's a cool thing.

I think 5 minutes is fine if its going to screencast.com. For our own storage purposes, I believe you should open it up. It should just be a user option. Let the users of the product decide how they use it and whether its good enough for a 30minute boring tutorial.
For a business model, charge money for anything over the 2G of storage. Thanks for the free storage btw.
I expect to rarely if ever exceed the time limit for videos to the public. I agree with your 2 min is an eternity these days.
However, for within our guild I can see the screencast exceeding 5 min.
Thanks for the tool. I just downloaded it and used it for a college report. Looks very cool, well thought out, excellent interface, and excellent niche thinking in the world of Me-Too products. I hope you guys make a million. Next paycheck you'll get a donation. I have to check what's in Paypal right now to see if I can do it earlier.
Thanks. Kudos.

Jing is a tool for ease and speed, not for a full-blown production. Anything longer than five minutes needs more thought and a good deal of editing to streamline it for easy viewing and effective communication of your material.

A suggestion: if you find yourself going over the limit, find a way to break your tutorial/demonstration/etc. into more bite-size chunks. Your viewers will thank you!

Jing-folks: good work. I'm happy to have made your acquaintance, and am looking forward to what you're cooking up for more premium offerings.

not happy with 5 minute limit.

why would you want to cripple your product?

i totally understand why you would want to have a size limit on the files that are uploaded but why not at least offer an option for longer videos if stored locally? I am only using my drive space. why should you care if i make a video longer than 5 minutes for my own usage?

just my .02

thanks

I agree with the last poster, if I'm saving the files to my hard drive or uploading to my own FTP server then why should I be limited to only 5 minutes?

I also agree with the last 2 posters. It should be an option for the user to pick how long his/her video is and if they save it locally or upload it to their ftp server then there is no reason to have a limitation.

Again thanks for this great software.

I'd use Camtasia Studio for anything over a few minutes IF Camtasia Studio were available on the mac -- sometimes I need to do videos on the mac just to show that we're not tied to one OS or the other... Since Camtasia isn't available on the mac, I need more time from Jing (which far surpasses any other screen video capture tool for the mac!)

I agree with the posters who asked "why would you want to cripple your product?" and stated:

"i totally understand why you would want to have a size limit on the files that are uploaded but why not at least offer an option for longer videos if stored locally? I am only using my drive space. why should you care if i make a video longer than 5 minutes for my own usage?"

As another poster said, the "we know what's best for you" approach is not a selling point. Limit file size for uploads another way - not through the application that creates the videos. And let the user decide what size it best for them.

Also, Camtasia does not support dual monitors like Jing does (at least not yet). Jing would be a great application if it did not have the 5 minute limit.

I have been trying Jing and it is very good except when I record a video playing on the computer, it records the video but not the audio. When I play it back, all I hear is a hum from the speakers. I checked the audio controls and the mic is on. What do I need to do get the audio?

Carl Whitt

Hi Carl,
Jing records the default audio input device, and my hunch is maybe you have multiple audio input options (the working mic being one of them) but the mic is not set to the default input? That's my best shot for now, but if you still have this problem, I'd send a quick email to http://support.techsmith.com and they're really good about knowing how Jing and other software might interact with various sound card setups and operating systems.
Thanks for trying Jing,
Mike Curtis, TechSmith