Notes: All my test recordings took place on March 29, 2021.
Zencaster promises better quality than recording your zoom call, and it is LOADs better. But not perfect.
Pros: It is free! (for now)
Cons: It was a little clunky to use.
Season 1 of “Song Gimmick” was recorded with Zencastr:
Episode 1 (audio – video)
Episode 2 (audio – video)
Episode 3 (audio – video)
Episode 4 (audio – video)
Episode 5 (audio – video)
I was using the free version. At the time of testing, it was unlimited for audio/video in MP3 and MOV files (16-bit 48k WAV is available with the paid version). Apparently 1080p video is available, but all our videos came as 720p. Looking back, there is an option in settings for “Record in maximum quality.” I’m not sure why that isn’t enabled from the beginning.
Selecting the input was a little challenging. At one point, we had to exit and return to the recording to be able to hear each other. There wasn’t any way to see levels to determine if the microphone was too loud or quiet. It sounded like there was some peaking while recording (from 3 guys that understand audio).
Overall, the recording and download went very well.
“Echo Cancellation: Cancel echoes caused by feedback.”
By default, echo cancellation is on. This it to avoid your microphone hearing your speaker and creating an echo. Since we were on headphones, we didn’t need this. When I tried turning it off, I got an echo. So I put it back on. This causes an annoying cancelation when people talk over each other (Episode 5 might be the worst example, especially Kyle’s microphone). If you can turn it off and not get echo, you should.
I would love it if they added volume meters so you you could monitor levels, and I wish they would make it more clear if the video was 720p or 1080p.
There were also glitches in video, but this could have been a glitch in my video hardware and not zencastr’s fault. No way to know. Examples from Episode 1 = 3:24 and 5:12
Overall, I say it is better than Zoom, but I have high hopes that the next thing we try will be better than this.
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