I’ve used a few different screen recorders for my Chromebook, with mixed results. Until recently, Snagit was my go to for accomplishing this task. It offered a number of ways to customize your screenshots and recordings with a toolbar that allowed you to crop, add text, freehand draw etc. But, as some are noting in the Chromebook community, it is no longer available in the Chrome Web Store and has consequently disappeared from my toolbar. And for this, I am thankful.
I stumbled across HYFY while perusing through the Web Store for a suitable replacement for Snagit. The thing that caught my eye was the fact that, not only can you record your screen, HYFY also records audio. I immediately had to give it a try. One of the big draw backs of many screen capture programs is the limitation to video only. Even if I can edit the video to pinpoint my work or what I’m trying to fix, that takes time. Collaboration becomes very tiresome when I have to repeatedly record then write up a blue print to so that I can get my point across to whoever is on the other end.
Now, with HYFY, I can record my browser, entire desktop or individual window and share the link for quick and easy collaboration. Since I can record audio, play-by-play of what I’m seeing on-screen is a cinch. Check out the video for a quick demo of HYFY in action.
As you can see, the app is very simple to use and sharing your projects are as easy as sharing a link. I spoke with the guys at HYFY a couple of times this week and their support is top-notch. If you’d like to give HYFY a try, you can pick it up at the Chrome Web Store. The basic plan is free. For a little more robust experience, HYFY Pro is a mere $5 a month. Completely worth it in my book. A special thanks to Ryan Kennedy, from HYFY, for all your help this week. I look forward to getting a lot of use out of this App of the Week.
I use Screencastify, which includes the audio and syncs with Google Drive in order to save space on a Chromebook. The upgrade is just $24/year. Worth checking out before investing in HyFy.
Is it better than screencastify?
I am using both this week. I will give you my opinion after I’ve had some hands-on time with both.
I use snagit and for screen recording and it records audio for me.