Screen casting and desktop recording in Ubunut

Sometimes we may be needing to create some screen casts and record some thing on the desktop itself. Then we can do this by getting some tools into the Ubuntu operating system.

FFMPEG with x11grab:

It is one of the best methods to make screen captures and allows a variety of audio and audio visual effects. FFMPEG includes x11grab, a module for screen capture. To do all these things first we need to install it by using the below command:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

RecordMyDesktop :

It is a desktop recording utility and it has both pyGTK and a pyQT4 GUI frontends available in it. Only the Gtk version is available from the repositories (but it works well with KDE/Kubuntu). Now to install it use the below command:

sudo apt-get install gtk-recordmydesktop

Using recordMyDesktop utility with PulseAudio :

If you have not installed Pulse Audio Controls and Volume utility install it, they are useful for monitoring your pulse audio devices. You can install it using the below command:

sudo apt-get install pavucontrol paprefs padevchooser

Now we can change the recordMyDesktop settings so that the capture device is the one you select through pulse audio. See the process mentioned below:

gtk-recordMyDesktop -> Sound Quality (ticked) -> Advanced -> Sound -> Device: pulse

This sets recordMyDesktop to use whichever input devices are selected through pulse audio. If you have several input devices, all of them will be recorded. It's an easy way to mix the inputs.

Istanbul:

This is a desktop recording utility for GNOME desktop. It records the session into a OGG theora video format file. To install it use the below command:

sudo apt-get install istanbul

Xvidcap:

It is a desktop screen capturing utility for Ubuntu. It captures your desktop as a video file. To install it use the following command:

sudo apt-get install xvidcap

We can also use the recorded screen casts to make a presentation using the utilities like Wink, Freeser.