Active Presenter 8 Review

When you look for the best screen recorders to make tutorial and demonstration videos, Active Presenter is a common screen recorder you will come across. Active Presenter is designed for users to create tutorial videos as well as software simulation videos easily. You can record your screen as well as record your webcam video simultaneously. Besides, there are smart capture, full motion recording, multiple timelines, flexi box features available.

The combination of slides and videos in simulation mode is a unique combination that helps create demonstrative and interactive presentations. However, Active Presenter free version puts a watermark on your recorded video. Therefore, you have to purchase its premium version for proper usage. But the question is if Active Presenter is truly worth it or you should look for a better alternative. In this article, we will review Active Presenter 8 stating its features, pros, and cons so that you can reach your decision promptly.

Part 1. Key Features of Active Presenter

Active Presenter has established itself as the best tutorial and software simulation screen recorder. However, you can create any type of video with Presenter as you can do with a standard screen recorder. Check out the key features that the screen recorder has to offer which make it stand out in the crowd of screen recorders.

Recording – You can record your screen and webcam video simultaneously as well as separately. Similarly, you can record audio from your system as well as from external microphone. You can record voice-overs and audio narration and add them to any recorded video.

Editing – Active Presenter comes with video as well as audio editor. You can do basic editing such as cut, copy, paste, delete and crop. Besides, you can insert audio and video clips, split videos, change speed, add fade effect, blur objects, add background music, and likewise. Besides, you can get green screen effects and add text-to-speech feature.

Software Simulation – Apart from recording regular video, you can record software simulation. In software simulation, you get a series of slides instead of a video. These slides can be regular slides or video slides. In video slides, your scrolling actions and drag-and-drop actions are recorded with full-motion recording. Besides, the application creates smart annotations, indicates mouse cursor path as well as mouse clicks and keystrokes on the slides. Moreover, you can add feedback messages and record narration for the software simulation project.

Interactive Quizzes – You can create engaging and interactive quizzes on Active Presenter. You have to select the question slides, add interactive actions and events that users can performance for engagement. You can also set score, time limit, and number of maximum attempts, pass and fail conditions and much more.

Export To HTML – You can export your software simulations and quizzes to HTML5 so that the users can access them online. The design is responsive and hence, it can run on any web browser on any device.

Versatile Export Options – You can save your recorded video in various file formats starting from MP4 and AVI to WMV and MKV. You can also select frame rate, video quality, keyframe and other parameters to reduce the output file size.

Part 2. How to Download and Use Active Presenter?

Initially, you should go for Active Presenter free download. It is more like a trial version where you can access all the available features but your recorded video will have a watermark of Active Presenter. Active Presenter is a screen recorder offered by Atomi Systems and you have to download the software from their official website. The software is available for both Windows and Mac users. Here are the steps to follow.

Step 1: From your web browser, visit “atomisystems.com/download”.

Step 2: According to your operating system, click on Download button for Active Presenter download of the latest available version.

Step 3: After the downloading is completed, click on the downloaded file to install the software on your computer.

Here are the steps to use Presenter to record your screen.

Step 1: Launch Active Presenter and select Record Video option.

Step 2: Select the Recording area as well as audio and video source as per requirements. If you do not select any external video source such as webcam, the software will record your screen only.

Step 3: To start recording, click on Rec button. You will get 3 seconds of buffer time to get ready.

Step 4: To stop recording, press Ctrl+End keys together.

Step 5: The recorded video will open on Presenter where you can edit and export in desired file format.

Part 3. Pros and Cons of Active Presenter

Every software has strengths and weaknesses and when the weaknesses are negligible, you can consider that software to be great for your use. Here are the pros and cons of Active Presenter 8 that you should be aware of. Based on them, you can decide if you should purchase its premium plan or opt for a better alternative.

Pros:

Powerful combination of PowerPoint and Screen recorder.

Record screen and webcam with different audio sources.

Create software simulation, quizzes, and tutorial videos.

Standard editing options with different export file formats.

Perfect for creating HTML5-based eLearning content.

The user interface is clean with all options readily available.

Cons:

The learning curve is rather steep.

It shows bugs, lags and crashes at times.

The premium versions are expensive.

Limited video import options available.

Part 4. Best Alternative to Active Presenter

All said and done, Active Presenter is more focused on creating software simulations, demos, and interactive slides. It is not a dedicated screen recorder which is what most users look for. The pricing is steep along with the learning curve. Besides, the limited video import option is a downfall. That is why we recommend Wondershare Filmora as the best alternative to Active Presenter 8.

Filmora is a dedicated video recorder with an advanced video editing platform. You can record and edit your recorded video better than Presenter. There is no restriction on import options, and the pricing is affordable. Here are the steps to record the screen with Filmora.

Step 1: Download and install Wondershare Filmora as per your operating system. Launch Filmora and click on PC Screen option to record the screen.

Step 2: Select the recording screen area and the audio sources. Enable Record the Camera Stream option if you want to record webcam video alongside screen recording.

Step 3: Click on Record button to start recording. Press F9 key to stop recording. Thereafter, you can edit and export in the desired file format.

Conclusion

Active Presenter 8 is a premium screen recorder and software simulation creator. It is a versatile and multi-purpose recorder, but the pricing is steep, and there are certain issues that the company needs to address for betterment. If you are looking for a better alternative to Presenter, we recommend Wondershare Filmora which is a professional video recorder and video editor.