ScreenFlow 1.5.1 Improvements and Fixes

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Mac software Telestream ScreenFlow






The other day, Telestream upgraded its screen-capture application to 1.5.1. The previous version was 1.2.1. According to the software developer, there are more than a dozen improvements and bug fixes. Shown below is a list of improvements officially announced by Telestream.





  • Titling and text support: ScreenFlow 1.5.1 brings support for adding text objects directly to the timeline, with multiple fonts and styles for creating beautiful titles.
  • Customizable mouse pointers: ScreenFlow 1.5.1 lets you replace the recorded system mouse pointer with any image you like, including simulation of touch screen and finger pointer, to make beautiful iPhone screencasts. With a built-in circle cursor option and new ‘Invert’ mouse click effect, it’s now even easier for iPhone developers to create great screencasts.
  • Audio Effects: ScreenFlow 1.5.1 builds in over ten audio effects you can apply to recording, making it easy to add depth and warmth to your narration.
  • Mono microphones mixed to stereo: Professional microphones that record to a single channel can now have their audio mixed into stereo automatically.
  • Integration with Telestream’s Flip4Mac WMV: WMV Components (starting at $49) provide integrated Windows Media Video format export.






    • Let’s go over some of these improvements and fixes.

    As shown in Screenshot 01, the software developer has added a sixth tab. Clicking on the Text tab, you can now add a text layer. You can change not just the font color but also the background color and opacity of the layer. (See Screenshot 02.) Unfortunately, you cannot rotate the text layer. So the angle is always 0º.  





    Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 01 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 02 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 03 – Source: MacHouse






    You can see another new improvement by clicking on the Screen Recording tab. (See Screenshot 03.) They say that you can now import your own Mouse pointer image. Shown in Screenshot 04 is a PNG file that I’ve created with Adobe Fireworks CS3. I find Choose Image under the Pointer pull-down menu. (See Screenshot 05.) As shown in Screenshot 06, my PNG file replaced the default Mouse pointer appearing in the desktop movie.





    Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 04 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 05 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 06 – Source: MacHouse






    Telestream says ScreenFlow supports more than ten audio effects. Clicking on the Audio tab, you can see a pull-down menu containing 12 audio effects. (See Screenshot 07.) But we don’t see much change after applying any of them to the movie track, though.





    Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 07 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 08 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 09 – Source: MacHouse






    Another major improvement is support for WMV. The software developer says that one can now export a desktop movie to Windows Media Video. Seeing the Compression Type drop-down menu, you cannot find WMV. (See Screenshot 08.) So how are we going to export a desktop movie to Windows Media Video? You have to go back to the main export window and look under Preset. Then choose Windows Media. (See Screenshot 09.) ScreenFlow may prompt you to download the latest version of Flip4Mac QuickTime component. (See Screenshot 10.) If you click on Download Flip4Mac, the default web browser will launch itself and download a disk image. (See Screenshot 11.) I actually installed the latest version of Flip4Mac accordingly. Repeating the same steps, I finally get access to WMV export Settings. (See Screenshot 12.) ScreenFlow won’t give you a free copy of Flip4Mac WMV Studio (or better), which you are required to have to export a desktop movie to WMV.





    Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 10 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 11 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 12 – Source: MacHouse






    For those who import desktop movies to Final Cut Pro, there’s a major concern. We noted in our software review that Final Cut Pro does not always recognize the frame rates of the screen-capture movies created with ScreenFlow. Let’s see if the frame rate problem has been fixed. I exported two movies out of the same ScreenFlow project. One is exported with the frame rate of 24. The other desktop movie is exported with the frame rate of 25. Screenshot 13 shows the scene where the Sequence is set up for the frame rate of 24. And there is no red line for the video track. Checking the format of the video clip, the frame rate is shown as 24. (See Screenshot 14.) Likewise, Final Cut Pro reads the frame rate of the other video clip correctly. (See Screenshot 15.)





    Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 13 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 14 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 15 – Source: MacHouse






    We have one little concern about ScreenFlow. Does it support sampling rates greater than 44.1 K for AAC? Actually, it does. Probably, it did with Version 1.2.1, too. It’s just that we didn’t think of a simple workaround. First, you will have to set the audio compressor to PCM. Then choose 48 kHz or higher for the sampling rate. (See Screenshot 16.) Switching to AAC, I can now change the sampling rate up to 48 kHz. (See Screenshot 17.)





    Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 16 – Source: MacHouse    		   Telestream ScreenFlow 1.5.1
    Screenshot 17 – Source: MacHouse






    ScreenFlow is a product of Telestream, Inc.






    Related articles:

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    Video Tutorial: Making Desktop Video with ScreenFlow – 01
    Mac Software Review: ScreenFlow 1.2.1

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