Video Recording Settings using Adobe Captivate

I’ve had some questions lately about getting the best quality for inserting or recording video into Adobe Captivate so I thought I'd write a short article about some best practices. 

Check the Screen resolution on computer. For example: My computer screen recording is 1280 x 720. 

To change your computer's screen resolution on  a MAC. Go to System Preferences > Displays.  For PC, you can right click on the screen and select Screen Resolution or go to Control panel > Display > Screen Resolution

Make your Captivate project the same size as your computer's resolution. It's much better to make your project the size you want when you create a new project but if you need to you can rescale a project by going to the Main tool bar and select: Modify > Rescale Project. So if you're recording using Captivates HD Video or Simulation training then your computer setting and your project will be the same size. 

NOTE: If you're publishing to YouTube the 1280 by 720 is the best resolution because if someone views your video in full screen they'll still get a clear picture. 

When recording video using Camtasia, make sure the size of Camtasia project is the same as the screen resolution on computer. And the size of Captivate project should be the same as screen resolution on computer and the Camtasia recording. To change the size in Camtasia, go to the drop down in the bottom right hand corner and select Adjust Canvas. 

The recording Preferences for Captivate should be set for the same for 30 fps (default setting). MAC: Adobe Captivate/Preferences. PC: Edit/Preferences

In the Recording Preferences for Camtasia set it also for 30 fps. 

Whatever size you decide to record your projects in will depend in large part on the audience you are publishing the projects for. 

As always, feel free to leave comments.