As the popularity of screencasting increases, so do the number of software options for screencast producers. The cheap, free, and web-based software options are too numerous to list; there seems to be a newcomer each week, varying only slightly from the last. Considering commercial products for creating truly professional screencast videos drastically narrows one’s options and the options are fewer still if one is using a Mac. As far as Scraster Professional Screencasting is concerned, the options for proffesional screencast production can be counted on one finger: ScreenFlow (originally created by Vara Software and recently acquired by Telestream) is the hands-down leader in Mac-based screencasting software.

TechSmith’s Camtasia is the unrivaled leader on the PC side of professional screencasting and they’ve recently updated their blog with screenshots of the long-anticipated Camtasia for the Mac, which they say will drop later in 2009. Ambrosia Software, makers of SnapzPro X, also say that they have an update on the way. Between Camtasia for the Mac, SnapzPro X, and ScreenFlow (and let’s not rule out the wildcard) all rivaling for Mac market share, it will be interesting to see how things go in 2009.

For now, ScreenFlow is running the show for Mac-based professional screencasters. Despite it’s numerous  bugs, stability issues, lack of support, and lack of community, it’s the only game in town for doing what it does.  First, ScreenFlow is capable of capturing everything, including DVD video and the screens of VMFusion. Second, ScreenFlow, by default, captures everything on your screen with every capture. There’s no need to pick and highlight an area – that’s all done in post-production…which, in ScreenFlow, is hardly another stage. Once video is captured with ScreenFlow, there’s no rendering time involved before one is able to edit – you can get right to it.

There are some significant shortcomings in the editing area of ScreenFlow, but the extensive feature list compensates. The timeline interface is as clean and intuitive as iMovie (and very similar, in fact), and adding zooms and pans, highlights and video effects is a snap. Mouse movements can be tracked with a variety of callout effects, and keystrokes can also be shown on screen. The ability to import PNGs opens up your options to the extent of your imagination. For example, using transparent PNGs is how one can incorporate titling and overlayed imagery into their productions. Tragically, ScreenFlow doesn’t have any proper titling functionality, but most likely will in its next update.

Video compression and export quality is another of ScreenFlow’s strong suits. ScreenFlow uses custom GPU algorithms to give your finished movie the best possible quality. The user can export in a slew of different presets, and the options for customization are many. Exporting at 1280x720px creates a true HD video that can be uploaded to the number of online sites (like Blip.tv) that are now offering HD. You can view the Scraster promo video on our homepage for an idea of how sharp full-screen HD can look.

For now, Scraster Professional Screencasting and a lot of other professional screencasters are depending on ScreenFlow exclusively. But in the field of professional screencasting software, things change fast. Which screencasting software will be making our lives easiest by the end of the year remains to be seen.

UPDATE: Blip.tv is not meant for commercial use and removed Scraster’s videos.