Capturing Video from Your Tablet

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Hi everyone, my name is Kelly and I’ll be your guest blogger for today!

Recently, I read a feature request in our online discussion community asking TechSmith to develop a Camtasia-like product for capturing tablet video. This got me to thinking of a few things:

  1. Most tablets have a way to push video out from the device (either directly through HDMI on many Android tablets, or through the use of an adapter with the iPad).
  2. I do video capture through HDMI all the time (we use it for every episode of our monthly web show “The Forge“.

With those two facts in mind, I started wondering if it might be possible to use an HDMI capture card in conjunction with the HDMI-output from a tablet to just capture the video from the screen of the tablet. Well, I’m happy to say that after some trial and error, I met with success! I then repeated the process, and recorded a video of the steps involved. Check out the video below to see how I did it, but first, a few of the required materials:

  • A tablet (tested and verified with an Asus Transformer and Apple iPad 2; iPad 1 DOES NOT work)
  • An HDMI cable (preferably 6-10 feet so you can pull it a ways from the computer tower)
  • An adapter for your device (HDMI to iPad adapter, HDMI to mini HDMI, etc. Varies depending on your tablet)
  • PCI-Express Avertv HD DVR High Definition Capture Card by AverMedia
  • Camtasia Studio or Jing
  • A computer with an open PCI-Express slot

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Kelly Rush is the video production specialist at TechSmith, and has been with TechSmith for seven years. When he isn’t making videos he is usually out taking pictures, playing with whatever new gadget he’s just gotten his hands on, trying to find yet another classic gaming console for his collection, or having fun with his wonderful family.

  • http://appsforipads.net MaggieB – Apps for iPads

    VERY nice article, and video Kelly!
    But then we would expect nothing less!

    While it’s not the entire outcome I was hoping for, you know that from our long list of forum comments, I commend you for the great work you have put into this over the past weeks! Thanks for ALL your work! The end result says it all, very well done!

    Thanks again!
    Maggie

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    Thanks a lot Maggie! And thanks for watching! :)

    Regards,

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

  • http://distlib.blogs.com Paul R. Pival

    Great stuff, thanks Kelly! I was hoping a USB2 external capture device existed that would facilitate this on a laptop or computer that doesn’t have a PCIe slot; I’m guessing USB2 speed is too slow though. I did find a USB3 external device if that’s of use to anyone: http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    @Paul: Yup, we use the Blackmagic Intensity cards (three of them, to be precise) on “The Forge”, so I know all about them! Unfortunately, the software is kind of wonky and it was hard to get the older version that worked better…also, the AverMedia is $100 cheaper, so that helps. But yes, if you want an external solution (i.e. if you’re using a laptop), that doesn’t help you out much. Unfortunately, HDMI capture cards are definitely a niche product, and that Blackmagic (which as you pointed out only uses USB 3.0, which is not prominent in the market yet) is pretty much the only option.

    Oh well, that’s what we get for riding the curve. Hang in there! ;)

    Regards,

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

  • http://ictoblog.nl Pierre

    I am really glad that my iPad 1 is jailbroken so I can use the Display Recorder application (available through Cydia) to record the video. Because, although the video is very instructive and informative, buying an HDMI video capture card just for this turns out to be a challenge if you live in the Netherlands. I couldn’t find the AverMedia or an alternative here and AFAIK Amazon USA doesn’t ship electronics to Europe.

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    Hi Pierre!

    Not quite the Netherlands, maybe German Amazon could get it there though? I think this is the card:

    http://www.amazon.de/AVerMedia-AVerTV-CaptureHD-PCI-Express-Analog-TV/dp/B002MRROO4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1312917572&sr=8-4

    If not that, this company is located in the Netherlands (I think), and they carry AverMedia products…perhaps they can help you out.

    http://www.komplett.nl/Komplett/catalog/ZKB_01COM/25_TVTUNER/default.aspx

    Or like you said, just keep doing what you’re doing. Lots of different tools for every job! :)

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

  • http://andheblogs.andyrush.net Andy Rush

    Is it possible for you to give us the link to the resulting iPad screencast video (on Screencast.com)?

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    @Andy: Great question! And sure thing! Here is the actual capture from the video. Note that it is choppy, because there are two screen captures going on at the same time:

    http://www.screencast.com/t/wfYieHk2xs

    The following video is a bit better, because it was recorded with only Camtasia Recorder running, which helps the frame rate out a lot. Also, this video was able to capture the audio from the iPad 2 as well:

    http://www.screencast.com/t/N8gDTd2Ee0B

    Hope that is helpful!

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

    P.S. GREAT last name, Andy! ;)

  • http://www.accelerateyourmarketing.com Ryan Steinolfson

    Ok, I would love for you guys to come up with a screencapture for Ipad2!

    I would be in screencast heaven. How do you do what you did in the video but for a mac???

    I like screenchomp but it is leaving me wanting more. ha

    Thanks,

    Ryan

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    @Ryan: I believe the AverMedia only works for Windows. The only other HDMI capture card that I have used on a Mac is the Blackmagic Intensity Pro. We will be using the above method on our new season of “The Forge”, to show off some tablet footage. I haven’t used the software that comes with the Blackmagic in a long time though, so I don’t know how capable it is. If it works though, there should be no reason why you couldn’t use Jing or Camtasia for Mac to accomplish the same thing though!

    Regards,

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

  • Ute-S

    Great screencast! And it comes just in time for me because we might have to record iPad video for a client.
    But we also might have to record iPhone – is it possible to make that work, too?
    (One small critics to your screencast: The sound quality sometimes makes it difficult to understand for me as a non-native speaker of English.)
    Best regards,
    Ute

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    @Ute: Thanks for watching! Yeah, I wish I had used my wireless mic in hindsight, but I couldn’t immediately locate it, and didn’t have a lot of free time to do the video.

    Regarding the iPhone…I don’t have one to try it with, but I did read, in researching for this, that it can work on the iPhone 4. I’m not sure how many generations back of the iPhone, if any, for which that remains accurate, so you’ll have to try it out. Good news is, if you get your setup going for capturing from an iPad 2, you’ll have everything you need to try it from an iPhone (other than the iPhone of course). Should just have to swap out the iPad for the iPhone and continue to use the HDMI adapter (since the both use the same connector at the bottom. If you find you have success with it, please post it here so others can learn from you!

    Regards,

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

  • Gary

    Kelly…does this work with windows XP and could I record a Keynote presentation from my iPad 2 to my PC adding a voiceover prior to editing ( using Camtasia ) ? Thanks, Gary

  • http://www.techsmith.com Kelly Rush

    @Gary: Does it work on Windows XP? Good question, and I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you (in fact, I don’t think I’ve even booted up Windows XP in over a year!). My guess is that it could…I think that we’ve done some tweaks on how video capture works in Camtasia Studio 7 to take advantage of how we capture video in overlay windows (which this likely would be), and I know we’ve done the same for audio. Only way to know for sure would be to try it and see, I’m afraid.

    As far as Keynote goes…I don’t see why not. As long as it can play on the iPad 2, and you can see/hear it on your computer screen, it should work just fine (assuming, if you’re using Windows XP, this process still works).

    Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, if you do try it out, please share your results for others!

    Kelly Rush
    Video Production Specialist
    TechSmith Corporation

  • henryjhone

    I think the Capturing Video from Your Tablet is certainly a powerful video screen capture .It is a pity that the screen capture tool dont have the shortcut key.It is a way to advance thew ork efficiency.the Onde Screen Capture is perfect.

  • Mark Parr

    I ordered the Avermedia card based on the link in this article to Amazon. Whenever I try to run the Avermedia software with either an IPad 2 or Toshiba Thrive using the HDMI output options on those devices, the Avermedia software indicates a problem w/ HDCP. Anyone else have similar problems?

  • Joe Wilcox

    Same here. It refuses to let me record it. Maybe it has something to do with multiple monitors?

  • Mark Parr

    My problem was a Windows XP issue. I upgraded to Windows 7 and am now able to perform the steps that Kelly shows in this post/video to see the live video of both my Android and IPad tablets.

    The AverMedia capture software still reports a HDCP error but at least things are working as advertised and I can use Camtasia to capture my tablet screens.

    Mark

  • Joe Wilcox

    I’m on Windows 7. Still getting the HDCP error.

    • Kelly Rush

      Hey Joe,

      Sorry to hear you’re having trouble! I did speak to at least one user who upgraded to Windows 7, which fixed the problem for them. If you are indeed using Windows 7 already, perhaps you could try updating your video card drivers, or if you aren’t using a dedicated video card by Nvidia or AMD, that could be another option (sorry, I’m grasping at straws here).

  • André

    Hey, great workt. But I got a problem with the resoloution. Is there any way to get a better resoloution? Or maybe are my settings incorrect? Thx for your Help.

    André

  • Philip Manfield

    What about bypassing the computer and using the RCA output from an internet – to – TV adapter device?

    Phil

  • Steve

    The software does not detect the PCI express card.
    Any thoughts

  • Pankaj

    Hi,,
    it was nice tutorial
    i already buy the one but h having problem with recording iPhone as same way

    can u resolve this ?

    • Kelly Rush

      The iPhone unfortunately, did not support mirroring until the iPhone 4s, so unless you’re using that particular iPhone, this process will not work. I DID try this on the iPhone 4s, and can confirm it worked for me.

  • mmmme

    default software captures the blackberry playbook perfectly!!!
    must have to a dev showing off an app.

    thanks!

    • kaCo

      Sorry, I’m not very techy so this is probably a silly question, but I’m looking at buying a PlayBook, what software are you referring to? Also did you need the high definition capture card on your pc? Thanks for your help!

      • Kelly Rush

        Hi kaCo,

        I haven’t used the Playbook like this, or really in general. However, this process pretty much works for anything that has an HDMI-out port on the device, so if the Playbook has that, then this process SHOULD hopefully work.

  • James Anderson

    I haven’t seen any subject updates. I just needed to do a capture this week from a 3rd Gen iPad. This solution should work for an iPad 2 or the iPad (3rd Gen) as both support AirPlay with screen mirroring.

    If you have a Macintosh running Snow Leopard or Lion:

    1) Download an app called Reflection http://www.reflectionapp.com. It is about $15 and includes 10-minute session trials.

    2) I set my desktop background to a solid green (thanks to new Camtasia 2 green screening function).

    3) Open Reflection, I chose to display video within an iPad frame.

    4) Go to iPad, double click home button, and swipe right. Turn on AirPlay selecting your Macintosh. Turn on mirroring. Note – you need to be on the same network for AirPlay to work. If that is not possible, the two work arounds… (a) set-up an adhoc network from your laptop, or (b) if you have Verizon wireless on your iPad – create a hotspot from your iPad and connect your computer to your hotspot.

    5) You should now see your iPad screen on your desktop.

    6) Open Camtasia 2.

    7) Select a custom area, I chose an area just larger than the framed device.
    8) Start recording.

    9) Use your iPad to record what you would like.

    10) Stop recording, and turn-off AirPlay.

    11) You now have a recorded video of everything you did on your iPad. Apply VideoFX “Remove a Color” and select your background color.

    12) You know have a nice screen capture of everything you did on your iPad.

    I was about ready to go an buy a few expensive cables to do this – when I realized there was AirPlay reception software out there.

    Windows Option: It looks like the software XBMC may support this.

    • Kelly Rush

      Great, thanks James! Yes, we covered this process as well on a recent Forge episode. It’s certainly one possible option.