How to sink your company with bugs, poor design, and poor support – SnagIt Case Study

TechSmith’s SnagIt is a popular screen/video capture software for Windows and Mac. It does get the job done most of the time, but these days, especially with basic screen and video capture, I expect much better. After having been forced to use this software because of limitations on what I have access to, I am surprised it is as popular as it is. I’m assuming most of those who use it are the “average Joes'” who know about it through word of mouth and its catchy, easy-to-remember name. I have used a number of screen capture utilities and, for Windows, would much rather prefer HyperSnap for screen capture and Camtasia Studio (also developed by TechSmith) for basic video capture . For Linux and Mac, I’d prefer the basic screen capture utilities that come with the OS. Camtasia Studio is also developed by TechSmith and is greatly superior to SnagIt, but it is also more expensive; I have not played with it extensively so cannot comment much more on it.

Let me get started on why I am very annoyed with the Windows version of SnagIt. I had these issues with version 9.0; 10.0 is now out so I’m not sure what, if anything, has not been addressed. First, I made the mistake of capturing a very important web conference using SnagIt and I mistakenly left the default capture setting as “uncompressed” format. I recorded for a little over 1 hour. During the entire process I got absolutely no warning or error messages indicating that anything was wrong. I had even tested the software for about 5 minutes before using it for the web conference. I thought everything was fine until I tried to play the video, at which point I realized that no video player will play the video. Looking on SnagIt’s website, on the “SnagIt Learning Center” page, I see the following advise posted “The maximum size of an AVI file produced by SnagIt is 2 GB. If you pass this size limit, the entire capture is lost.” To say the least, I was truly amazed. I have never experienced such bad software design. 2 GB — really??? Is it still 1999? Further, you would think that if the software cannot record a file over 2 GB, it would prevent the user from doing so or at the very least give some kind of warning/error message. No, apparently TechSmith decided the better way to go is to post a message somewhere on their support site and count on the user reading it before he/she decides to record anything that may go over 2 GB. If nothing else, the software should simply stop recording before it goes over the 2 GB file size; at least the entire capture wouldn’t be lost????

SnagIt Learning Center Warning

To add insult to injury, the support site simply offers the following very helpful advice: “The maximum size of an AVI file produced by Snagit is 2 GB. If you pass this size limit, the entire capture is lost.” What? No remedy? No way to save my important web conference capture that I really really need? Apparently not. Could you imagine being in this situation, searching for a solution, and then finding this answer from TechSmith? Well it’s happened to me and many others. It seems like numerous unsuspecting users have made this mistake (if that’s what you want to call it) of recording over 2 GB only to realize their recording has disappeared into a blackhole.

I found some desperate posts on the internet of lost users trying to find their way out of the dark abyss. Below is a screen capture of two users who posted for help on TechSmith’s Support Forum page. The TechSmith support response was condescending and truly unhelpful, and, again, no solution offered. Instead of offering help, TechSmith support asks, “Why are you recording an uncompressed video?” There are so many things wrong with this reply. Without lingering on the grammar issues in the response…..how about because it is the default and I forgot to change the setting or maybe I just wanted to and your software let me so I assumed it would work. Also, if you use a codec to record, you need the codec to play the video later, and, depending on your use, there is no guarantee that the proprietary codec will be available. Some software vendors like Pinnacle do not recognize some third-party video codecs like the TSCC codec, and this is actually listed on TechSmith’s support website. Maybe TechSmith support should read their own support website. Another distraught user searching for answers even followed-up for some sort of help, but no response from TechSmith support. Apparently, TechSmith support thought they had already answered the question effectively.

TechSmith Support Forum

Unfortunately, I’ve also had other problems with this software. For example, SnagIt just randomly stopped capturing screen shots to file and I had to reinstall the software to correct the issue. And why does it take so long to uninstall? – it’s screen capture software not NASA imaging software. Additionally, on rare occasions, the program doesn’t start when I double click the desktop shortcut and I have to press ctrl-alt-delete and kill the program process and start the program again. Yes, you can get the more expensive Camtasia Studio, but you may not be immune to issues there either and you’ve already seen how helpful support is. See the following post here that I accidentally found regarding 2 GB file issues with Camtasia Studio.

The Solution to the 2 GB Video Capture SnagIt Problem

Anyway, since TechSmith has been unable to help, I would like to offer my assistance to those who have trespassed past the 2 GB demarcation line and are desperately searching for solutions on how to recover their recordings. It’s been a while since I did this, so I may not have all the steps listed out exactly, but the process is pretty simple. First, install VirtualDub. VirtualDub is a free video capture/processing utility for 32-bit/64-bit Windows platforms and is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). However, it can also be used to clean-up and fix a lot of common AVI problems. Second, open your file and VirtualDub should be able to detect the issue and allow you to play the file. Under ‘File’ on the menu bar, you’ll see an option to save the AVI file. Make sure to save the file – it may take some time to fix depending on how large the file is; you will see a progress bar. My original file was just over 2 GB and I think it took at least 30 minutes. A warning – my fixed file was a lot bigger than the original 2 GB file, so make sure you have at least 3x the space of your original file. It may not be perfect, but the solution allows you to recover and play the contents you recorded. You can mess around with the settings and try to improve or compress your recovered video. I hope this is able to help someone; I know it would have saved me a lot of time!

So, how does TechSmith and SnagIt look to you now? This is a perfect example of how a product that has potential but is managed poorly can lose customers and loyalty….bugs, bad design, and probably worst of all, poor support, is something that can ruin a company/product. I know what I will tell people when they ask me about SnagIt; and people often do ask me about software and software recommendations. It is useful software, but in a world full of fierce competition, why make these stupid avoidable mistakes that can hurt your company/product? I’m not suggesting TechSmith is a bad company and will go under or won’t be a success because of the issues I’ve pointed out as there are many factors that make a product successful, but the problems will definitely have a continuous negative impact unless properly addressed.