Screenflow 10
An overhaul and more speed for this screen recorder
$149 From telestream.net/screenflow
Needs macOS Catalina 10.15, Apple Silicon or 64–bit Intel processor, Apple macOS approved GPU
Screenflow has long been a favorite of Mac users who need to record the content of their Mac’s screen, along with its FaceTime camera and microphone. While you can do all of that in QuickTime X, Screenflow and its competitors offer more features and a great deal more flexibility.
Version 10 of Screenflow sees those features increase significantly. There’s a new library of animated titles for use full–screen or the lower third. Once you’ve chose an animation you like, you can add your own text, style it, and choose colors to fit your project. Screenflow now supports simultaneous recording from multiple inputs. You can record your Mac’s screen and system audio, while also recording input from its FaceTime camera, a second camera, an iPhone, external mic, and more. If you’re using multiple apps in a video, Screenflow can record the audio from each separately, meaning that if you’re interrupted by a notification, it’s easy to edit it out.
There are even more filters and effects in version 10, and a background removal tool that’s brilliantly optimized for Apple’s M1 architecture.
You can also create templates from projects, but there are no pre–built templates included, unlike its major competitor Camtasia.
Telestream says it has also improved performance so that Screenflow is faster, and uses fewer resources than its predecessor. And a re–designed interface features a customizable toolbar and dark and light themes. There’s also a new Archive tool that lets you save projects and retain only what has made the cut.
Screenflow is straightforward to use, and there’s help to get started, found on Telestream’s website. The interface does have its quirks. For example, when you create a new document, there’s nowhere to change its name from “Untitled”. And the window has a tendency to enlarge beyond the edges of the screen.
On the performance side, it felt very responsive on our M1 MacBook Air.
THE BOTTOM LINE. Screenflow is an excellent tool for making and editing screen videos, and the ability to record multiple inputs makes it even more useful. KENNY HEMPHILL