About TechSmith

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Our History

Since our incorporation in 1987, TechSmith has become the world’s #1 provider of screen capture and screen recording software for the individual and professional user.

TechSmith was founded in 1987 by William Hamilton, who remains the company’s president today. TechSmith initially developed custom software for Windows, to be used in various commercial applications.

In 1991, the company responded to a market demand for screen capture tools by launching its first independent product, SnagIt®. SnagIt quickly became a word-of-mouth wonder, and its use for screen capture and editing spread rapidly. Today, there are more than 7 million SnagIt users worldwide.

The lessons TechSmith learned from SnagIt’s video capture feature inspired the development of Camtasia, TechSmith’s screen video recording tool, which was released in 1999. At that time, the demand for video capture was growing, even though hardware and software had not matured enough to fully handle it yet. A critical part of Camtasia’s success was the TechSmith Screen Capture Codec (TSCC), which provides lossless compression of screen content. Nothing could rival Camtasia’s video quality and capture performance.

Camtasia went through two major releases before being renamed Camtasia Studio in October of 2002. The product changed significantly to merit a new name and new launch. Camtasia Studio’s suite of tools included Recorder, Producer (which eventually became the editor) and Player. Newer applications like MenuMaker and Effects were added later to round out the product, and a launch pad application was created as a front end to all of the new functionality.

In March 2004, TechSmith released Morae® the first all-digital user experience testing solution for recording, analyzing and sharing the user experience with Web sites and software. Today, Morae is the number one software solution for usability professionals.

Over time, TechSmith has kept pace with new technologies and shifts in the competitive landscape. Our commitment to staying abreast of the current trends allows us to continue developing innovative software and Web-based solutions for our customers. TechSmith's future plans include developing new products and expanding existing products to support the Mac platform.

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