Screencast your iPhone

Okay, say you’re creating a new iPhone app or you just want to DEMO an app in a screencast or maybe even in a presentation. Simple right? Try again, it has to be the most cluster ****ed process I’ve ever run into.

Unless you are the developer and have the simulator you are pretty much out of luck if you want to create a nice clean screencast without having to shoot the screen with a video camera. Having considered everything from animating still screencaptures to doing it all in Motion, I was near my wits end when I decided to go outside the protective realm of the Apple-only approach. Enter, the God forbidden realm of the “jailbreak”.

Before you do anything!
Back up your iPhone – iPod Touch data to your Mac.

Let’s get to it. First off you are going to need the following to make this tutorial work:

1. Blackra1n software for PC or Mac
2. iPhone or iPod Touch
3. Synch cable
4. Your Mac OS computer

Step 1: Prepare the computer

1. First things first, make sure the PC has the latest copy of iTunes installed (then reboot).
2. Attach iPhone – iPod Touch to PC via synch cable
3. If iTunes launches, close the app and do nothing to update or synch with the iPhone – iPod
4. Go to http://blackra1n.com – Dowload the file, make a donation to GeoHot!
5. Launch the application and follow the incredibly simple instructions
6. Make sure you choose Cydia after the reboot!

For more detailed how to on the Blackra1n install: Jailbreak Your iPhone With BlackRa1n Tutorial

Step 2: Install Apps

1. Install ScreenSplitr on your iPhone or Ipod Touch using Cydia
2. Go download DemoGod for your Mac and install
3. Start ScreenSplitr (the icon will indicate that it is “On”)
   
4. Launch DemoGod
   
5. Select the iPhone or iPod Touch in DemoGod
6. Confirm the connection to your iPhone
   
7. Voila! You can now see on screen everything you’re doing on the iPhone!

Step 3: Screencapture

There are loads of ways to get this done. I’m not going to attempt to answer this one yet. I am testing different apps right now. So far I am more impressed with Screenium, but you can use the latest QuickTime (assuming you are using Snow Leopard). Example video at the top of the post was created using ScreenSplitr, DemoGod and Screenium.