With Instagram retaining its death grip on the mobile photo sharing space, everyone wants to know who will be named the king of mobile video sharing. Fueled by dreams of being bought for $1 billion, a bevy of applications have emerged, but just like Highlander, there can be only one. In this cage match to determine a winner, Viddy and Socialcam are the favorites that have emerged. Let’s see how they measure up:
Quality: One of the things I really liked about Viddy was its ability to change the video quality. If your device is capable, you can switch from 4:3 480p to 16:9 720p HD. Unfortunately, with Socialcam, if you have a camera that can film in HD quality, you are forced to use standard definition. EDGE: Viddy
Effects: After you have recorded something with Viddy, you are given the option to apply filters and music, and you can change the transparency of the filter and the volume of the music. Viddy has also created a marketplace where you can download production packs with new filters and songs. Some of these are even backed by celebrities, like the Snoop Dogg pack, which contains a smoke effect and hip-hop music. However, you cannot preview these effects before you apply them. Once they are applied, you have to wait the audio and video encodes if you want to preview the effects. With Socialcam, the filters are applied before you start recording, that way, you can actually see what your video will look like. Once your video is complete, you can also choose a theme that will add animations, borders, or video information to your recording. Unlike Viddy, you can preview the themes and music before you actually apply them, and once they are applied, it does not take nearly as long to preview. EDGE: Socialcam
Social Integration: Both applications have a very similar social network. However, they differ when it comes to what other networks you can share to. Viddy allows sharing to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr, while Socialcam can share to those as well as Posterous and Dropbox. Although this basically seems like a tossup, Viddy’s overall upload time took much longer than Socialcam. In a world where speedy technology is king, that’s a pretty big downfall. EDGE: Socialcam
Wild Card: Both applications have interesting features that the other does not. Socialcam does not limit the length of videos, while Viddy restricts their videos to 15 seconds. This freedom is great for people who really want to preserve memorable moments. Although Viddy has only 15 seconds of record time, they have some options that can really make their videos look great. Users have the option to set the exposure and white balance of their recordings, which can really make a difference in certain situations. EDGE: Viddy
Well it looks like we have a draw. After looking at both of these apps, it is clear that each one has its flaws and its strengths. When picking an app, I think it really depends what your overall purpose is. If you just want to record quick moments in time, I would go with Viddy. However, if you are looking for longer videos, Socialcam is the app for you.
