Hello, and welcome to the PolyInContent Digest Review of ChopCast!
Marketing Manager Eppione Joanna H.
This is a tool for taking your episodic longform (usually minimum 15+) videos, and turning them into short form micro-content like YT Shorts.
One thing to keep in mind for this series is that it is for giving and overview and opinion on various content repurposing tools out there.
The structure is the overview, pricing, pros, cons, and then any particular experience I may have with the tool good or bad. Finally, at the end I’ll wrap up any extra thoughts.
NOTE: This is not sponsored, and my opinions are my own. I aim to keep it fair and just, but my intention is to keep it real and honest.
Overview
Chopcast started out actually as Tribetactics, and that is when I came across them originally. I love the rebrand, but I wanted to mention the original name because I really think it calls into their philosophy. When you are a content creator you are building a TRIBE around your content, and that sort of group only gets built the more you put out.
By making microcontent, then you are able to spread that tribe even further. I just like how that is ingrained into their ethos, even now that they are ChopCast, which honestly is a better name for what they are now. A tool that you can use to create clips of your longform content. While it can do a bit more, that is the main purpose it seems.
One of the founders was actually a guest on the PolyCast as well!
Also another thing to mention is that they have a great pool of resources, including a "build-a-video-series-101" mini course, that are pretty helpful!
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You start out in your content folder screen:
Once you click a video, or have added one, then you can see your video (and the clips are below the video player):
In the editor you have a timeline with highlights when each person speaks, auto-transcript, and customization options:
Pricing
One thing I really like to see is different options for various ranges of people. I am a solopreneur who really cannot be spending money on tools every month. Especially if they are overly expensive, like how some social media management tools can be, but this price range is definitely more doable.
I happened to be lucky enough to catch the LTD deal when it was on Appsumo for a short time. However I think the 9/m plan seems to be really good deal, most companies don't give you the "no watermark" option until the second paid plan. Additionally, one thing I kept running into was the issue of upload limits, as some of my episodes were an hour plus AND/OR too high of gigs in size.
The 60 min limit for the cheap plan will be plenty good for most people, as their content is generally 15-30 min. As well as, the five gig limit seems fair. The support is often really helpful too if you have questions.
One thing I think is important to note is the cost of transcription. Given that most tools cost a lot more for even automated AI transcribing, the 9/m might be one of your cheapest options for transcribing, even if you don't turn it the video into clips.
Weighted Pros/Cons
While I'm not going for a numerical system to rate the tool, at least not yet (if I develop a solid rating system that can be applied to all tools I'll retroactively go back to rate each one). The tool should be able to hold up some basic quality of life in the UI/UX department for example.
Pros
- Pricing is definitely a plus, and if you compared it to other tools too it is a bit cheaper.
- The webdesign and UI is modern, minimalist, and clean.
- Tons of educational resources to help you get started, including a 2min video that pops up when you first get started.
- —Sub note to the one above ^ the blog and YT are pretty deep too.
- I really like the timeline with the different speakers highlighted
- Minor pro, but I really like how they targeted "YT shorts" as the main hero section. (I think podcasters and youtubers care a bit more about Shorts atm than Reels or Tiktok, at least a bit).
Cons
- Some usability uses when it comes to the responsiveness of players and buttons to use the tool. Especially on ultrawide displays, which a lot of YouTubers do use. (Probably will be ironed out in an update though).
- Few "captured great moments" in my experience, as I used an hour plus long video, but it only gathered a few moments. One of which was the introduction.
- Transcription issues with my specific words (i.e. polymath or my name PolyInnovator). BUT I do not hold that on Chopcast, as I face those issues on EVERY transcription service.
- No brand kits, so I can't just use my own colors from a pool, or have it auto pick my usual Open sans, so I don't have to change it each time.
- The video player is really huge in some screens, making it to where I have to scroll to see the clips. Even on my 16:9 screen. (tested UI on both screens)
I think it is mainly scaling for various items, that is pushing other items around.
My Experience
Note: That this may be what I had happened, but your mileage may vary.
I want to be able to get on, and get started working on a video. My videos are long so I don't count against for upload time. Although I do give "bonus points" if you will for quicker uploads, and my hour long video took about 10 minutes I think the last time I tried. Didn't time it though, and the auto clip finder took about 8 minutes. I did refresh btw! :)
For some reason when I tried to change the clip from 16:9 to 9:16 the page crashed, and I had to reload but that happened just once. Additionally, on another occasion, the video player and text box disappeared as it was loading the vertical version.
Sometimes just waiting a min or refreshing the page, is that is needed to solve that. For reference I was using Chrome, as Firefox is generally not supported by most tools sadly.
One thing I have to knock it for is the limited clip selection, as depending on the video I got only between 3-9 clips auto found. Yet, some of them were me introducing the guest, which isn't really a good clip. Another might be a boring tangent, which I know there are good tangents in the video.
So the AI or auto finder needs a bit of work, but it does seem to be some merit to it. I wouldn't ignore because it can find a diamond in the ruff, but also don't rely on it if you are using LONG videos. I might have to test it again in the future with a shorter 15 min-ish video, and see how it goes there.
Wrap Up
This was the first tool I reviewed in the list, and that was for a variety of reasons. Although out of some of the ones on the list, it has been around for a longer period. It had gone through some changes, and it is still very much on it's way.
I think a lot of the issues I faced will probably be worked on this year pretty quickly, and it could also be other factors. Such as the length of my video, my own pickiness, or maybe it has some work to do optimizing it all.
I think this is a great choice for a lot of newcomers, and experienced alike.
Not much though for the poweruser community, which isn't huge, but worth noting. Again I want to stress that this statement ^ is subject to change.
I think the tribe over at ChopCast has a good thing going over there, and I am eager to see where it ends up!
ChopCast.io
Content repurposing tool.
"Turn podcasts into YT shorts, automatically.
Upload your YouTube videos, podcasts and recordings. Chopcast will automatically identify key moments designed to be shared as YouTube Shorts, Reels, TikToks, Slack videos and more. 100% editable."
