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Introduction
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Video editing is something that is becoming ever more prevalent in our world today. A free and powerfull video editor is absolutely crucial; both to the aspiring young director, and the mom who just wants to save some old memories. Most retail video editors cost hundreds of dollars. What's more is that many of these programs are so complex that the average user has no idea how to use it. Thankfully, there are many free programs that can fill the need for any task. There's many options in the world of video editing. Ever since it was possible to transfer videos from your pc to your computer, people and corporations began designing tools to cut and edit these videos. But our ever present challenge as frugal consumers is to find the perfect free tool that does the job! |
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Discussion
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First on the list is a great tool named Avidemux. Avidemux is a free open-source program designed for multi-purpose video editing and processing, which can be used on almost all known operating systems and computer platforms. Avidemux is my personal favorite because of its simplicity yet wide range of tools. Avidemux lets you do just about everything under the sun. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. Avidemux is available for Linux, BSD, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows under the GNU GPL license.
VirtualDub is an impressive Open source package that is regularly updated by its author. Note that it doesn't handle some video formats like DVD or MP4. And like all video software, it needs a pretty fast PC. In the world of video editing virtualdub has always been there. It's a very reliable program that with the right amount of knowledge can accomplish just about any task. VirtualDub is licensed under the General Public Liscense (GNU), meaning you can use it for free. No risk involved, and the whole source code is available if you want it.
The package is however not complete without the additional filters. A comprehensive collection of third party filters is available from a French site. Just click on the "Download VD filters" button to download the complete set of filters (RAR pack). Once all the filters are installed, delete the "PCVideo Image Processor" filter, as the installation instructions are missing a step.
Another major contendor in the world of video editors is a corporation named Pinnacle. Pinnacle is a software company that creates high quality video editing software for professionals and individuals alike. Recently they introduced a freeware program called Pinnacle Video Spin. The software itself is very flashy and contains many usefull features. However, many features are blocked and even omitted in the free version. For this reason it is not my most highly rated software. But for the user who is just looking to do simple editing, the program works fine. It comes packed with many preinstalled titles and credits.
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Pinnacle Video Spin
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Very simple interface with some cool features. | |
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Lack of advanced tools gives this program a childish feel. | |
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http://videospin.com/redesign/default.asp | |
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http://apps.pinnaclesys.com/cdb/register/enter.aspx?checkRegistration=1&langue_id=7&supportFileID=35254&productid=2961 | |
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162mb  2.0  Restricted Freeware (full commercial version available)  Windows XP with SP2, or Vista |
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Is there a freeware video editor that lets you chromakey? (Use green or blue screen)
I have never used VirtualDub but i have used Avidemux and Mediacoder and both of hese softwares are good. Both are available at Sourceforge.net
Great post mate :)
Will be updating soon
make sure to check back regularly!
I use the free "Video Spin" by Avid/Pinnacle, for my home DV editing.
It's adware and crippled in some export formats. I use "Quick Media Converter" to get around that.
I used to do professional video editing with Avid software but sometimes a lighter product is better.
If all you want is cuts, fades, simple audio control -- then Video Spin might be good enough for you. It's a stable product and it's free!
For me best free video editor is Blender.
Tutorial 1
Tutorial 2
Tutorial 2
Hey guys are there any good video editing software for vista?
Hi all,
There seems to be a lot of free video editing tools available, but I am a novice and have one simple wish - I want to stitch separate videos together to make one long video. I need something easy to understand that will just join all the files together. Any ideas? And thanks.
Avidemux for the win. I was mainly using it for simple editing and found it much easier for my purposes then Virtua Dub. I didn't think it could join video but a quick google led me to loads of tutorials and it does the job nicely.
If they are wmv files though Microsofts Movie Maker does the job very easily, you may have it installed.
I have seen several reviews for various free video editors, but have not found one that has a specific function I need. I have a co-worker that gave me a camera to download the video from, and make a DVD movie. All went well, except that part of the time she held the camera sideways. This means to properly view the movie, you need to either lay down, or have your head cocked way over and end up with a very stiff neck afterward. Now for my need: is there any free video editor that would take a video clip and rotate it ninety degrees, either right or left; similar to the way a photo editor will?
If anyone knows of one, I would greatly appreciate knowing about it. Thanks.
Please have a look here at the software:
http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-Video-Flip-and-Rotate.htm
Its a freeware from DvdVideoSoft. I haven't tried the software myself, but it may serve your purpose. Give it a try, and please do share the results here.
Also, if you have further questions, posting in TechSupportAlert freeware forum, will be good :).
Anupam Shriwatri, India
Thanks for the suggested software. I tried it, and it works great, it is extremely easy to use. It definitely is what I needed. The only limitation I have found is the output format is limited to an avi, but I can live with that. I can always take the avi and convert it later. It will accept a lot of formats as input.
The site also has a lot of other free apps that look very interesting that I want to try when I have time, as well.
I apologize for posting my question in the wrong place. I guess I was too focused on my immediate problem to realize there was a forum to ask the questions in. I just registered, and put my question in the area I was interested in. I will go to the forum to see what is there.
Again, thanks for the advice.
Hii.. thanks for posting back. And great to hear that the program served your purpose. Yes, the site has many other nice freewares too.
Yeah, you can always convert the video to another format. If you need some names of freeware converters, do let know :).
And hey, no need to apologize... please. It was just an advice about posting in forums. Not meant to make u feel u did a mistake. Just wanted to let you know about the forums, that have just got a new look and started afresh :).
Take care buddy :)
Anupam Shriwatri, India
thx to the editors for providing all this info.
I was wondering if there is an open-source and/or freeware video editor that comes close to or is better than Avid, Final Cut Pro or Premiere?
Hmmm, you forgot Avidemux,
a really good, stable, fast, user-friendly, linear video editor,
for all basic (...and more) tasks.
You should give it a try....
uh...can't believe wax hasn't been mentioned :)
http://www.debugmode.com/wax/
Give Pinnacle VideoSpin a try. I have tried every other proram menioned in this post and found them either extremely unintuitive or difficult to figure out. I was very impressed with VideoSpin. Nice interface, simple functions, easy to understand, and intuitive.
Here is a list of what PC Magazine considers the best free video editors:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329226,00.asp
I was going to download Video Dub but when I clicked on the link to download the filters I got a price tag. Apparently they are no longer freeware.
http://milafat.free.fr/vdfilters.rar
Hi- after downloading vdfilters.rar as in #6 Spyware Doctor said:
"Threat Name - Trojan Popuper" Spyware Doctor has blocked an application trying to close a file. Threat Level - High".
Is this a false positive? Thanks in advance. Richard.
You could upload the file to VirusTotal.
http://www.virustotal.com/
I used the free program from NCH Software called Videopad. Not great, not bad. Something to consider.
This is great piece of free software. Thanks for info!
VideoPad - it's more than "something to consider". I tried about 5 different video editors, all of them are similar to VideoDub; and the VideoPad is by far the most convenient for any kinds of job and the most illustrative. I strongly recommend at least to try it.
I would like to take an existing DVD movie, edit it (delete parts, add other parts), then create a new DVD. I have a DVD burner and software (Roxio Creator DE). Can I use Virtual Dub or AviDemux to do this?
This is the best software site ever... You test, then recommend... Thanks!
How cool that you test first before commenting and posting for us. Many thanks. Such a great site, one I've come back to repeatedly. Good on you for sharing.
wow,great tools,there are list more free video editor:)
Free video editor for mac/windows/linux machine
use ashampoo burning studio 6 free.I use it
Doesn't really look like a movie editor when i looked at, but I could be mistaken
I find AviDemux *heaps* better than VirtualDub.
http://avidemux.sourceforge.net/
Simon.
Portable Version Available: no
Portable Apps is hosting a portable version: http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/virtualdub_portable
No versions of Virtual Dub can _WRITE_ mpeg2. They can only burn avi files (but depending on what codecs you have installed, you may be able to write to an mpeg-2 encoded avi).
As for opening mpeg2 files, the guy who made VirtualDub-Mpeg2 has made a filter (standalone) that you can use in any VirtualDub (versions after 1.8.1) and have mpeg-2 import functionality. And if you are going to be using VirtualDub, best to be using the latest version anyways.
addons are available that add more formats for import.
WMV
http://home.comcast.net/~fcchandler/Plugins/WMV/index.html
MPEG2
http://home.comcast.net/~fcchandler/Plugins/MPEG2/index.html
AC3
http://home.comcast.net/~fcchandler/Plugins/AC3/index.html
There even one or 2 other one (MKV). Support for OGM and/or MKV will likely be added in the official trunk before or at version 2.0 anyway.
Cheers.
Hard Core Rikki
Much obliged for this VirtualDub WMV plugin
Don't forget Windows Movie Maker, as long as you don't have too many codec packs installed and only use wma's for your sound, it tends to be stable...
how many codec packs are to many? I have about 3 installed and i think that windows movie maker works fine. I haven't run into any thing that it won't create. But then again i mostly use AVI files.
MP4 to AVI converter is a good handy utility.Great free software utilities
I have used Avidemux to great effect. I found it easier to use than Virtual Dub when cutting scenes from video files.
Hi----I regularly skim your site, and love that you test drive the software you post. Free video software you may wish to play with? Blender. It has a very sophisticated and attractive interface. I would NOT suggest it for a timid end-user---the feature-set is overwhelming.
Here is the link:
http://www.blender.org/features-gallery/features/
Thanks,
aendenne
http://aendenne.blogspot.com
Blender is a 3d modeling program. not a video editor. while it is an amazing program (I use it quite a bit), it does not fall into this category. I am working with Gizmo on making a 3d modeling freeware category for this website.
While Blender may not tout itself as a video editor, it does have a nonlinear video sequencer and editor built into it. I don't have experience with it personally, but it is definitely there, just to let you know.
AVItrim is a simple but effective program
The original Virtualdub filter pack is from the following site.
The full list of filters available (128) can be found at the second link.
http://www.thedeemon.com/VDFilterPack/
http://www.thedeemon.com/VirtualDubFilters/
Cheers.
Hard Core Rikki
Indeed, there is at leat one version of VD that can read (but not write) mpeg2
VirtualdubMod. It has been inactive for a LOT of time though, so its highly outdated now. Using DGindex or AviSynth would allow *realtime* mpeg-2 decoding without a problem though (whereas VDubMod's way required the whole file to be prepared for read). Link to the latest VirtualDubMod in link.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65889
Latest download from the CVS repository. Brings a couple significant fixes.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65889&package_id=6...
Cheers.
Hard Core Rikki
Jashaka - is powerfull tool, but very specific.
http://jahshaka.org/
Hi,
I'm aware of Jahshaka, and there are several other freeware video editors out there, including Wax, t@b, and Avid xpress. We will be working on adding them later.
Thanks for your input.
Great program indeed. The reason it doesn't support some file formats (mpeg-2, asf, mp4 and some others) is that it tries hard to not break any copyright laws (these formats are copyrighted/trademarked). There are some old versions of the program floating around, if you can find them, that can read (not sure about write) mpeg-2 and asf. All in all, the best video encoding/editing tool I've used!