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Best Free Video Editor
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In a Hurry?
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 Go straight to the Quick Selection Guide |
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Introduction
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Hello and welcome to the Best Free Video Editor review page! Whether you're a professional looking to save money, a student looking for a program to help with a school project or just a person who likes making videos and needs an editor, this page is for you. I will also be here to answer as many of your questions as I can in the comments section and on our forum. So please, if you need some help picking the right program or if you are an experienced video editor and feel that a specific free editor should be reviewed, because it has worked so well for you, let me know and hopefully, together, we can help everyone find the Best Free Video Editor for them! Disclaimer: Companies like NCH and others who distribute partially restricted free versions of their primary-for-profit product or other freeware will often attempt to add other programs during install of the software you actually want. Be careful to only approve the installation of the programs you want and recognize. If you are given the choice of standard or custom installation choosing custom will often give you the opportunity to see exactly what components the software is installing and choose which parts you do or do not want. I do my best to make sure nothing recommended on this page in the main section or the comments will afflict your computer with viruses or useless programs. Downloading free software on the Internet can be risky though so ALWAYS pay attention to exactly what you are downloading and where you are downloading it from: it's for your own health! |
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Discussion
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With more than 20 built in effects and 35 transitions VideoPad comes well equipped to handle just about any basic project. You can also find and download other effects and transitions that you may need or want; and making them available on the program is as easy as clicking the Load/Unload Plugins tab at the bottom of the Effects window, finding the effect file and clicking it. Simply drag and drop video and audio files into the Media List and then to their place on the Timeline to start working on them. So far, VideoPad has had everything I've needed to crop, level and fine tune everything I've thrown at it. If you've had problems with VideoPad, or have tips for making it work even better, then please let me know in the comments section below. |
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The package is however not complete without the additional filters. A comprehensive collection of third party filters, 74 Filters for VirtualDub, is available from a French site. Just click on the "Download VD filters (1.72MB)" panel/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. |
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The software itself is very flashy and contains many useful 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 pre-installed titles and credits. Warning: The current download for VideoSpin comes from CNET which will attempt to include other sponsored programs in your download. These programs will not damage your computer but are annoying and unnecessary to the functioning of VideoSpin. Be careful when you download to exclude and delete these extras if you do not want them. |
| Other Selections |
| This section will hold all products reviewed that did not end up on the main list. This is because of my own experiences running the programs on my computer for my projects and the evaluation I made of its efficacy as well as how easily others were able to complete projects in a satisfactory and timely manner. This may not apply to how the program will run on your system for your projects so please, do not become upset if you see a program you like below. If one of these is your favorite for your projects I am happy for you and would honestly like to hear about it in my email or the comments section below. |
 Avidemux is a free, open source, video editor written in C++ by Mean, Gruntster and Fahr. Pros: Will run on almost any operating system using minimal resources. Advanced users can customize the program. Newer distributions have a command line interface. Large selection of filters. Cons: Can be too complicated for beginners or even intermediate users who often have problems syncing sound and video in their projects as well as adding filters and adjusting the beginning and end of clips. |
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Related Products and Links
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You might want to check out these articles too: |
Get it Free: The free version is available when you click the download link directly from this page.
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Editor
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor edwardns. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here. |
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Tags
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edit video, video editor, video editing software, free, freeware |
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Comments
Which of these can do simple cut and trim, and save without re-encoding?
I just tried Avidemux and it appears to save trimmed videos without re-encoding. It is available as a portable version at http://portableapps.com/node/19409. It worked fine with an AVI but crashed with a MOV. Freemake Video Converter couldn't handle a MOV either.
For quick cuts or trims I use the free Freemake Video Converter at http://www.freemake.com/. After you trim you can save it as almost any video format.
Just took a quick look at it. Original file is AVI. When I do a trim and then save as an AVI, one of the options is one-pass or two-pass encoding. Doesn't that mean it is re-encoding to save the edited clip?
Yes, it is re-encoding but it is really quick and easier to use then most other programs. The free VideoPad appears to re-encode also. Virtualdub is limited in file type compatibility.
Shotcut is a free, open source, cross-platform video editor:
http://www.shotcut.org/bin/view/Shotcut/WebHome
I'm a beginner. I just want to remove part of the commercial in the video recorded from over the air tv broadcast. And maybe remove a little bit of starting/ending section. That's all I need for now. Please any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Your best bet is to download the free VideoPad Editor. It allows you to cut out unwanted parts of your videos.
Thanks for info. Is remaining parts still one video? Or several shorter ones?
After you cut out the unwanted part, what remains is just one video.
Get a professional video editor for FREE!
Sounds too good to be true?
Well it is true…
Explore Lightworks for yourself.
Here’s a review and import guide:
http://video.atheart.dk/review-lightworks-video-editor-part-1.html
Here you can download the program:
http://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_docman&gid=8&task=cat_view&Item...
And here you can see some of the movie productions edited on Lightworks:
http://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Item...
Thanks for the tip. I plan to test Lightworks in the upcoming future and will post my findings.
When it means private use,what does that mean.(on video pad)
I WANT TO IMPROVE ON MY VIDEO EDITING ABILITY, PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP FOR MY IMPROVEMENT.
THANKS
The main purpose of this Web site is to provide a list of free video editors including answers to specific question related to these programs. The Help included with each program is a place to start. Also, answers to many questions can be found in forums and by searching the Internet.
There may be an answer to my question somewhere, but I haven't found it. When I render a video in VideoPad to .avi, I always have problems with playback. The screen is grey most of the time, and the video only flickers on the screen every now and then. The audio is fine. I have played with the settings when saving it to .avi, but nothing changes in playback.
I just rendered a video to AVI using Videopad and selected Computer Data as the preset and it played back in Windows Media Player 12 without any problems. You can also try to playback the AVI with VLC portable from http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/vlc_portable. What are you using for playback?
I've tried opening my file with Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, and RealTrimmer. I get the same results every time. I gather that this isn't a common problem since I haven't found anyone else mentioning it anywhere on the web so far. I've been wondering if I should delete and reinstall the program.
I've been doing subtitles and they turned out great for the past year. However, recently the colours have been very muted and do not have the differentiation between the inner colour and outer colour, giving the subs a dull effect.
I tried deleting then re-installing the program but it's still the same. Any suggestions?
Just created a subtitle in Videopad and the color looked vibrant. Try posting more details.
The free videopad only allows you to save the edited movie in limited format. MP4 is not even an option.
Freemake will convert to probably any format you desire -
it works for me.
Their download program is the best I've found as well.
And each are free, working beautifully with FireFox - even with Chrome; I've never tested it on IE ;-)
When did you download the software? At first it does work but after so many days it limits the output to very limited formats only. I'm sure i downloaded the free for home use only since the other version has a differeny file name. I downloaded the install file about a month ago... any body else has the same problem?
****To everyone wondering why it can take so long for a video editing program to convert the finished video.****
This is an excerpt from user mikey37 on an NHC forum:
"I believe your rendering difficulty is your low PC RAM and slow harddrive. I do not observe VideoPad rendering any slower than a competitor’s video editing program Pinnacle Video Studio Plus, which has been on the market for many years, and a favorite among hobbyists.
The key to your problem is stated on the VideoGuys website (first URL below) in the paragraph containing “your main system requirement is: 9+ megs per second sustained throughput for real-time… For HD editing you will need even more!” I believe HD takes 4 time 9+ or about 40 megs per second. Harddrives move data about 10 time slower than RAM, so you can either install 8 Gig of RAM, and a 64 bit operating system such as Vista 64 or Windows 64, or run a SATA Raid drive with 4 physical drives or a solid state drive.
If you are skeptical about what I am writing here, I suggest you read what the experts have to say on the subject. Read the webpages at the following URLs."
VideoGuys Blog
http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/video/articles/87956.aspx
- This may not be the answer for everybody. Yes, in most cases you can speed up video conversion by optimizing your computers hardware to do so. In some cases though there is another problem with the computer that is causing the issues.
- On a personal note, please try and do some research before posting. Most questions I see here can be answered simply by googling the question. There are also many forums and support groups not just on this website but associated with the sites hosting the programs listed here. Also, many questions posted here have been posted before and answered successfully. Try searching the comments first to see if your question was already answered.
Thanks for this insight -
yet this is a new computer with 64 bit and 8 Gb RAM ;-)
previously I had 64 bit with 4 Gb RAM - it's HD died and now I'm having to replace all my programs; some of which I'd purchased, but purchasing software is more like renting than purchasing - change the computer, re-purchase.
Therefore, I'm seeking diligently for good programs from this most amazing site with the best software anywhere -
my problem is locating a video editor; still looking for a quality one -
the free one [Aimersoft Video Studio Express] looks good, but seems to be lacking the ability to delete parts.
[VideoPad Video Editor] may or may not transfer automatically to the free version ;-)
if it does, and if it still works as it has, then I'll continue with it.
I'm about to test out the 2nd one on this site's list - will let you all know my thoughts on it.
Seeking, seeking, seeking, ... will I locate, I don't know yet ;-)
Can VideoPad attach a bunch of MP4s together without re-encoding?
yes, it can attach them together;
the time it takes will astound you -
about 3 hours each time I've done it now ;-)
Thanks. I think I'll stick to Avidemux, seems to work no trouble...
I just d/l video pad free version and noticed that even a 1 minute video takes about 5 minutes or so to convert. Why so long? If I make a 1 hour dvd it would take forever lol.
Does anyone have any suggestions or done a conversion?
Thanks
yes, it takes a LONG time to convert any video - I've done 3 now, each taking almost 3 hours ???
AND NOW, even though I downloaded the free version, supposedly free for home use, I've been getting a pop-up saying the trial version will be ending ???
If this is true, and if the price for this software is over $50 then I want something that will be better quality, and quicker, than VPAD.
What do you folks recommend?; to what are you folks switching?; is there anything else out there?
HELP needed please.