Michael Muchmore The Best Video Editing Software for 2019 Whether you're a weekend GoPro shooter or a full-time video professional, you need editing software that's powerful but easy to use. Here's how the best video editing software stacks up. Edit Video on Your PC Nothing makes an impression like moving images with sound. That's why digital video continues to grow in importance online. Couple that trend with the ever-increasing availability of devices capable of high-resolution video recording—smartphones, GoPros, DSLRs—and the case for ever more powerful video editing software becomes clear.
Further, the software must be usable by nonprofessionals, and it has to keep up with new formats such as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), 360-degree VR video, and 4K and above. Increasingly, new capabilities trickle down from professional-level software to the consumer category. That's a good thing for nonprofessional movie editors, since the more-consumer-oriented software makes formerly difficult procedures a cinch for them.
Read on for a survey of the latest trends in video editing software and our top picks in the field. Multicam, Motion Tracking, and Yet More Motion Advanced abilities continue to make their way into accessible, affordable, and consumer-friendly video editing software as each new generation of software is released. For example, multicam editing, which lets you switch among camera angles of the same scene shot with multiple video cameras, used to be a feature relegated to pro-level software. Now this and many other advanced effects are available in programs designed for use by nonprofessional enthusiasts.
Using free video editing software is a convenient way to edit your videos. Plus, most of them are so easy to use that they're great for beginning editors.
Another impressive effect that has made its way into consumer-level video editing software is motion tracking, which lets you attach an object or effect to something moving in your video. You might use it to put a blur over the face of someone you don't want to show up in your video. You specify the target face, and the app takes care of the rest, tracking the face and moving the effect to follow it.
This used to be the sole province of special effects software such as Adobe After Effects. Corel VideoStudio was the first of the consumer products to include motion tracking, and it still leads the pack in the depth and usability of its motion-tracking tool, though several others now include the capability. The 4K Factor Support for 4K video source content has become pretty standard in video editing software, but the support varies among the products. For example, some but not all of the applications can import Sony XAVC and XAVC-S formats, which are used by Sony's popular DSLRs, camcorders, and professional video cameras. The same holds true for the H.265 High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. Most of the applications here now can import and export HEVC, though there are still a few holdouts. 360-Degree VR Support.
Several of the products here (Adobe Premiere Elements is a notable exception) still support 3D video editing if that's your thing, though the this has been replaced by 360-degree VR footage like that shot by the as the current home-theater fad. As is often the case, our Editors' Choice, CyberLink PowerDirector was the first product in this group to offer support for this new kind of video media. Other programs have jumped on board with 360 VR support, including Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, and Magix Movie Edit Pro.
Support varies, with some apps including 360-compatible titles, stabilization, and motion tracking. PowerDirector is notable for including those last two.
Final Cut offers a useful tool that removes the camera and tripod from the image, often an issue with 360-degree footage. Video Editing 101 Of course, none of the extras matter if an app can't do the most basic editing tasks.
At this point, however, all of the products included here do a good job of letting you join, trim, and split video clips. They also let you make use of special effects such as animated transitions, picture-in-picture (PiP), chroma-key (the technique that lets you place a subject against any background, often known as green screening), and filters that enhance colors or apply creative effects and distortions.
With most of them you can add a multitude of timeline tracks that can accommodate video clips, effects, audio, and text overlays. LUTs and CLUTs One of the capabilities that has been making its way into consumer-level video editing software is support for LUTs (lookup tables), also known as CLUTs (color lookup tables). This staple of pro-level software lets you quickly change the look of a video to give it a specific mood. For example, think of the dark blue look of thriller movies like The Revenant. You can download LUTs for free from several sites or use those included with some video software to give your video a specific look.
One well-known LUT type is the kind that can make a daytime scene look like it was shot at night. Where the Action Is Many video editing apps now include tools that cater to users of such as the GoPro Hero7 Black. For example, several offer automated freeze-frame along with speedup, slowdown, and reverse time effects. CyberLink PowerDirector's Action Camera Center pulls together freeze frame with stabilization, slo-mo, and fish-eye correction, and color correction for underwater footage. Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium includes the third-party NewBlue ActionCam Package of effects. And Wondershare Filmora lets you subscribe to new effect packs on an ongoing basis.
Titles That Zing. I've been seeing a lot of attention paid to creating title effects in the applications over the past year.
Apple Final Cut Pro X has added 3D title creation, which is pretty spiffy, letting you extrude 2D titles and rotate them on three axes. Corel VideoStudio in its latest version also adds 3D Titling, though not as powerful as Apple's. PowerDirector's Title Designer offers transparency, gradient color, border, blur level, and reflection in titles; Magix has impressive title templates, complete with animations. Premiere Elements offers a nifty title effect in which your video fills the text characters. Look for an application that lets you edit titles in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) mode, so that you can type, format, and time it right over the video preview. Gathering Speed Video editing is one of the most computing-intensive activities around, so you'll want the or desktop you can afford if you're serious about cutting your own movies. Most applications help speed up the editing process by creating a proxy file of lower resolution, so that normal editing and previewing aren't slowed down by the huge full-resolution files.
Particularly intensive is the process of rendering your finished product into a standard video file that will by playable on the target device of choice, be that an HDTV, a laptop, or a smartphone. Most of the software can take advantage of your computer's graphics processor to speed this up. Be sure to check the performance section in each review linked here to see how speedy or slow the application is.
In rendering speed testing, CyberLink and Pinnacle have been my perennial champs. Other measures of performance include startup time and simple stability.
Again, video editing is a taxing activity for any computer, involving many components. In the past, video editing programs took longer than most other apps to start up, and unexpected shutdowns were unfortunately common, even in top apps from top developers such as Adobe and Apple. The stability situation has greatly improved, but the complexity of the process, which increases as more powerful effects are added, means crashes will likely never be fully eliminated, and they often raise their ugly heads after a program update, as I found with the latest version of Pinnacle Studio. Free Video Editing Software If you don't want to invest a lot of money and effort into your video editing exploits, there are a few free options. Of course, if you use a Mac, the excellent iMovie comes with it. For PC users, 's Photos app (as of the Fall Creators Update) lets you join, trim, and even add background music, 3D animated effects, and titles to video.
There are also some free video apps on the Windows Store, including, PowerDirector Mobile, Movie Maker, and Magix Movie Edit Touch. Some of these are quite basic, but the Magix app is fairly capable, with clip joining, transitions, and effects, in a very touch-friendly interface. Free video editing software often comes with legal and technical limitations, however. Some widely used codecs require licensing fees on the part of the software maker, meaning they can't offer free software that can handle these standard file formats. That said, the impressive open-source does a lot of the same things that the paid applications in this roundup do, including things like chroma-keying and picture-in-picture. Shotcut is completely open-source and free, while another free option, Lightworks has paid options that remove a 720p output resolution limit. Note also that both Shotcut and Lightworks run on Linux as well as Windows and Mac.
What About Apple? Though Mac users don't have the sheer number of software choices available for PCs, Apple fans interested in editing video are well served, by four products in particular. At the entry level, the surprisingly capable and enjoyable-to-use iMovie comes free with every Mac sold since at least 2011.
IMovie only offers two video tracks, but does good job with chroma-keying, and its Trailers feature makes it easy to produce slick, Hollywood-style productions. In the midrange, there's Adobe Premiere Elements, which is cross-platform between Macs and PCs, and offers a lot more features and lots of help with creating effects. Professionals and prosumers have powerful, though pricey options in. Final Cut is a deceptively simple application that resembles iMovie in its interface and ease of use, but it offers massively deep capabilities, and many third-party apps integrate with it for even more power. It also makes excellent use of the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro, as shown in photo above. Premiere Pro uses a more traditional timeline and adds a large ecosystem of companion apps and plug-ins. It also excels in collaboration features.
Audio Editing We still live in the days of talkies, so you want to be able to in your digital moves as well as the images. Most of the products included here offer canned background music, and many, such as Pinnacle Studio, can even tailor the soundtrack to the exact length of your movie. All of these programs can separate audio and video tracks, and most can clean up background noise and add environmental audio effects such as concert hall reverb. A couple of the products have an auto-ducking feature, which lowers background music during dialog—a definite pro-level plus. What's Not Here There are more video editing software applications than we can fit into this roundup of the best options, which includes only software rated three stars and higher. The best known among them is probably, which was recently acquired by Magix from Sony.
Sony's product used a very cluttered interface that more resembled high-end professional video editing software from the early days of the craft. Magix has made some progress in simplifying it and bringing it up to par with the competition, but more work is needed for it to be included here.
Another program, simply has too outdated an interface, making common tasks difficult. Longtime pro video editors will note the absence of Avid Media Composer, which is simply too unwieldy for PCMag's primarily consumer audience. There are a couple of more interesting applications—NCH VideoPad and AVS Video Editor among them—that we simply haven't tested yet. The Finish Line The video editing application you choose depends on your budget, the equipment you're using, and how serious you are. Fortunately, you're spoiled for choice with the products available.
Peruse our in-depth reviews of enthusiast-level video editing software reviews linked below to see which is the right one for you. Pros: Clear, flexible interface. Lots of organizational tools. Responsive speed. Ultimate power in video editing. Rich ecosystem of video production apps.
Excellent stabilization. Unlimited multi-cam angles. Cons: No keyword tagging for media.
Some techniques require additional applications such as After Effects or SpeedGrade. Bottom Line: An expansive professional-level digital video editing program, Premiere Pro CC has everything today's pro video editor needs, particularly when it comes to collaboration. Pros: Wide selection of fun video-creation tools.
Clear, simple interface. Support for 360-degree VR, 4K Ultra HD, and 3D media. Multipoint Motion tracking. Multicam editing.
HTML5 video page creation. Stop-motion tool. Cons: Middle-of-the-road rendering speeds. No search for effects or media. Only 20 video overlay tracks.
Bottom Line: Corel continues to offer one of the most feature-packed consumer video editing packages around. The 2018 update adds even more including 360-degree support, 3D titles, and action-cam lens correction. Pros: Clear interface.
Edits 360-degree VR content. Fast rendering performance in testing. Tons of effects.
Multicam editing. 4K and H.265 support. Tagging and star ratings for media. Good audio tools. Cons: Motion tracking issues on one test PC. Occasional crashes in testing. Uneven 360-degree VR implementation.
Bottom Line: Pinnacle Studio is a fast, full-featured, near-professional-level video-editing application with support for 360-degree VR, 3D, and multicam edits. New color grading and four-point editing make it even more appealing, though our testing uncovered some instabilities. Pros: Lots of video effects. Good titling tools. Trailer-like movie templates. Solid audio editing tools.
Strong disc authoring. Fast rendering. Good stability. 360-degree media support.
Cons: Not much help with difficult procedures. Lacks import and organization tools. Extra costs and coded downloads for some video formats. Bottom Line: Now with faster rendering, Movie Edit Pro offers solid stability, up-to-date support for 4K, 360-degree, and multicam editing, but it trails other video editing software in ease-of-use. Pros: Magnetic, trackless timeline. Superior organization tools, including libraries, ratings, tagging, auto analysis for faces, scenes.
Support for 360-degree footage and HDR. Multicam support. Fast performance. MacBook Touch Bar support.
Cons: Nontraditional timeline-editing may turn off longtime editors. Can't import projects from previous versions without a third-party plug-in. No stabilization or motion tracking for 360-degree video. Bottom Line: Apple's professional-level video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, brings a wealth of power in an interface simple for pros and consumers alike. Recent highlights include rich support for 360-degree content and improved stability. Pros: Inexpensive.
Plenty of video effects. Good audio tools.
Solid file format support, including H.265. Compatible with 4K content. Burns DVD, Blu-ray, and AVCHD. Cons: Light on features.
Outdated, unconventional interface. No 360 or 3D support. No motion tracking. No direct output to social networks. Bottom Line: For less money than the competition, Nero offers a wide array of enthusiast-level video editing capabilities, but the interface is dated and it trails in support for new formats and techniques. Pros: Beautifully simple interface.
Color matching for consistent movie looks. Classy themes. Great chroma-keying tool. Lots of audio tools. Theater feature shares movies to all your Apple gear. Cons: Not as flexible as some PC video editors. In the name of simplicity, some useful controls are missing.
Does not support tagging. Lacks multicam or motion tracking capabilities. Limited to two video tracks. Bottom Line: Apple's excellent entry-level desktop video editing application can turn your footage and photos into impressive productions.
By Oct 25,2018 20:55 pm 'Is there any free video editing software for beginners?' 'What is the highly recommended video editor for beginners but with professional results?' 'How to crop, add some texts or adjust brightness on my holiday videos and pictures?' Creating and sharing photos/videos with friends, family, corporate partners or fans is already a daily habit to most people, an informative and engaging video can really speak a lot about your real thought. With the development of video editing technology, more and more video editing software are designed to cater for novices, enthusiasts or semi-professionals.
That's a good thing for all of us, it makes video editing an easy thing, you don't have to be Spielberg to create a cool and professional-looking video. Which one is the best? Are you ready to start? I collected top 15 video editing software and will take you to find the one that suits you best. Top 10 Video Editing Software for Windows and Mac When you searching for video editing software on websites, you can find dozens of, and on the market. Why do I recommend desktop software here?
Most desktop video editing software have more editing functions than mobile apps or free online video editor, if you want to create a professional looking video, desktop application is the best choice to get results you desire. (Windows & Mac) (or ) is an easy to use video editing software for beginners in Mac and Windows PC. This is actually one of the best programs for teaching video editing. It has two modes - Easy Mode and Full Feature Mode. Easy Mode allows you to select a preset theme, then the program does all the work for you.
Full Feature Mode lets you have complete control over your video on a really user friendly interface. It also has an action cam module which is perfect for editing 4K GoPro footage. If you need a functional yet flexible at a fraction of the price, consider Filmora Video Editor. As TopTenReviews said: 'Filmora excels at teaching users to use these tools, and anyone with the patience to learn will find it useful.' What Make Filmora Video Editor Outstanding:. It supports a wide range of media file formats ranging from video, audio, image to popular hot device formats. Export editing videos to various social platforms like Vimeo, and YouTube among others.
This program offers several basic editing options like crop, cut, split, merge, split screen, and add filters among others. Filmora Video Editor supports editing of high quality videos of up to 4k and also GIFs. The program offers the capability to adjust the speed of your audio or video file. With this software you can beautify your videos using effects, filters, transitions, motions and elements. Supported Platform: macOS 10.14 macOS Mojave, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, and 10.10; Windows Vista/XP/7/8/10. The Vegas Movie Studio 14 Platinum version is a great beginner video editing software.
It has enough features to really make your videos something special, but it has a user friendly interface. This software runs on 64 bit Windows7, 8, 8.1 and 10. Pros:. This video editing software has touch screen support.
You can customize the user interface. It has loads of effects, and transitions. It allows for 3D content editing.
Cons:. The video rendering is a little slow. It takes time to get used to the advanced editing interface. It doesn't have motion tracking. There's no template storyboards. Nero Video 2017 is a powerful home video editing software, with plenty of special effects, and features. You have two options for editing - Express Editing and Advanced Editing.
Express Editing lets you quickly edit your video, while Advanced Editing lets you fine tune, and gives you more control. You can begin in Express and change to Advanced, but you can't begin in Advanced and move to Express.
It has a feature that lets you identify people and places in your footage. Pros:. It has security options for disc burning. There's a huge library of effects and transitions. It lets you set up only the features you need, which saves space.
It has a sync function, so you can quickly transfer files between devices. Cons:. The interface is a little disjointed because of the modular set up. It doesn't have motion tracking, or some other features that you may want.
It can't switch back and forth between modes. Camtasia Studio is a amazing free video editing software, which is suitable for both beginners and those with more video editing experience. It's a video editing and recording software in one. There's no limits on the length of videos, and it can record pretty much everything, from computer screens, and power point presentations to the computer camera and audio. Pros:. There's no limitations on length. It can record anything.
It has lots of effects and transitions. It's easy to use, and has a user friendly interface. Cons:. There is no web based version, so it must be installed. It doesn't support footage from a digital video camera. The Pinnacle video editor software is quite well known.
It's a great Windows video editing software for beginners, as it allows you to view timeline and story board modes on a spit screen. It also gives you a massive library of effects, titles transitions and templates. Pros:. It has a unique workflow which lets you really fine tune your video. There's a massive library of effects and templates. It has a multi cam mode, so you can use more than one camera's footage of the same event. Cons:.
It comes in multiple versions and different price points, and some features are limited to upgraded versions. The video rendering is a little slower than you would expect.
The interface does take some time to get used to. Supported Platform: Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Though some consider it an advanced version of Adobe Premiere Pro but still it is awesome. Released in October 2016 this product has broken the internet when it comes to downloads.
The interface and the layout have been completely revamped by the developers. Pros:. The focus of this program is to make the best possible product.
There are number of additions made to perform this. From video grouping to effect addition it has it all. It is a cross platform product which can be used on both windows and Mac. For windows 64 bit systems are required. Cons:. The companion organizer which has been embedded malfunctions. The assets are not sorted at all.
It is not possible to locate them after the upload. The program creates issues with windows 10. Whether installed from CD of download the result is same i.e. System shuts down. For windows none of the video editing program is as easy as this one is.
It is fast reliable and produces quality results. No prior technical video editing knowledge required at all. Pros:. With HD video editing and non-destructive formats this program is definitely worth giving a shot. There are large numbers of audio and video formats which are supported by this program. From AVI to MPG any format can be used for the output.
Cons:. The worst part is that it supports single video track. Multiple videos cannot be edited at the same time. The editing time is too long. It simple means that the program is slow and wastes time. For the novice users this product is simple most popular video editing software.
The best part is 4K support that has been added to the latest addition. The checkmark feature allows adding effects to all clips at once. Pros:. Multi cam editing is possible with this program. The videos can be imported from more than one device to get the work done. If the user in in search of music then Corel Video Studio has a large library of royalty free music. No copyright issues at all.
Cons:. There is a voice detection feature which does not work very well. The video edited by the program does not support the voice.
The storyboard function is very complex and takes lot of time and effort to get the video edited in this manner. Sony Vegas Pro is a popular video editing software used by millions from all over the world. With the addition of number of features the program works at its very best. It is used professionally for video editing and other related tasks. Pros:. It has every tool which a video editor can think of. From Chroma Key to multi cam masking this program does it all with ease.
It comes with proxy work flow tool. This allows the editors to receive the videos from anywhere in the world and start editing ASAP. Cons:. There is no mobile application of this program.
This makes it too difficult to edit the videos on the move. The price is too high. A beginner cannot afford to pay $600 for this program.
Idea has never been as easy as it is with this video editor for Linux. Basic editing and effect addition can be done without any hassle with this Linux video editor. The timeline and addition of videos and audio is simply click of the mouse away. Video layout can also be altered as per requirements using this program. Pros:.
It supports a large number of video and audio formats. It also lets a user perform the easy editing required to perform the job. It is absolutely free of charge and can be downloaded by running the simple command as sudo apt-get install kdenlive. Cons:.
For some users the layout might not be as simple as professionals thought it to be. It is because it resembles Sony Vegas Pro which is advance program and for high end video content developers.
The slow performance of this program is obvious as soon as more data is loaded. It is something which is not appreciated for professional editing. Well this one needs no intro. Open source video editing software Linux which is mainly used for graphic design and 3D modeling.
Again it is free to download and use. Written in Python and C this one can do wonders for video editing projects if used properly.
Pros:. There are literally thousands of functions which can be performed using Blender. As a video editor this one has lot to offer to its users.
From UV mapping to skinning Blender performs everything with ease. The only thing required is complete knowledge before moving forward. Cons:. The entire program is too much complex. Even the video editing gurus don't think they know the whole program.
It is only because the tabs are not organized and placed properly within the interface. The hardware compatibility is required to get the best out of it. The rendering engine known as cycle requires high resolution graphic card as well as top notch system.
High powered video editor for Linux which uses the element of precision for creating awesome videos. The program us user friendly and can be used on OS different than Linux. The editing is done in nonlinear mode which makes the usage even simple. Pros:.
It can recover data completely if there was a system bug which causes it to crash. The project can be started from the point it was left. The program also supports multi camera functionality. Videos from multiple devices can be imported and edited simultaneously. Cons:. Though the new version has been released but still the scroll does not work when it multiple devices detect it.
Not frequent but still the program refuses to load image files at times. Video editing is never complete without image editing so it is definitely troublesome. It is a video editing software for Linux which comes with tremendous support and tools to help the users.
The best part is that it is being upgraded continuously to provide the best to the users. Pros:. The program has got number of tools and techniques which are used for video editing.
It is simple and easy to use. The numbers of image and audio filters which are added by default are numerous. The work can be done with ease and satisfaction. Cons:. It is more technical then the programs of same genre.
It therefore cannot be used by all users and the user base is limited. It has been reported on many forums that the program crashes in the middle of work. The progress is lost which is irksome. The Finish Line There are some significant trade-offs when you choose a suitable video editing software in 2018, your choice depends on your device's operation system, the budget, technical skills, the final effects of your video and other factors, it's different from person to person. If you want me to recommend, I will choose Adobe Premiere Elements and to you as they are both professional video editing software. But can only choose one, Filmora Video Editor must be the best choice, because it is designed to professionals as well as beginners (equipped with detailed guidelines, benginners can get amazing results as you desired). Believe me, you can download the free trial version to have a try!