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I'm looking for good software (free or commercial) for video editing. I tried Magix Video Deluxe but didn't like it that much.

The application I'm looking for shouldn't be too professional, but not overly simple either. I'm looking for an easy way to cut out scenes quickly and reorder them, as well as naming or tagging them.

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If you read the main question is where to find a FREE video Editing software for windows 7, all these links are for free trials not free software. – user65103 Jan 28 '11 at 9:44
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@Juan it says free or commercial to me – Ivo Flipse♦ Jan 28 '11 at 9:45
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closed as not constructive by random♦ May 22 at 3:32

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10 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

I am not a Sony fan myself, but I will have to give it to them: Sony Vegas is a first class video editing program for Windows, and mostly unrivaled in the consumer sector with near-professional-grade power.

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If you thought the question should be wiki, wouldn't you have set your answer as wiki as well? – random♦ Dec 24 '09 at 12:33
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up vote 10 down vote

If you just want a quick, free, easy to use program, I recommend Windows Movie Maker.

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Simply the best video editor for beginners. – Notorious Arab Dec 24 '09 at 17:51
how is movie maker's support for hd video, in terms of performance editing and usual codec compatibility? – JoséNunoFerreira Dec 19 '11 at 11:59
@JoséNunoFerreira I couldn't really say for certain as I have not used it in the past year (that answer is ~2 years old), but, as far as I know, it works with anything that the system is compatible with. Don't expect frame by frame editing (as the codec will most likely be lossy), but, I am sure you will be able to do the basics just fine. – William Hilsum Dec 19 '11 at 12:32
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up vote 7 down vote

Take a look at Top 5 Free Video Editing Software.

I found this (Free video editing software list for all platforms) and this (Free Video Editing Software) very useful as they summarize features of each program.

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up vote 5 down vote

I've used Pinnacle Studio for years. It's a good middle range video editing suite, allows for a lot additions and has a wide variety of available plugins. Better than free and at a pretty good price under $200.

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You could get an old version from ebay for peanuts. version 11 was pretty good. – Mick Jan 27 '10 at 12:50
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up vote 4 down vote

VirtualDub is another app, worth taking a look at.

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up vote 4 down vote

For the FOSS (Free and Open Source) side, I am investigating (in order of most promising to least):

  • Lightworks [10.04 beta] (Windows, Mac, Linux) Fancy, high-tech, but has only 16 AlternativeTo likes. It will truly be Open Source in about a year, IIRC.

    Lightworks - Trimming

    Lightworks is an Oscar and Emmy award winning professional NLE [Non-linear editing] system for editing and mastering of movies in 2K and 4K as well as television productions in PAL, NTSC and HD. Numerous internationally renowned and Oscar award-winning feature films, including The King's Speech, Martin Scorsese's The Departed, Mission Impossible, Pulp Fiction, Braveheart and Batman were edited on Lightworks. [From Wikipedia]

    But nobody cares...!

  • OpenShot (Linux) Featured on header on Ubuntu 11.10's Software Center

  • Cinelerra

    Cinelerra is a highly advanced and professional video editing software, but still remains open source. Cinelerra solves three main tasks: capturing, editing and compositing. There is virtually no limit to the video resolution so whether its standard or high definition (hd) doesn't really matter in Cinelerra.

    ... But Lacks the polish and stylishness of Lightworks.

  • Kdenlive (Mac, Linux) ...Well, I have to include something by KDE, don't I?

  • VLMC (Windows, Mac, Linux) From the makers of VLC... I think I will like this once they come out of pre-alpha and alpha.

    VLMC - Mac

EDIT: I have ended up learning Lightworks. Although I haven't tried the others, I can say it has a steep learning curve.

Previously, it used to cost >$3000, I believe. But they have gone [or will go, to be pedantic] Open Source, for the most part. I don't know how it compares to other editors of the same grade, such as Avid, but nothing can compete with its new price tag. I don't think I would pay hundreds of dollars for Sony Vegas if I have Lightworks.

One feature I really liked was the curves for keyframes. Basically, you can add a curves for parameters like X position, or gain or contrast, and Lightworks will interpolate through the points. An extremely simple example would be panning from left to right or zooming in. You can add 'keyframes' for virtually any effect that has editable parameters (all of them).

I still haven't figured out the best way to insert clips or move multiple clips around/etc. If I use the 'easy method' to insert a clip in the middle of only one track, it gives me a indicator:

Current unjoined clips do not allow sync fixup.

...Which I haven't figured out.

Conclusion

I am using Lightworks, a professional NLE system. It has a steep learning curve and its own unintuitive, but potentially powerful, workflow*. But now that I am using Lightworks, I don't think I can turn back without missing the Lightworks way of doing things.

*I still haven't figured out what the 'workflow' is, but I know I will bask in the awe-inspiring beauty of it once I figure it out.

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+1 for providing screenshots alone – Imbrondir Nov 7 '11 at 17:11
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up vote 3 down vote

Windows Live Movie Maker does a nice job if you're looking for something basic. It's part of their Windows Live Essentials pack that replaces a bunch of Windows Utilities not included in Windows 7.

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up vote 2 down vote

What you are really after is Cyberlink PowerDirector Ultra. Its the perfect balance between ease of use and features. I've tried lots of others including Vegas, which was way too compllicated.

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up vote 1 down vote

The first video editor I used was Corel VideoStudio and still stuck with it. It is a very good video editor.

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up vote 1 down vote

Adobe® Premiere® Elements 9 has all the basic features I need, and the price is just right for my budget.

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