5 really free non-linear video editors for Windows
This post is designed to help those who, like me, suddenly became closely with Movie Maker.
Video editors almost did not interest me until last month, until with friends we decided to remove something original for the New Year. Our creativity has been limited to, in terms of previously unknown to me, apply the effect of “split screen” (Split Screen). That is, to realize something like this:
We quickly realized that the default MM did not suit us for this task completely, and plunged into the world of nonlinear tools. They turned out to be unbearably many, judging by the issue of Google, and of course, it was not possible to choose one only, relying only on descriptions. In short, it was decided not to waste time reading reviews, but to download and test.
')
In fact, it turned out that most free video editing programs are only functionally limited versions of software that you can buy. Well, since for the sake of only one video per year, we don’t really want to buy the program, we were looking for one whose limitations do not strongly contradict our needs. So let's go.
An old-timer among video editing programs about which they wrote on Habré back in 2010. The source code promised at that time, it seems, no one saw, but the program today offers installations for the three main operating systems.
System requirements: Intel i7, AMD or another processor with a higher frequency, at least 3 GB of RAM, 200MB of free hard disk space, Video card PCI Express (NVIDIA or ATI) with a minimum memory size of 1 GB, support for DirectX 9.
The developers of Lightworks claim that their product was repeatedly used in Hollywood, during the filming of such films as “Pulp Fiction” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
It is believed that the “trick” in Lightworks is a flawlessly implemented video cutting tool. I don’t presume to judge impeccability and intuition - after Movie Maker all non-linear editors at first drove me into a short-term stupor.
VSDC is issued by Google among the first results for the request “free video editor”, despite the fact that no one wrote about it on Habré. The interface here is no different and today someone can even remotely remind the Office. However, free of charge and a wide range of tools, this minor drawback is balanced. The main advantages of VSDC developers call full compatibility with all known formats, both on import and on export. Moreover, in the settings you can even select the H265 / HEVC codec, which, as is well known, gives the maximum image quality with a high degree of file compression. Those who plan to process 4K video at this point will be especially pleased, because other free tools have not seen this feature.
System requirements: Intel, AMD or other compatible processors with a frequency of 1.5 Hz, 256 MB of RAM, 50 MB of free hard disk space.
Slightly confused pop-up window when you start the program, which offered an upgrade for the PRO version, but from the written it became clear that the main feature of the upgrade is hardware acceleration on the export, and all other features do not differ from the free version.
From Davinchi I left a double impression. On the one hand, in terms of the toolkit and the interface, it stands out against the background of other free programs - the feeling of a truly powerful professional video editor. And, as in the case of VSDC, there are no significant differences for the average user between the free version and the commercial version for $ 995 (!). On the other hand, Davinci Resolve places high demands on the video card, since the application of the changes here is implemented in real time. This, of course, impresses me as a user, but also periodically drops the whole process on insufficiently powerful computers.
System requirements: 12 GB of RAM (recommended 16 GB), a powerful video card with CUDA technology and the recommended memory capacity of 3 GB, a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 and higher.
The biggest focus of the video editor Davinci Resolve is on color correction tools. If for you the ideal Hollywood level image is not a priority, then perhaps you, like me, do not have enough patience to figure out the settings. But judging by the tutorials, the color of Davinchi is really capable of performing miracles.
In Hitfilm Express, emphasis is placed on special effects, and this becomes clear from the first seconds on the site, which is made using effects from Iron Man (at the time of writing, however, changed to Star Wars). Then you and the "shaking" and "rain", and "bloody spray." The second competitive advantage of this editor is compositing - tools for combining visual effects and 2D / 3D animation, which, according to the forums, are not inferior to Adobe After Effect.
System requirements: 1.2 GB of free space on the hard disk, 4 GB of RAM (recommended volume - 8 GB), a graphics processor with 2 GB of memory (minimum 512 MB).
Hitfilm Express has a fairly simple and intuitive interface compared to many non-linear editors, but at the same time, it’s a shame that support for formats such as AVCHD and MPEG-2 was taken to the paid features section, which can be obtained for $ 10.
Speaking of free video editors for Windows, it's impossible to ignore the beta version of OpenShot - one of the first open source tools with an eight year history. By the way, habrovchanam this project may be interested in his campaign on Kickstarter, where in 2013 the creator of OpenShot collected more than 2 times the required amount for the new version. Originally developed for Linux, this tool claimed to be the most comprehensive professional video editor.
System requirements: 8 GB of RAM (at least 2 GB), 64-bit 4-core processor, video card with support for OpenGL 3.2 and 2 GB of memory.
The Openshot interface is probably the most minimalistic one I've ever seen, and the same can be said about the feature set. When you first start the program, each step is accompanied by a pop-up hint, although the menu items seemed so intuitive to me that it is impossible to get lost in them. I admit, it never came to complete testing - after several times the forced shutdown of Openshot, my patience was no longer enough.
Of course, this is not all free video editors that exist on the market today. However, after testing each of them, I can vouch for at least the fact that you are not expected to have surprises in the form of a watermark, a lack of sound after export, or the inability to save the project, as is the case with some “pseudo-free programs”.
Add your own options in the comments, it would be nice to compile a more complete list of non-linear tools for thorough testing.
Video editors almost did not interest me until last month, until with friends we decided to remove something original for the New Year. Our creativity has been limited to, in terms of previously unknown to me, apply the effect of “split screen” (Split Screen). That is, to realize something like this:
We quickly realized that the default MM did not suit us for this task completely, and plunged into the world of nonlinear tools. They turned out to be unbearably many, judging by the issue of Google, and of course, it was not possible to choose one only, relying only on descriptions. In short, it was decided not to waste time reading reviews, but to download and test.
')
In fact, it turned out that most free video editing programs are only functionally limited versions of software that you can buy. Well, since for the sake of only one video per year, we don’t really want to buy the program, we were looking for one whose limitations do not strongly contradict our needs. So let's go.
Lightworks
An old-timer among video editing programs about which they wrote on Habré back in 2010. The source code promised at that time, it seems, no one saw, but the program today offers installations for the three main operating systems.
System requirements: Intel i7, AMD or another processor with a higher frequency, at least 3 GB of RAM, 200MB of free hard disk space, Video card PCI Express (NVIDIA or ATI) with a minimum memory size of 1 GB, support for DirectX 9.
The developers of Lightworks claim that their product was repeatedly used in Hollywood, during the filming of such films as “Pulp Fiction” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
It is believed that the “trick” in Lightworks is a flawlessly implemented video cutting tool. I don’t presume to judge impeccability and intuition - after Movie Maker all non-linear editors at first drove me into a short-term stupor.
On business
- The declared features in addition to the basic ones: support for editing from several cameras, 100 built-in presets with video effects, image output to a second monitor.
- Opens ProRes, Avid DNxHD, AVC-Intra, DVCPRO HD, RED R3D, DPX, AVCHD and HD 422 formats
- Export formats: “archive” Lightworks or directly to YouTube / Vimeo in MPEG-4 format.
- The main limitation of the free version: allows you to export videos only directly to YouTube or Vimeo, does not allow to save the project on your computer in a readable format.
VSDC
VSDC is issued by Google among the first results for the request “free video editor”, despite the fact that no one wrote about it on Habré. The interface here is no different and today someone can even remotely remind the Office. However, free of charge and a wide range of tools, this minor drawback is balanced. The main advantages of VSDC developers call full compatibility with all known formats, both on import and on export. Moreover, in the settings you can even select the H265 / HEVC codec, which, as is well known, gives the maximum image quality with a high degree of file compression. Those who plan to process 4K video at this point will be especially pleased, because other free tools have not seen this feature.
System requirements: Intel, AMD or other compatible processors with a frequency of 1.5 Hz, 256 MB of RAM, 50 MB of free hard disk space.
Slightly confused pop-up window when you start the program, which offered an upgrade for the PRO version, but from the written it became clear that the main feature of the upgrade is hardware acceleration on the export, and all other features do not differ from the free version.
- The declared features in addition to the basic ones: more than 20 presets of color correction in the style of Instagram filters, a variety of audio and video effects, including layer blending, masking on an object, Chroma Key, a wizard for creating a slideshow.
- Opens formats: AVI, QuickTime, HDVideo, WindowsMedia, DVD, VCD / SVCD, MPEG / MPG, DV, AMV, MTV, NUT, H.264 / MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MJPEG
- Export formats: AVI, DVD, VCD / SVCD, MPEG, MP4, M4V, MOV, 3GP / 3G2, WMV, MKV, RM / RMVB, FLV, SWF, AMV, MTV
- The main limitation of the free version: in addition to hardware acceleration, the limitations are either absent or are indicated implicitly. If someone finds - wait in the comments.
Davinci resolve
From Davinchi I left a double impression. On the one hand, in terms of the toolkit and the interface, it stands out against the background of other free programs - the feeling of a truly powerful professional video editor. And, as in the case of VSDC, there are no significant differences for the average user between the free version and the commercial version for $ 995 (!). On the other hand, Davinci Resolve places high demands on the video card, since the application of the changes here is implemented in real time. This, of course, impresses me as a user, but also periodically drops the whole process on insufficiently powerful computers.
System requirements: 12 GB of RAM (recommended 16 GB), a powerful video card with CUDA technology and the recommended memory capacity of 3 GB, a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 and higher.
The biggest focus of the video editor Davinci Resolve is on color correction tools. If for you the ideal Hollywood level image is not a priority, then perhaps you, like me, do not have enough patience to figure out the settings. But judging by the tutorials, the color of Davinchi is really capable of performing miracles.
- The declared features in addition to the basic ones: professional color correction, cropping, sound mixing, working with text, support for OpenFX plug-in to add transition effects.
- Open formats: Davinci opens most popular video formats, but the preferred working format for it is ProRes, so conversion is recommended before starting.
- Export Formats: AVI, QuickTime, MP4, MOV, APNG
- The main limitation of the free version: Davici Resolve is clearly counting on the audience of video editing professionals, so the most likely to be paid to the paid version are the unimportant buns for the average user like joint editing, noise reduction and stereoscopic 3D editing.
Hitfilm express
In Hitfilm Express, emphasis is placed on special effects, and this becomes clear from the first seconds on the site, which is made using effects from Iron Man (at the time of writing, however, changed to Star Wars). Then you and the "shaking" and "rain", and "bloody spray." The second competitive advantage of this editor is compositing - tools for combining visual effects and 2D / 3D animation, which, according to the forums, are not inferior to Adobe After Effect.
System requirements: 1.2 GB of free space on the hard disk, 4 GB of RAM (recommended volume - 8 GB), a graphics processor with 2 GB of memory (minimum 512 MB).
Hitfilm Express has a fairly simple and intuitive interface compared to many non-linear editors, but at the same time, it’s a shame that support for formats such as AVCHD and MPEG-2 was taken to the paid features section, which can be obtained for $ 10.
- The declared features besides the basic ones: more than 180 visual effects and presets, 3D compositing, animation and graphic editor, Chroma Key.
- Opens formats: Quicktime, AVI, MOV, MP4, MPEG-1, MXF, DV, HDV and WMV
- Export Formats: QuickTime, MP4, AVI and Direct Upload to YouTube direct
- The main limitation of the free version: on export, the maximum resolution is 1080p and the color depth is 8 bits, while in the paid version the maximum resolution is 8K UHD 32-bit depth. In addition, the free version does not support OpenFX plugins.
Openshot
Speaking of free video editors for Windows, it's impossible to ignore the beta version of OpenShot - one of the first open source tools with an eight year history. By the way, habrovchanam this project may be interested in his campaign on Kickstarter, where in 2013 the creator of OpenShot collected more than 2 times the required amount for the new version. Originally developed for Linux, this tool claimed to be the most comprehensive professional video editor.
System requirements: 8 GB of RAM (at least 2 GB), 64-bit 4-core processor, video card with support for OpenGL 3.2 and 2 GB of memory.
The Openshot interface is probably the most minimalistic one I've ever seen, and the same can be said about the feature set. When you first start the program, each step is accompanied by a pop-up hint, although the menu items seemed so intuitive to me that it is impossible to get lost in them. I admit, it never came to complete testing - after several times the forced shutdown of Openshot, my patience was no longer enough.
- The declared features in addition to the basic: video effects, including the Chroma Key, animated 3D headers, animation and watermarking.
- Opens: all FFmpeg formats, including WebM, AVSHD, HEVC
- Export: there is both the ability to directly upload to YouTube and Vimeo, and the ability to customize the export settings by choosing the bitrate, format and codec by yourself.
Of course, this is not all free video editors that exist on the market today. However, after testing each of them, I can vouch for at least the fact that you are not expected to have surprises in the form of a watermark, a lack of sound after export, or the inability to save the project, as is the case with some “pseudo-free programs”.
Add your own options in the comments, it would be nice to compile a more complete list of non-linear tools for thorough testing.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/318214/
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