Free Video Editor Programs

Below is a list of free video editor programs for you to download and use to edit your next Hollywood blockbuster.

There are hundreds of free video editor programs out there, and as you would expect, most of them are not worth bothering with. So we have done all the hard work for you and listed the five best free video editing software available in order of 'awesomeness'...number 1 being the best and so on.

Just click on the free video editing software you want to try out below, and you will be redirected to the official download page (if applicable).

Best Free Video Editor Programs

#1 - Movie Maker: If you own a Windows PC, Movie Maker is already on your computer ready for action. There are lots of reasons why this free video editing software is at the top of the pile, including ease of use, drag-and-drop features, wide choice of effects, titles & transitions, numerous add-ons, automated 'make movie' feature, free upgrades, excellent support, tons of tutorials etc., but the main reason it pipped iMovie to the top spot is because it is totally free for everyone.

Unlike iMovie for the Mac, which you can only get by buying a Mac computer (Not available for download), the latest version of Movie Maker can be downloaded for free by any Windows user.

Having said all that, the latest version of Movie Maker is not a standalone download any more, and comes as part of the free SP2 or SP3 package, but considering this includes all the latest security upgrades, there's nothing really to complain about.

Movie Maker comes with all versions of Windows, but Vista Premium and Ultimate versions allow you to edit HD video and make a DVD.

#2 - iMovie: If you own a Mac computer, then iMovie is already onboard waiting for you to get started.

Essentially, the Movie Maker for the Mac computer. Sexy looks and very easy to use with an intuitive interface. Apple always wins the trophy for good looks and clever design over Movie Maker, but there's really very little to choose between the two when it comes to video editing ability.

You'll have no problem importing, editing and producing great looking videos with this trendy tool.

#3 - VideoSpin: This is the stripped down free version of Pinnacle Studio (Which isn't actually a very good video editing program!), but VideoSpin has a lot of good things going for it.

It doesn't have a lot of features, but that makes it very easy to use and stable. You can quickly edit a video for use on the Internet, and VideoSpin even has a quick YouTube upload option. Nice!

There are no effects, no video capture facility, no audio edit (Though you can add audio), and you can only export to AVI, Flash, Real, or MPEG-1 (If you pay a few bucks, you can also output in DivX, MPEG-2, or MPEG-4), but if all you want to do is tidy up a short video for YouTube, this could be the one for you.

The only really annoying thing about VideoSpin are the ads on the user interface (Not the videos!), which can easily be hit by accident when using the drop-down menu.

#4 - JumpCut: The next one on our list of free video editor programs is JumpCut, and the BIG difference between this and the other ones is it is an online only service.

That's right. No software to download and install. Just join for free and edit your video on the web. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Well, as it's number four in our list, you can guess it has a few problems.

The main one is it is online, and you will need a fast broadband connection to make this work for you. Some of you with slower Internet connections will simply lose the will to live before it finishes uploading ;-)

It is easy to use, accepts multiple video formats, has a good collection of transitions, sound tracks, effects and titles, but uploading can be a bit patchy and you you cannot download your finished video, as JumpCut (owned by Yahoo) doubles up as a YouTube clone and allows you to host your video with them.

This may be great for some people, but I think most of you will find it a bit restrictive.

#5 - ZS4: ZS4 is one of the more 'feature-packed' free video editor programs, but it's not as user-friendly as the others. It comes with a huge number of built-in video effects and allows an unlimited number of video, audio and picture tracks.

It accepts a wide variety of formats, has decent support, forum and tutorials, but this is probably one for more experienced users.

All these free video editor programs are great because they do the job of editing video pretty well, and they are free of course, but if you want really great video editing facilities, you are going to have to fork out a few dollars.

It doesn't have to cost a fortune though. The video editing software I recommend (and use myself) is Sony Movie Studio (See left). Sony Movie Studio also includes Sony DVD Architect, which is a DVD Authoring software, allowing you to create DVDs with menus. For more information about Sony Movie Studio, click HERE.



If you have any video questions, please click HERE to ask Mr Video!

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