Thoughts on mp4 Video Editors Please

Hi,

I'm looking for a mp4 editor that is (a) free, (b) can handle individual files of up to 200MB and a 'final compilation' file size of up to 1Gb, (c) can output in HD 1080p and (d) doesn't watermark the output.

I have a shortlist of VSDC Video Editor, Open Shot, Lightworks and Shortcut but have not tried any of these yet (I'd rather find out which does what I want first without having to install the program and find out there are issues - as uninstalling programs always leaves 'junk' behind).

Can anyone recommend any of the above (or an alternative)?

Cheers

Art

Just a comment, Free and Watermarks go together, the idea is to get lots of users and advertising, purchase makes the watermark go away.

I'd have a go at OpenShot first. I've only used it once or twice for simple tasks and haven't delved too deep in to what it can do.



One review on YT: (1) OpenShot Video Editor Review - Is OpenShot Any GOOD? - YouTube

Best in the world with tons of support and used by pros and is free no watermarks Download HitFilm Express - Free Video Editing Software - FXhome

Berton said:

Just a comment, Free and Watermarks go together, the idea is to get lots of users and advertising, purchase makes the watermark go away.

Agreed - but there are software packages that are available which are both free and without watermarks - hence the question.

Fabler2 said:

I'd have a go at OpenShot first. I've only used it once or twice for simple tasks and haven't delved too deep in to what it can do.

Samuria said:

Best in the world with tons of support and used by pros and is free no watermarks Download HitFilm Express - Free Video Editing Software - FXhome

Thanks. Haven't heard of HitFilm Express - will take a look.

My initial thought was VSDC Video Editor as several reviews (how honest is anyone's guess) say it is great but isn't the easiest to use.

Any thoughts on VSDC Video Editor??

Art

What sort of editing do you need to perform?

VSDC Video Editor Pro is sometimes available as a free giveaway if you want to wait for one of the offers.

It's pretty decent but if there's no rush wait for a giveaway to become available.

If you don't need advanced features maybe test this:

ToolRocket Free Video Converter: Convert MP4/AVI/MKV with high speed

Sorry I forgot that there is also this one free with some decent effects and tools but it's not an advanced editor. Merging or cutting out parts is possible but it's not obvious how to do it.

VidClipper - The best video editing software for PC in 2020

"Editing" ? Like doing what?

Converting, cutting and merging - AVIDemux (freeware, no watermarks)

Between/Amongst all the free ones, they will cover pretty much all you want to do. You might have to run a couple to do everything you want, but, really, you shouldn't have to pay/buy.

In any case, a lot of the paid ones are simply a freeware one with a different GUI ... and because of built-in pre-sets, you have much less control over the finished result(s).

Go with the free ones first, for a little while, before you decide to buy.

Callender said:

What sort of editing do you need to perform?

VSDC Video Editor Pro is sometimes available as a free giveaway if you want to wait for one of the offers.

It's pretty decent but if there's no rush wait for a giveaway to become available.

If you don't need advanced features maybe test this:

ToolRocket Free Video Converter: Convert MP4/AVI/MKV with high speed

idgat said:

"Editing" ? Like doing what?

Converting, cutting and merging - AVIDemux (freeware, no watermarks)

Thank you folks.

To refine my requirements - pretty simple really hence my initial use of the Microsoft Photos app!

I have several short (around 5mins / 120Mb) mp4 video clips that I wish to 'edit' by either removing the initial title sequence or the end credits (or both) and then 'stitch' five of these together to produce a single mp4 video of around 22-23 mins. Ideally, the cutting or 'trimming' should be frame-by-frame. If the editing apps could add transitions between the clips (fade through black) then even better.

I'm not aiming to do anything more complicated than this.

As far as the UI goes - ideally the simpler, the better. Something that is intuitive rather than having a convoluted process to follow would be great. (I'm rather of a follower of the late Sir Terrance Conran - who basically said that good design doesn't need an instruction book!)

I hope the above helps.

@Callender - roughly how often does the VSDC Pro offer appear - and where?

Thanks once again,

Art

ArthurDent said:

To refine my requirements - pretty simple really hence my initial use of the Microsoft Photos app!

I have several short (around 5mins / 120Mb) mp4 video clips that I wish to 'edit' by either removing the initial title sequence or the end credits (or both) and then 'stitch' five of these together to produce a single mp4 video of around 22-23 mins. Ideally, the cutting or 'trimming' should be frame-by-frame. If the editing apps could add transitions between the clips (fade through black) then even better.

Then AVIDemux is perfect. Have to be done in 2 steps - cut the individuals first, then one process to join.

Just make sure when you cut, you clip on the last/next keyframe (<< and >> buttons) when clipping.

Then join by opening the first clip, then File > Append ... subsequent clips, in order.

Clips need to be the same format(s), can't join different aspect ratios/video stream formats/etc. May need to convert first.

If you want a transition effect between segments, then OpenShot might be better for joining.