Home and professional video editing software

The top video editing software has developed to the point where it can deliver on the power needed by professional developers as well as the ease of use required for home users.

We looked at the best video editing software and we reviewed our top 3 picks.

Video editing software needs to do 3 things well: It needs to capture video, edit that video and then distribute the video to the end user.

Our top picks all perform the following functions in those 3 categories.

Video Capture

• They are able to read video files from the format of the most frequently used video players such as Windows Media Player, RealVideo and QuickTime.
• Capture content from DV, HDV, MicroMV and analog camcorders as well as from digital and PC cameras.
• Capture content from other formats like analog TV and VCR recordings.

Video Editing

• They have timeline editing with which you can rearrange, mix or combine video with a easy to use drag and drop system.
• They have a video stabilizer so they can fix shaky video.
• The editors can all change basic video properties(Brightness, Contrast, Hue, etc.)
• They can do green screen editing.
• You can add titles, menus and text to your creations.
• You can add music, narration and sound effects.
• They have a built in photo editor that can transition the image into the movie, change the basic photo properties(Brightness, Contrast, Hue, etc.) and rotate the image.

Video Distribution

• With these programs you can easily upload your creations to YouTube, Google Video, Grouper or any of the other major video sites.
• You can burn your creations to DVD, AVCHD or Blu-ray disc(these are the discs which are expected to replace DVDs)
• Supported output formats: Windows Media, Real Video, MPEG

In addition they all have tutorials, FAQ and email support.

PowerDirector

Vista, XP, 2000

Score Editing Tools 9.1 Video Capture Help/Support Ease of Use




The video editors are all pretty good. PowerDirector got the top spot because of it’s superior editing tools and ease of use.

Power Director supports subtitles, so if you need to do that, go with PowerDirector.

Features not supported by all 3:
The editor can Correct Backlight & Lighting.
They have good telephone support.
One of PowerDirector’s output formats is Quicktime.

Corel VideoStudio

Vista, XP

Score Editing Tools 8.3 Video Capture Help/Support Ease of Use




They have live chat support as well as an user forum. I prefer this to the telephone support, that the other 2 have.

Pinnacle Studio

Vista, XP

Score Editing Tools 7.8 Video Capture Help/Support Ease of Use




I found Pinnacle Studio a little bit more difficult to use than the other 2, which pushed it down to number 3.

Features not supported by all 3:

The editor can Correct Backlight & Lighting.
Pinnacle Studio has telephone support.
It supports multi layer menus.
One of Pinnacle Studio’s output formats is Quicktime.