Best video editor for Windows (that's not DaVinci Resolve)

[FlyingFilmmaker]

If you really want to get serious about creating amazing cinematic video, Davinci is the way to go. It is a bit complicated, but any pro-level editor will be. The effort to learn it pays of in the long run though.

If you're looking for something simple, a lot of people on here seem to like Filmora. I've tried Shotcut and I'd say, avoid it! It's not well designed, not very capable, and hard to use at the same time.

 

[SkyeHigh]

Very impressive and just goes to show how powerful a moving ‘still’ image can be in the right hands.

 

[Repaid1]

Personally, myself, I went with Sony Vegas Pro (Now sold off to MAGIX Madison). I have been using it for over 6 years. To be honest I bootlegged it off a torrent file, tested with it for about a month to learn basics..They then had a new release and I bought that version. YouTube has classes for it for days, I find it very simple when needed, but can do about whatever I want to get intense and creative. I do have the old version of Windows Movie maker on my Win 10 Editing machine..I guess for down and dirty editing on the fly for a quick Youtube upload, but I have used their (YouTube) editor as well. I guess the one you learn on you just kinda stay with?

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

You can download VideoPad for free to try it out. $40 if you want to buy it. Video Editing Software. Free Download. Easy Movie Editor.

VideoPad - Today $99.00 on sale 49.99 until July 15th upgrades for only 6 months
But if it works for your needs no free upgrades no problem

May I ask how long have you used it?
They claim to be the Fastest on the Market! With NO comparison information to prove it

How fast is it for you?

With Shotcut it takes around half runtime to save a new edit video size of 1920x1080 30fps
This is on a fast computer @ 100% CPU

 

[vindibona1]

VideoPad - Today $99.00 on sale 49.99 until July 15th upgrades for only 6 months
But if it works for your needs no free upgrades no problem

I just checked out the VideoPad tutorial to see what it was about. I had briefly tried Filmora and abandoned it quickly. I had (unsuccessfully) played with Microsoft Movie Maker and had a brief look at a few others. In choosing a video editor, beyond features and cost there is one universal truth (according to Vindibona):
The basics are all pretty much the same for every video editor. The differences are almost totally a matter of finding what the icons represent and where to find the features you need. Once in awhile the order in which you do things is different (and important). Often largely the selection of a video interface is a matter of what you are used to rather than which is better... with two exceptions: 1) Price. 2) Are you selecting a program you might need to grow into or one that you could potentially grow out of? Iny my case (again) I found learning the basics of Davinci no different or more difficult than any other. Where I am sort of stuck right now is learning how to take advantage of Fusion. But that's getting into way advanced stuff. And perhaps a simpler program might make advanced stuff easier? But again, I'd rather stick with something I can grow into though the learning curve just got a little steeper.

Last week I was at a family gathering when one of our group happens to be a full time professional video editor in NYC. She said the folks at Google (who use Premier Pro) would make fun of Davinci Resolve, to which I responded, there is nothing I can't do in Davinci for $300 that she can do in Premier without getting my pocket picked every month... and we Davinci users make fun of those still on Premier for paying month after month when most of what they need is available for free (joking, of course). Of course what does the cost matter to Google?

 

[Maviac]

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Last week I was at a family gathering when one of our group happens to be a full time professional video editor in NYC. She said the folks at Google (who use Premier Pro) would make fun of Davinci Resolve, to which I responded, there is nothing I can't do in Davinci for $300 that she can do in Premier without getting my pocket picked every month...

Surprising that a professional video editor would say that. I find Pr and Resolve about equally capable, but I know some very high-level Hollywood graders and editors and the overwhelming consensus from them has been that they prefer Resolve for serious work, though they work with both (along with Avid) depending on the project and client.

To the original post, I understand the point about Resolve and the learning curve. I tried it when I was first starting out and gave up. I ended up just getting a copy of Premiere Elements, and used that to learn the basics. Once I understood the concepts behind how NLE’s work, I tried Resolve again and picked it up pretty quickly. It’s not quite as easy as Premiere Pro (which was an easy step-up from Elements) but grading capabilities are somewhat better (though Adobe is upping their game here). Also, it’s cheaper, even if you go for the paid version.

So, my recommendation is to get something fairly inexpensive to learn on. Elements, Filmora, or others recommended here (though I’d stay away from FCPX, but that’s a whole other topic). If you decide you need something more powerful, you’ll be in a much better position to know what you’re looking for.

 

[vindibona1]

So, my recommendation is to get something fairly inexpensive to learn on. Elements, Filmora, or others recommended here (though I’d stay away from FCPX, but that’s a whole other topic). If you decide you need something more powerful, you’ll be in a much better position to know what you’re looking for.

I don't understand how the BASICS of Davinci are any harder to learn than any of the other aforementioned programs. I tried Filmora and actually found Davinci easier to grasp. With the exception of Photoshop I'm boycotting Adobe. Perhaps it's because of the hundreds or even thousands of bite-sized tutorials on YouTube that made Davinci Resolve so easy for me. And free? No one can beat their pricing schedule.

The thing is, because of how programs are presented, jumping from one to another, no matter how similar in feature, it's learning the interface that is the issue. Even within Photoshop that I've been using for 20 years, I still prefer version CS3 over the current version fancy-shmancy automated features (that I have to out-think) and tools and key strokes that are in different places. It might as well be another program from another company. I maintain- get the program you can grow into and tough out the first few days and stick with it. JMO

 

[Grant Angus Vietnam]

Maybe "Filmora" ?

Try CyberLinks

 

[Uncle Hoser]

Being more interested in flying than photography, I'm a complete noob at video editing. After trying a few, I settled on kdenlive. Now I'm losing my mind on the learning curve! It's powerful software for the price (free!) and there's a lot of functionality...that means there's also a lot to learn.

I'm gonna stick with it and learn to use it well before transitioning or upgrading to something even MORE complex!

 

[tom29928]

Try OpenShot. I've used the major paid and free editors for many years, and for "safe and easy", this totally free, open source newcomer is IMO the best!

 

[koco2202]

Try OpenShot. I've used the major paid and free editors for many years, and for "safe and easy", this totally free, open source newcomer is IMO the best!

I will try this one. Thank you

 

[finchalex]

editing task is complicated if you have never edited before. I had never edited a video in my life when I started my drone adventure.

I chose Davinci Resolve back at DR 14. I joined the user's group and watched and LEARNED from guys like Casey Faris, Mr Alextech, FilmSimplified and many others. DR 17 is by far ,IMHO, the best. If you are looking to start right from the start and produce a Hollywood masterpiece, you are living in a pipe dream.

Once you have learned just a few basics with Davinci Resolve, you will understand why so many video newbees and Bigtime producers prefer Davinci Resolve. Get a pair and learn and try. You will be amazed what you have accomplished! Also it is FREE and it is a complete package.

If you become super accomplished, you can purchase for a one time fee $250 for the studio version which add just a few additional features.

custom bottled water

 

[Lister]

editing task is complicated if you have never edited before. I had never edited a video in my life when I started my drone adventure.

I chose Davinci Resolve back at DR 14. I joined the user's group and watched and LEARNED from guys like Casey Faris, Mr Alextech, FilmSimplified and many others. DR 17 is by far ,IMHO, the best. If you are looking to start right from the start and produce a Hollywood masterpiece, you are living in a pipe dream.

Once you have learned just a few basics with Davinci Resolve, you will understand why so many video newbees and Bigtime producers prefer Davinci Resolve. Get a pair and learn and try. You will be amazed what you have accomplished! Also it is FREE and it is a complete package.

If you become super accomplished, you can purchase for a one time fee $250 for the studio version which add just a few additional features.

custom bottled water

It's been a long time since I visited this thread.

My opinion remains: you can't beat Da Vinci Resolve. Sure, the learning curve is steep, but hey, deal with it.

Nobody said film making is easy, it just looks easy.

It takes time and effort to learn how to shoot, edit and most important of all...

... tell a story.

Resolve has removed every last roadblock towards you learning to be a film maker. It even runs on laptops if you configure it properly.

You just ran outta excuses.

I agree on others' recommendations for Casey Faris, Mr Alex Tech, and Blackmagic Design for video tutorials and learning materials.

 

[vindibona1]

editing task is complicated if you have never edited before. I had never edited a video in my life when I started my drone adventure.

I chose Davinci Resolve back at DR 14. I joined the user's group and watched and LEARNED from guys like Casey Faris, Mr Alextech, FilmSimplified and many others. DR 17 is by far ,IMHO, the best. If you are looking to start right from the start and produce a Hollywood masterpiece, you are living in a pipe dream.

Once you have learned just a few basics with Davinci Resolve, you will understand why so many video newbees and Bigtime producers prefer Davinci Resolve. Get a pair and learn and try. You will be amazed what you have accomplished! Also it is FREE and it is a complete package.

If you become super accomplished, you can purchase for a one time fee $250 for the studio version which add just a few additional features.

custom bottled water

How do you argue with that???

 

[Tufargon]

How do you argue with that???

When the OP says "that's not DaVinci Resolve" and people keep pushing that exact program.

 

[koco2202]

I started working on Davinci Resolve 17, but I am having a lot of issues with the choppy playback, I watched videos for resolution but no results at all, still choppy and I can't work it like that.

I do start liking it though but this thing is a set back.

I am still researching this issue but if any of you have some trick please share.

 

[Lister]

Choppy playback results from the combination of inadequate hardware and hard-to-play codecs. You can't easily edit heavily compressed high resolution footage at 4K on a low-spec laptop. Cameras produce heavily compressed video media. Decoding on the fly takes substantial computer resources.


Try implementing all or any of the following.

1) reduce timeline resolution (won't affect final output - RTFM)
2) reduce viewport resolution to half rez or less
3) convert your original codec to Resolve-friendly video data ie optimized media" Right click on clip and select "create optimized media)
4) create and use proxies

options 3 and 4 require additional disk space which is dirt cheap nowadays.

 

[koco2202]

Awesome, I did that and I think that the create optimized media fixed the issue

 

[Lister]

Excellent. Resolve is a steep learning curve but ultimately rewarding tool.

FYI, when I was teaching Avid in the mid 90s a single seat of Media Composer cost over a hundred grand - hardware and software.

Resolve is miles ahead of what MC was in those days and...free!

 

[vindibona1]

I started working on Davinci Resolve 17, but I am having a lot of issues with the choppy playback, I watched videos for resolution but no results at all, still choppy and I can't work it like that.

I do start liking it though but this thing is a set back.

I am still researching this issue but if any of you have some trick please share.

Two features under playback. But you can Hey there, how do

Awesome, I did that and I think that the create optimized media fixed the issue

Generate optimized media is one solution. That has worked for me for a long time. You just have to get to that command and let it run.

But also in DR 17 there are also options to view by Proxy Media. Under the playback menu you'll see "Use Optimized Meida if Available". Next, "Use Proxy Media if Availble. Jus below that is another item, "Timeline Proxy Mode. If you go to that dropdown the options are Off, Half Resolution, Quarter Resolution. You can use that instead of Optimized media without having to run your clips to get them optimized.