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How to Select the Best Video Editing Software

By: Rob Robilliard Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Video editing software selection can seem a little daunting when you start to see the range of products available. However with a little help to remain alert to what is important you should be able to make a good choice.

One of the crucial points to bear in mind is:
"What is it that I am actually going to carry out with the video editing software that I select?"

The reply to that question has to stay uppermost in your mind when selecting the best video editing software for you.

All of the chief consumer video editing software developers offer camcorder to DVD video editing solutions that make them virtually inseparable from each other. So concentrate on what you actually need.

Video editing software makers are engaged in an ongoing race to track with new technology as it evolves and still make the product appeal to the customer. The point is you probably don't want to buy video editing software. What you want is a finished video production.

Video File Types
The initial thing to ascertain is what is the format of the material you will be working with and what will be the formats that you will want to make finally. Input will be determined by the camcorder or DVD recorder you use or what the origin of your files are. Find out the video file format your device use to record in and make sure it is covered first.
Then realistically take a look at how you would most likely share out your final videos. DVD? Blu-Ray? Uploading to a video sharing site like YouTube or something similar? Ensure the software you decide upon can output to the format you need.

So, your first task in making a decision on what video editing software is appropriate for you is to work out what your most common source video files will be and what your most common video output will be. That covers the foundation of what you will be doing with the software and must remain as your main focal point.

Video Transitions
Transitions are the little inserts that go in between two clips to make the scene change. When you watch a movie you can see that when a scene changes it regularly cuts to the next scene with no transition, this is called cut or a straight cut. The visible scene fades to black then the next scene fades up from black called a cross fade through black. Or, finally, the two scenes merge into each other softly and this one is called a cross fade. That's it, the full array of transitions you typically see in a professional production!

All video editing software programs offer at least fifty transitions each. First timers tend to use every transition available because they appear cool on the editing screen. The actuality is nobody ever wishes to go back to their house again to look at their most recent production because their heads are still spiraling from the last one! Ignore transitions as a deciding factor, all video editing software programs have them and they all have more than you need.

Video Overlay
An overlay track is the ability to position one video in the background and have another visible on top of it. It is that "picture in picture" effect you have seen on TV and in movies. You can also put subtitles in an overlay track or still photos or a bunch of other things to really get creative. You need about five for good control but you would never use more than that otherwise, once again, no-one is going to want to watch the mess you have created!

Audio
There is no video editing software at the consumer level that provides truly outstanding audio management and features. They are video editing programs not audio editing programs. A few have quite good control, a few do not. If you want pro audio features then you should get pro audio software.

The ability to handle Dolby 2 channel is a bare minimum and 5:1 Surround should be standard. The software should have two audio tracks to work with as well as the audio already in the video track. That provides sufficient leeway for adding narration, music or other effects.

Smart Render
Rendering is the word employed when the video editing software is making the finished file of your newly produced video. Until you render the final video file all the changes, cuts, additions and editing decisions you have made are only "virtual." The original footage is never touched. Rendering produces a new video file by putting all that together in the format you have chosen for viewing.

Any of the extremely compressed formats such as MPEG2 (for DVDs), MPEG4 etc regularly suffer from reduction of quality when they are re-rendered. The amount of quality lost is variable but it is vital that the video editing software you select can identify files that don't need to be re-rendered and just copy them to keep the highest quality possible. The software must also provide sufficient manual control over the properties of the output video file.

So there you have it, remain attentive to what is essential and keep the "oh wow" stuff to a minimum and you will do fine!

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Rob is a long time video and video editing enthusiast. Others have referred to Rob as more of a video tragic than anything else however he chooses to rise above such things. Movie Editing Software Best Video Editing Software Reviews Video Editing Software