What to look for while buying a great video editing software

Days are gone when video cameras were bulky, heavy, and costly things used only by professionals. Now, six-year-old kids often use a video camera, they handle those little camcorders like a toy. Most cell phones have video capturing option and people simply can't stop themselves from capturing the precious moments of their life. But whether professional or personal, videos need a great amount of post production done to it and there comes the use of video editing software. Today, a lot of video editing software are available in the market and their usage varies depending on the requirement of the user. But, some basic qualities and features are very important to know before we buy any video editing software. Here are the main points that make a video editing software useful.

video editing software

Features of great video editing software

Import Video

The first thing needed to be done while using any video editing software is to import the video from other devices and locations to the software. A good software would work with every camera and it could import videos of any format. Majority of software can directly import videos from the camcorders via computer. After fully importing the video, there shouldn’t be any disjointed playback in the software.

User Friendly

It is difficult to work if the software is complicated to use. A user friendly platform helps to work properly and in a good video editing software it is easy to perform any task. Many different features are available in a good software to perform different tasks and to get different effects on the video. There is no use of buying a software if it is not user friendly.

Tools for Editing

Editing tools are used to make many effects on the video like changing color tones, use of background image, slowing down the video speed, add text in the video etc. Editing tools are the most important feature in a video editing software as this is the main post production stage and the final result of the video is based on how the editing tools were used on it. Softwares which provide good application of storyboard and time line layout are recommended. Some softwares have a video stabilizer application which is also very useful.

Export Video

After editing the video needs to be exported to other locations or to disks (DVD or CD). Some softwares give the option of uploading the video directly to YouTube. While exporting the video its format can also be changed. Good software provides almost all file formats. Some formats such as VOB or DAT take more space than MKV or AVI. Formats which take less space are easier to export to discs.

Audio Editing

Video comes with audio and it’s important to edit the sound too to make a good video. Good video editing softwares have separate audio editing tools with which you can add many types of sound effects to your video.

Help Options

In case of any problem there’s an ‘Help’ option in a good software where you can find the details of any application or you can contact the manufacturer for help. It is an important feature as many professional software these days use some very complex applications and if help is needed manufacturers provide email address and phone number. Good support options and manuals are important and useful for any software.

Today’s top 5 video editing software:

Corel VideoStudio Pro X4: A consumer level and user friendly software with powerful editing tools.

CyberLink PowerDirector 9 Deluxe: A high-speed software with varieties of video effect.

Adobe Premiere Elements 9: A software for beginners which produces great result.

Windows Live Movie Maker 2011: Microsoft's video editing software with all-in-one features.

Apple iMovie '11: Apple's latest software with very good editing and effect tools.