Free easy-to-use video editor

Paul Lawrence, one the volunteer category editors for the "Best-ever Freeware" Wiki project, recently sent me this email:

 "Gizmo, quality freeware video editors are hard to come by. Most are overly complicated, and hard to use, unstable, or lack a good set of features. VideoSpin (freeware) is a new software package created by Pinnacle Systems, the makers of the very popular Pinnacle Studio. It is very easy to use, has a slick well organized interface, a good set of transitions, a title creator, and other nice features. It creates video in several popular formats including .flv so you can upload your videos directly to the web."

Nice find Paul, but I have some reservations: First up, this is a big download – 149MB with all the Codecs. Second, it wouldn’t install on my test PC – the installation just hung. Yet on another of my PCs it installed without problem. Third, the Codecs are not free, they are only provided on a 15 day trial basis.

But you are quite right; it is very easy to use and that is a real plus. I’m no video dude but I managed to edit two short videos a relative had sent me without even reading the manual. In fact, I’d rate VideoSpin as the most user friendly freeware video editor I’ve used.

However if you mainly process AVI files then you should also check out VirtualDub [2]. It’s not quite as easy to use but it’s free, has video capture and has a more established user base.

VideoSpin: Freeware, Windows XP, Vista, 2.3MB, 149MB with Codec pack.

[1] http://videospin.com/
[2] http://www.virtualdub.org/

Insider tips, how-tos, best security practices, and more

Subscribe to Windows Secrets — free!

The Windows Secrets Newsletter brings you essential tricks for running Windows XP, Vista, 7, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Windows Update, and more — weekly, free.

My Windows 8 Consumer Preview: A Sneak Peek at the Windows 8 Public Beta

Bonus: get this free download when you subscribe
Interested in Windows 8 but don't know where to start? You have a friendly guide in My Windows 8 Consumer Preview: A Sneak Peek at the Windows 8 Public Beta, by Katherine Murray. This month, all subscribers can download Chapter 1 and Chapter 5. In this excerpt you will learn about the new look of Windows 8, how to make things happen in it, how to use the apps that come with it, and how to get more apps.

We guarantee your privacy: We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail. Unsubscribe requests are honored within one business day. Privacy Policy

Related posts:

  1. Best free video editor
  2. Free utility converts video files for iPod use
  3. Best free video converter
  4. Rock out with your favorite video-game characters
  5. Free utility converts video files for use on your iPod
= Paid content

All Windows Secrets articles posted on 2008-03-20: