Looking for good video editing software for under $80

[MadAnt250]

I edit in 1080p and would like something with decent transition effects and audio tuning. Right now I am using Movie Maker - Pro and it is utter garbo, features don't work sometimes, it will have decoding issues and it will sometimes crash. I am tired of this crappy video editing pile of manure, I sometimes have to cut corners or take extra time doing things because the program would have issues just functioning.

 

DO NOT BUY Movie Maker-Pro, it is only fine when everything works, which is about 50% of the time.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.  

[minibois]

4 minutes ago, MadAnt250 said:

I edit in 1080p and would like something with decent transition effects and audio tuning. Right now I am using Movie Maker - Pro and it is utter garbo, features don't work sometimes, it will have decoding issues and it will sometimes crash. I am tired of this crappy video editing pile of manure, I sometimes have to cut corners or take extra time doing things because the program would have issues just functioning.

 

DO NOT BUY Movie Maker-Pro, it is only fine when everything works, which is about 50% of the time.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.  

As an amateur video editor (read as: someone who occasionally edits a thing), Davinci Resolve 16 free has been working quite well for me. There is a 'Studio' version which is more like 300 USD, but I would just see if the free versions works out and see if you are missing anything. Chances are you won't really miss anything.

 

The audio parts i don't have much experience with, so can't say how well the program does. The transitions are - in the free version at least - kind of scarce. They may get the job done as-is, but they feel kind of like the default Windows Movie Maker transitions. But that might be me just not having used them enough to fully take advantage of it.

It has been quite stable for me though and encoding does go quite quickly for me.

 

I am not sure if it is the best option and the paid option is definitely higher than the budget you shared, but I know at least someone will mention the programs, so I felt like it was worth it to give my two cents on how the programs works.

[SupaKomputa]

Free davinci resolve would be your best bet, but the learning curve is a bit steep.

I started with Vegas pro, it's very easy to learn, there's a monthly fee of $16. You can use soundforge for the audio.

Now i've settled with Premiere and Audition for the audio.

[MadAnt250]

4 minutes ago, minibois said:

As an amateur video editor (read as: someone who occasionally edits a thing), Davinci Resolve 16 free has been working quite well for me. There is a 'Studio' version which is more like 300 USD, but I would just see if the free versions works out and see if you are missing anything. Chances are you won't really miss anything.

I only make poor quality videos once or twice a month because I do like dealing with Movie Maker-Poo, I will have to check out Davinci Resolve 16 free, not having ads or hiccups would be nice.

[MadAnt250]

38 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Free davinci resolve would be your best bet, but the learning curve is a bit steep.

They want my contact info, I much rather buy something from the store, plus after looking in to it they have many features I do not need and don't have some of the features the more basic editors provide.

[LogicalDrm]

17 minutes ago, MadAnt250 said:

They want my contact info, I much rather buy something from the store, plus after looking in to it they have many features I do not need and don't have some of the features the more basic editors provide.

They want email which doesn't have to be real. And if you think that vs buying something where you input your whole actual billing address, its quite small fee.

 

What are features Resolve is missing? Transitions? This is more out of interest than anything else. The other software which usually gets recommended in Hitfilm Express which also has free version and paid addons, like transition packs.

[MadAnt250]

On 2/8/2020 at 5:12 PM, LogicalDrm said:

They want email which doesn't have to be real. And if you think that vs buying something where you input your whole actual billing address, its quite small fee.

 

What are features Resolve is missing? Transitions? This is more out of interest than anything else. The other software which usually gets recommended in Hitfilm Express which also has free version and paid addons, like transition packs.

Resolve free seems amazing for what it is, but from what I researched, some of the effects/filters will have a watermark and like other people have said there is a steep learning curve.

I am thankful for all the info and suggestions @minibois, @SupaKomputa and @LogicalDrm have provided. I have bought a copy of Adobe Premier Elements which was pretty easy use after I did some exploring and it works so much better than the previous pile of trash I was using.