If you are looking for video editing software and have observed that there are a number of free ones on offer then the question is, why pay for video editing software? In reality, there are free editors on offer so what does a paid program offer that the free one does not.

At the outset a free video editor may truly be the preferable choice for you, especially if you are only beginning to look at this subject.

The Windows operating systems and Mac both provide rather capable video editors as part of their basic setup. As for Mac it is called iMovie and for Windows prior to Windows 7 it is named Movie Maker. Subsequent to Windows 7 it is still dubbed Movie Maker but does not appear as part of the operating system. You can simply visit the Windows Live site and get yourself a free copy there.

Both of these video editors are pretty flexible in their usage and can provide the novice an superb introduction into the main actions of home video editing. They will be able to get you at ease with a range of features and the workflow that a good number of video editing programs go along with.

The negative to these types of free products is that they are exceptionally limited in the array of video and audio file types that they may import and are still more restricted in what they can export. Don't be too put off by this at first because even with this constraint you may still turn out effective video for online display and with some additional software you can make DVDs as well.

So what is the point in paying?

To start with there are the obvious things. The number of special effects features like transitions and filters increases a great deal. The degree of control you possess regarding both the video itself as well as audio along with still photos additionally increases significantly. The paid consumer video editing software we find at the moment is especially sophisticated and can do some mind-blowing things provided you are ready to learn.

Furthermore, the array of video file formats that this kind of program can handle will almost always take in whatever is presented in the marketplace of the day. A number of of the latest video devices are employing file formats that are extremely compressed and exceedingly demanding to contend with for editing.

To end with we come to the hidden advantages. When you pay for editing programs you are additionally receiving the research and development behind the software to make this kind of home user editing far more powerful. The field of home user video editing programs is advancing at a rapid rate. The hardware being employed to record video is developing all the time and so are the file standards being utilized to record those videos. Furthermore, the means that we are then viewing the video is advancing in conjunction with the file types that are being used for that.

You can appreciate that the topic of video editing software has to constantly keep up with evolving technology. The bleak financial fact is that only those software manufacturers that look to people buying their programs maintain that motivation to keep up.

So should you pay for video editing software? If you are just beginning the broad answer is, no. However, if you have a little understanding and have hit the limitations of the free programs then maybe it is time to look at making an investment in paid programs.