Best Video Editing Software 2014

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Some 100 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute. But simply uploading a clip of you singing over Lorde isn't enough to guarantee an audience. To capture a significant portion of the 1 billion monthly visitors, you need more than just a unique shtick; you need high- quality video. With the right tools, you, too, can become an Internet sensation such as Michelle Phan or Natalie Tran.

Products

Best Price

RANKED NO. 1	RANKED NO. 2	RANKED NO. 3
CyberLink PowerDirector 12 Deluxe	Corel VideoStudio Pro X6	Adobe Premiere Elements 12
$49On Herman Street	$69On Herman Street	$69On Amazon

At the very least, a video editor should let you trim or merge files, add music, title cards, subtitles and transitions. Better programs give you precise control over screen elements such as lower thirds or subtitles. You can also create special effects such as green screen, picture-in-picture or stop-motion animation to make your video stand out.

MORE: 12 Mobile Video Editors for Your Smartphone or Tablet

Before buying a program, though, be sure you know what it is you want to create. "Make sure the tool is only as complicated as you need it to be," said Alan Haburchak, video journalist and adjunct faculty member at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

Many times, people pick the fanciest software thinking it'll be the best, Haburchak said. But the programs often end up being too complicated for beginners to use. If you only want to stitch together family videos, a simple tool will serve you well.

Whether you want to create the next Oscar-winning masterpiece, or just a simple wedding video, here are the three best programs as ranked by our sister site Top Ten Reviews.

CyberLink PowerDirector 12 Deluxe

$49On Herman Street

Ranked No. 1

CyberLink PowerDirector's user-friendly interface and impressive array of tools will suit novices and experts alike. The program stands out with its robust set of features, including MultiCam Designer for seamlessly editing footage from multiple cameras, and support for 4K video. Best of all, the $49 PowerDirector is the cheapest of the top three programs.

You'll need to run Microsoft Vista, 7 or 8, with a minimum of 2GB of RAM (3GB for 32-bit systems), 5GB of disk space and 1024 x 768 resolution to use PowerDirector.

Features: Three available modes -- Full Feature Editor, Easy Editor and Slideshow Creator -- let you tailor PowerDirector to your skill level. Its TrueVelocity processing engine offers speedy performance so you'll spend less time waiting around for edits to be applied. Advanced editors will enjoy using the Chroma Key (green screen) and Key Framing (animating objects) effects for quirky movies.

A new Theme Designer tool lets beginners create gorgeous projects in minutes with a simple three-step process -- select template, pick media and save. You can also share your movies from within the program to such services as YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and Daily Motion. A Menu Designer lets you build a DVD with menus, chapters, subtitles and bonus content. The program also boasts more than 300 effects, including picture-in-picture, 3D titles and transitions. Power users will appreciate the 100 available tracks on which you can lay video, images or audio clips.

CyberLink also provides hours of video tutorials on its website to help you master techniques and hosts a robust online fan community that creates resources such as downloadable templates on its Director Zone portal. PowerDirector also works with most file types, such as MPEG, FLV, MKV, MOV and even less common ones, including MVC (3D), DAT and TOD. 

Read the Full Review >>>

Corel VideoStudio Pro X6

$69On Herman Street

Ranked No. 2

Perfect for the filmmaker who's just starting out, Corel's VideoStudio distills the video-editing workflow into a simple three-step process. Just capture, edit and share your media easily. On top of the simple interface, Corel packed a comprehensive suite of editing tools, including stop-motion and time-lapse, to make this program one of the most powerful around.

You'll need Windows XP or newer with 2GB of RAM and a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768.

Features: Corel's support for a wide variety of multimedia types lets you import files from nearly any device so you can use your smartphone or DSLR without fear of incompatibility. Once you've imported your media, you can merge clips, add transitions, titles and filters. The program also uses Nvidia's graphics technology in addition to its own Smart Proxy engine to offer great processing speeds.

Create fun videos with the stop-motion and time-lapse effects offered in VideoStudio. Drag the corners of shapes to customize animations on your projects. VideoStudio also lets you record what's going on your screen. You can easily share your finished products with friends and family by uploading the files directly to Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or your personal website in just a few clicks.

VideoStudio Pro X6 supports common video formats such as AVI, MPEG, MOV, WMV, AVCHD and even 4K clips, but doesn't work with 3D videos. If you need help, Corel offers a plethora of video tutorials on its website and YouTube channel. But there's not much of a community around the software.

Read the Full Review >>>

Adobe Premiere Elements 12

$69On Amazon

Ranked No. 3

Adobe's Premiere Elements is a basic version of its more powerful brother Premiere, but its focus on the casual user makes it less intimidating for the beginner. Its Guided mode teaches you how to achieve specific effects so you can apply them later on your own. A robust Adobe Premiere community provides a wealth of online resources to help you create the perfect video.

Premiere Elements is our favorite program that can be run on Macs as well as PCs. You need at least Windows Vista with the latest service packs or Mac OS X v10.6. At least 2GB of RAM is required, along with 4GB of disk space and a 1024 x 768-pixel resolution.

Features: The simplest of its three modes, Quick lets you make small changes such as trimming clips and adding filters. An InstantMovie tool lets you quickly create a finished product just by selecting the footage you'd like to include. Save time with the Smart Trim feature, which analyzes your clips and decides which parts to get rid of on your behalf.

Video tutorials within Guided mode help you create picture-in-picture effects or add scores to your project. Expert mode puts the entire suite of Premiere Element's tools at your disposal so you can fine-tune your project. Share your masterpiece on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo or your personal website from within the program.

You can work with standard video types such as AVI, MPEG, MOV and WMV as well as Adobe's own Shockwave Flash (SWF). However, there is no support for 4K video.

Read the Full Review >>>

Format Compatibility and Requirements

Make sure to check that your chosen software supports the most common file input formats such as AVI, MOV, MP4, MPG, FLV, MKV and WMV. You don't want to be disappointed after a long day of shooting to find that your files can't be edited. The titles we've recommended support most common file types.

You'll also typically need at least 2GB of RAM (4GB is recommended for optimal performance) and about 128MB of memory on a graphics card. Some programs also require you use at leastdual-core processors.

Sharing Options

Look for a program that offers built-in export options via popular services such as YouTube and Vimeo (all three titles above support this). Without this feature, you'll have to save your video locally, then upload it manually to the Web. This lengthens the sharing process, and you'll waste  time sitting around waiting for your videos to finish exporting and uploading.

With the right video-editing program, you can immortalize life's precious moments in a personal video or craft perfectly edited packages for the silver screen.