VideoPad Video Editor is a video editing program from NCH Software for Windows and macOS, with companion apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. It assembles clips, images and audio on a multi-track timeline, adds effects, titles and subtitles, and exports the result as a video file, a disc or an online upload. A free version is available for non-commercial use. Commercial use requires a paid license, and the free version carries a smaller set of effects and transitions.
Clip bins, previews and the sequence
VideoPad organizes a project around three areas. Imported media lands in clip bins. These sort files into default groups such as video files, audio files, images and sequences, plus any custom bins. The Clip Preview plays the selected source clip. The Sequence Preview plays the edit being assembled.
To add clips to the sequence, drag them from a bin or use Place on Sequence. This command inserts a clip at the start, at the cursor, at the end, or as an overlay at the cursor. You can view the sequence as a storyboard or as a full timeline. In timeline mode each track has controls to hide it from the output, solo it, mute it, lock it against changes or collapse it.
Project files store references to the media rather than copies. A VideoPad project therefore depends on the original files staying in place unless it is backed up or moved with its media. A project can hold several sequences, and all of them can be exported in one pass.
Cutting and arranging footage
Trimming works either in the preview, by setting start and end times, or directly on the timeline with Set Start and Set End at the cursor. Split commands can cut only the selected clips, every track at once, or just the video or audio tracks. This lets you separate a clip’s picture from its sound.
VideoPad draws higher video tracks on top of lower ones. This is how you build picture-in-picture, logos, watermarks and image overlays. Footage can also come straight into the program. VideoPad captures from DV camcorders, webcams and capture cards, and records narration. For screen capture, it launches the separate Debut recorder and automatically imports the recording when it finishes.
Effects, transitions and animation
Effects are grouped into motion and transform effects, blending and color correction, filters and artistic effects. Color tools cover adjustment and grading. The green screen effect keys out a blue or green background so you can place a subject over another clip. Stabilization reduces camera shake, and speed controls produce slow motion, faster playback or reverse.
Each clip’s effects sit in a stack in the Effects window. Many parameters can change over time in the Effect Animation Editor, which uses keyframes and predefined curves. An effect mask confines an effect to one region of the frame instead of the whole picture. You can save a configured stack as a custom effect chain and apply it to other clips.
Transitions such as fade, cross fade, slide and zoom go between clips. You can adjust their duration.
Titles, text and subtitles
Text clips take a font, size, color, border and alignment, and can scroll with a motion effect. You can build animated titles from templates and edit them, including their duration, in the clip preview. For captions, the Subtitles window adds, edits and reorders subtitle entries, styles them, and sets their show and hide times. It imports and exports SRT, SSA and VTT files and supports several subtitle channels in one sequence. It can also generate subtitles automatically through speech recognition. Multiple subtitle channels are best exported to MKV.
Audio tracks and narration
VideoPad mixes every audio track during playback and export, using each track’s own volume and stereo pan settings. Audio effects include amplify, normalize, compression, a peak limiter, equalization, noise reduction, echo, chorus and distortion. You can record narration while the sequence plays. A Speech To Text tool turns a sound file into text, and Text To Speech synthesizes a voice clip from typed text.
360-degree and stereoscopic 3D video
VideoPad loads 360-degree clips like any other media. A toggle switches the preview between a flat view and a 360 view. In the 360 view, dragging inside the picture changes the viewing direction. A dedicated effect places text or other elements within the 360 scene.
For 3D, the program asks which stereoscopic layout each loaded file uses and can apply that choice to all later files. You can export projects as side-by-side, over/under or anaglyph 3D. Anaglyph 3D requires colored glasses. A 2D to 3D conversion is also included.
Export, discs and sharing
The Export tab writes the finished sequence to AVI, WMV, MPG, MP4, MOV, MKV, 3GP or animated GIF at resolutions up to 4K. It includes presets for YouTube and mobile devices and a lossless option. VideoPad also burns DVDs with chapters; Blu-ray output goes through NCH’s Express Burn. You can upload finished videos to YouTube, Vimeo or Flickr. You can also save them to Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive, or send them by email.
