VSDC Video Editor is a non-linear video editing program for Windows from Flash-Integro. It comes in two editions. VSDC Free Video Editor exports without a watermark and without limits on duration or file size. VSDC Pro is a subscription edition that adds advanced masking, keying, animation and effect tools. VSDC Video Editor handles projects from photo slideshows to multi-scene edits in resolutions up to 8K.
Projects, scenes and the start screen
Each VSDC project begins with its resolution, frame rate, audio settings and background color, followed by a start mode. A blank project opens an empty scene. The slideshow option builds a sequence from photos with a wizard. The import content mode creates a project around existing files. The two capture modes record from a video device or the screen.
A project can hold any number of scenes. You can reorder, disable or preview scenes separately. At export, VSDC writes the enabled scenes one after another into a single file. VSDC saves projects in its own project format. The pack option gathers every source file so you can open the project on another computer.
How the timeline and objects work
The editor treats every element as an object: a video, an audio track, an image, a text block, a shape, a chart or an effect. Each object appears on the timeline as a colored block. You can trim the block at its edges or drag it along the time axis. Because the editing is non-linear, an object can start at any point and occupy any position and size in the frame.
The Properties window shows the parameters of whatever is selected. Many of these parameters can change over time through keyframes, which are edited in the Key Editor or along curves.
Sprites act as containers. Media placed inside a sprite is grouped under it. The sprite can apply an effect to everything it holds. This is how VSDC Video Editor handles nested compositions.
Effects, transitions and color grading
VSDC groups video effects into color correction, object transformation, filters, transitions and special effects. You can stack them on one object. Examples include glitch, VHS and duotone looks, lens distortion and particles. Transitions include fades, wipes, slides, zooms and camera-style moves. You can apply the same transition models to audio.
The color grading panel provides lift, gamma and gain wheels, RGB and HSL curves, white balance and exposure controls, plus scopes such as a vectorscope and histograms. You can apply, edit and export LUTs, and VSDC supports HDR footage.
Masks, tracking and background removal
Shape masks hide, blur or highlight part of the frame, for example to blur a face. You can apply an effect either inside or outside the masked area. The motion tracker follows a moving subject and passes its path to a title, image or mask so the element moves with it. Chroma key removes a solid-colored background, and AI segmentation can cut out static or moving objects. Video stabilization reduces camera shake.
Text, audio and other content
Text tools cover animated titles, lower thirds, typewriter and scrolling text, and a subtitle editor. Charts can be built as bar, pie, radar or 3D graphs. Telemetry overlays display GPS data recorded by GoPro, Garmin, Insta360 and DJI devices. Multicam editing syncs two camera angles and switches between them.
On the audio side, VSDC shows waveforms on the timeline and offers normalization, volume correction, echo, reverb and an equalizer. You can remap audio channels and record a voice-over directly into the project.
Formats, proxies and export
VSDC Video Editor opens common and professional formats, including MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, MXF, ProRes, HEIC, SVG, WebP and camera RAW. For heavy files, the Resources window can generate lighter proxy copies. The preview switches to them for smoother playback, while the final render uses the originals. Hardware acceleration speeds up decoding and encoding.
The Export project tab sets the output by device (PC, web, phones, consoles, DVD) and by format. Formats range from MP4, MKV and WebM to GIF and animated PNG, with codecs such as H.265, AV1 and H.266. Ready profiles exist for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Vimeo. You can also export in 10-bit. Markers can split the output into segments, and individual scenes can be exported separately.
The Tools tab also opens a video converter, a disc burner for DVDs and CDs and a YouTube uploader.
Masks and premium effects in VSDC Pro
The free edition already covers high-resolution editing, the audio waveform, telemetry overlays and the standard chroma key. VSDC Pro adds the following:
- clipping, inverted and text masks
- HSL-based chroma keying
- a value graph for changing effect intensity over time, plus Bezier curves for custom-paced animations and complex shapes
- premium effects and transitions such as shattered glass, paper burn and face-landmark tools
You can try Pro features in the free edition. However, a project that uses them shows a warning and cannot be exported until the license is active.
