The very first thing I want to say about this product is that very seldom do I ever test anything that is so simple to use. I started it up, clicked on capture and it began to record through my webcam. It was equally easy to save the video. I must give a lot of credit to NCH software for creating a product that can be used by just about any of us and still produces a professional looking result.

Let me start by saying that the product is not cheap, but it is not expensive either, if you consider its professional quality. This test was not of the free VideoPad Video Editor, but VideoPad Video Editor Professional, so much of what I am about to say may not apply to the free version which I have not tested. The software retails for about $100, but was on sale for half that amount. I purchased it from the NCH website. Let me start by saying that I certainly don't know everything that this software can do, but I do know enough to be able to make nice videos. One of the features is that you can drag and drop video clips into it for very easy loading and editing. Do you know how long it takes to process a video? That is a thing of the past with VideoPad Pro, it has a very fast engine. To try it out I made a video that lasts about 40 seconds and it created it in a few seconds. You can view the video below:

Movie Created With VideoPad Pro - Click On Movie To View

Here is the unbelievable part about how I created the movie. I plugged a webcam and microphone into my computer, ran the software for the first time, didn't read any instructions and clicked on capture. A screen came up with a record and stop button. I pressed record and away I went. I then pressed the stop button and the recording screen disappeared and the video was saved as an MP4 video and saved to C:/Users/Ken/My Videos. This is on a Windows 7 operating system, it might be different for Windows XP, you will have to check. I didn't change any settings and used the software with its default settings.

VideoPad Opening Screen
Graphic Source: About Facts Net, Ken

One of the nice things is that you can add different sound clips to your videos by just dragging them to a box on the main screen that states, "drag your sound clips here". Above that is where you drag your video clips. If your video clip has its own sound track, you can still keep the sounds you added and both will play. This is nice if you want to add soft music in the background. The software comes with a large sound effects library. You can also add narration to a video. This software is great for making YouTube videos. The effects that are built in are more than enough for the average person. You can create subtitles, import a subtitle file, export one, delete one and even edit one. Want to hide subtitles, but keep them, no problem.

On the bottom of the main screen, the one where you drop video and sound files, you will see the different frames of your video. You can adjust the effects, crop the video, rotate it, change the speed and do all sorts of neat things to the video. You may have noticed that there are 3 tabs directly under the program icons at the top of the opening screen. They state, Media List, Effects and Transitions.

Tabs
Graphic Source: About Facts Net, Ken

Clicking on the Effects or Transitions. tabs gives you access to the goodies that you can add to your video. There are some really great transitions. that you can add. One of my favorites is page turning, where the frame is flipped like the page in a book.

Project In Progress
Graphic Source: About Facts Net, Ken

Above is what a screen looks like with a project running. I have added subtitles and you can see them on the top right. My video was dropped into the software as was a sound file of birds chirping. There is a lot of mouse right click menus available to adjust things. An example is right clicking on the sound file in the drop box. Here are the choices you get:
Unlink Sound Clips
Remove Selected Clips
Fade In
Fade Out
Remove All Fade Points
Adjust Clip Volume

This software can burn DVDs, HDs and Blue-ray discs and output video to portable devices. Listed below are the formats it can use:

Input Formats: Video: avi, mpeg, wmv, divX, Xvid, mpeg1, mpeg2, mpeg4, mp4, mov, asf, vob, ogm, .3gp, H.264, RM and many more. Image: bmp, gif, jpg, jif, jiff, jpeg, exif, png, tif . Output Formats: Disc export: DVD, CD, Blu-ray Discs, HD-DVD. Video export: avi, wmv, asf, mpg, 3gp, mp4, mov, iPod, iPhone, PSP, Mobile Phone, Pocket PC.

VideoPad Editor is a very powerful video editing program that has a lot more to it than I have discussed. When it states it is an editor it really means it. If you need a video editor and are looking for not only one of the easiest to operate, but also the biggest bang for your buck, I don't think that you can beat VideoPad Professional. You should still read the instructions, because there is so much to this software that I wouldn't want you to miss anything.