Why You Can Trust CNET Get VSDC Video Editor Pro for free
Normally $19.99, this entry-level editor lets you do a lot more than Microsoft's anemic Movie Maker. Plus: Folding on-ear headphones for $7.99?!
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Everyone's a filmmaker these days. Actually, everyone shoots a lot of video, but few people take the time to actually do anything with those clips.
One reason: editing on a smartphone is not fun. Another: desktop video-editing software tends to be pricey, or at least expensive enough that you maybe think, "Nah, why bother?"
Turns out there's a pretty good freebie option: VSDC Video Editor for Windows. And today, and for a limited time, it gets even better: You can get VSDC Video Editor Pro for free when you apply discount coupon CNet_VSDC100 at checkout. Regular price: $19.99. (Be sure to click Buy Now and complete the checkout process; don't just click Download.) Update: Owing to a glitch in the company's payment-processing system, which was producing a $1.99 charge for some folks, I've changed the above link to take you to a special landing page just for this giveaway. Which, by the way, runs through April 3.
VSDC Pro has a nice ribbon-style interface and some real editing chops, though a few aspects of the UI are annoying.
On the video-editor spectrum, VSDC falls somewhere between Microsoft Movie Maker (free, but very limited) and Cyberlink PowerDirector (around $75, but very capable). It offers some decidedly higher-end features, including masking and chrome-key tools and support for 4K video.
What does Pro get you? Support for hardware acceleration and more media types; more advanced settings; and audio waveform editing. It also includes extra masking and chroma-keying capabilities and premium tech support.
Now for the bad news: Although VSDC's interface is attractive and fairly straightforward, there are a couple major UI headaches. First and foremost: There's no real-time video scrubbing. As you drag your cursor along the video timeline, the video position image doesn't update until you release the cursor. What's more, video preview happens in a separate, pop-up window. I also had to manually export (and then import) the audio from an imported video; VSDC didn't automatically divide the clip into two layers.
Assuming you can live with issues like that -- and, truthfully, all video editors have their UI oddities -- VSDC Pro can help you produce some polished movies.
Oh, and did I mention the price? It's free. You don't like it, you uninstall it. No harm, no foul. Not a bad deal, eh?
If you want to learn more before downloading and installing, check out the reviews at Download.com. They're quite positive overall. But you may also want to see PCMag's deep-dive review, which is less positive.
Bonus deal: I've tried a variety of Aukey products over the years and found most to be pretty good. Some even better than good. I can't speak to this one in particular, but, holy moley, what a deal: For a limited time, and while supplies last, you can get the Aukey EP-B26 on-ear Bluetooth headphones for $7.99, shipped free with Prime. That's after applying promo code PXVRO74H at checkout.
These on-ear 'phones feature Bluetooth 4.1, a microphone, a whopping 24-hour battery life (according to the vendor) and a 24-month warranty. And they fold up for easy storage and transport! Reviews are a little mixed, but have an adjusted 3.8-star average, according to Reviewmeta.