Why use ShotCut versus other video editors?

I want to add that it seems as if Videopad has many in-built effects which Shotcut does not (I have never used Videopad, though). On the other hand Shotcut has various ways to add different effects/filters like the aforementioned WebVfx framework, GL transitions or from other video editors adapted filters (User-created front ends for Shotcut filters that have not been added to Shotcut). Additionally, many forum members are very helpful to achieve a desired effect.

Hi samth,

Thank you for sharing those thoughts.

I was trading emails with a person who has been using VideoPad and their experience with ShotCut (albeit a few years ago) was that ShotCut seemed to lack some features like text effects, text editing, and a simple pan and zoom style effect for still images.

Have you found that’s changed with more recent versions of ShotCut?

Also, I was curious if you needed a laptop with a separate graphics card to run Shotcut?

Thank you!

Few years is really too long for any substantial statement. Shotcut is for sure not the same anymore. With just reading the release notes one can deduce that (I am using it for approximately three months so I cannot speak from experience).
A text filter for simple effects is available. You can use keyframes to vary the size and the position to achieve various effects.

(https://streamable.com/lorhu)
With an HTML overlay you can apply most effects used on web pages so there is a plethora of options but this is advanced.
Pan and zoom is also available as presets or by using keyframes which gives full control.

Running it should be fine but this can differ from laptop to laptop. It will for sure take longer to render and might lag for high resolution files (like 4K). If you use Windows, you can try the portable version. I do not like installing programs so I only use this.

Did this person recommend you VideoPad?
If you are not able to decide, you could try some simple projects and judge how easy, fast etc. they were to accomplish. But of course you will not be able to determine how useful the community is which is very important as well, in my opinion at least.

Hi samth, I like your idea of trying them both. Would you please share the link to the portable version of Shotcut? I was curious how large a space on a flash drive the portable ShotCut would be? This person suggested VideoPad (although I don’t know if there is a portable version - that would be great as I, too, am not enamored of installing new programs on my laptop/desktop - at least until I know I want it and will use it regularly like Audacity. Do you use a separate program to screen capture just a short clip? I’ve tried Camtasia, Avidemux - none have worked well for me. Thank you!

I’ve used Lightworks Kdenlive and Shotcut video editors. I still use all three. Lightworks is the most difficult to master Shotcut is the easiest to use.

I tried VideoPad a long time ago. It is not as easy to use as it’s advertised. The free version had some restrictions that kicked in after a few weeks. I removed the application and never went back to it.

As @samth pointed out you can do a lot with SC. You need to make an effort to do it. No video editor will automatically create what you want with no effort.

This was done with SC. No external application was used.

https://streamable.com/buk6j

It is right below the install version (https://shotcut.org/download/). It needs around 500 MB.
The clip above was an exported file. But in general if I want to screen capture, I use ScreenToGif (https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif), some other forum members recommend ShareX (https://getsharex.com/).

Before I used Audacity, I tried WavePad for one project . At some point a notification popped up which worried me (I am not able to recall what it was) and hence I decided to uninstall it. I use Audacity now and beside the fancy look WavePad had no additional advantages so I do not miss it. Since @sauron experienced something similar with VideoPad, I would strongly advise against it.

Wavepad, Videopad and several others are all made by NCH software.
Can’t really put my finger on any specific thing, but never felt safe running any of their software.

For me I needed something fast for video encoding. A software that works with my Nvidia GPUs. Not many software has that or rather you would need to pay for that kind of support. Hence I use Shotcut.

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Hi gimble_guy - You share an intersting point re:Nvidia - I’ve been told by Linux users Nvidia doesn’t worl well with Linux. I’m still not sure if I need a separate graphics card to video edit with Shotcut or is a separate card only really necessary if you’ve got 4-5 videos open simultaneously you’re working on? If a separate graphic card is necessary, whihc ones work best wiht Linux? Generally speaking,I’ve found if something works well with Linux it will work well with Windows. Thanks so much!

Hi samth, Do you use the portable version of ScreentoGIF? Thank you so much for your posts and links. Much appreciated.

I have mainly been using NVIDIA cards with the NVIDIA-provided so-called binary driver (nvidia) in Linux for the past 15 years, and find it works as good as any other if not the best. About a year, I switched to an AMD Radeon when I had to get some hardware encoding working on it, and I have not switched back, but not because it is better. The biggest problem I have seen with nvidia driver is the inability to properly handle sleep and hibernate modes especially on laptop. This binary driver also gets a bad rap for being difficult to debug and support particularly from the kernel perspective and maybe GUI lib and desktop environment developers.

The number of videos open in Shotcut does not make much difference. If you’re talking about something like a media player that is using hardware-accelerated decoding, then it may.
I am not sure what you mean by “separate card,” but it mainly comes down to each card+driver’s compatibility with the way Shotcut and Qt use OpenGL, which seems very much a case-by-case situation except I can say that I have had great compatibility with nvidia on this point. Secondarily, the usage of hardware encoder has a big impact on your choice as the latest generation of each card from any manufacturer is improving quality quite a bit. The latest NVIDIA RTX cards are quite good as well as Intel’s HEVC output.

Hello eager,

As I am a casual gamer, I don’t really use linux as my main OS. I use windows 10 pro. I do however use MXlinux in Virtualbox and I use that a lot. I’ve tested MXlinux with my RTX 2080 or GTX 1080. It works good and simple to install. But I miss apps like MSI afterburner that controls fan profile etc. You got a bit of fan control in the Nvidia App, but it’s very limited. But still usable. I’ve compared the difference with MXlinux and Windows 10 PRO with gpu encoding. I found MXlinux is 1 second faster than Windows 10. For the Nvidia linux driver I was using the latest testing driver. I use the Nvidia Installer app that comes default with MXlinux. For the limited time I used it, I had no issues. YMMV.

Probably it’s best to ask someone else that is using an Nvidia GPU with linux as their main OS.

Yes, I do and without experiencing any problems.
My pleasure.

Thank you ever so much! I downloaded, installed it on a flash drive and will give it a try.

Is the ScreenToGif (https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif a portable version as well?

Thanks again.

Yes, if you select “Releases” (https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif/releases), you will see under “Assets” all versions including the portable one.

Hi Shotcut leader,

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience.

A friend uses Ubuntu occasionally Knoppix with very little Windows use and he’s the one who noted major issues with Nvidia. He’s been using Linux for over 20 years.

As I consider a new laptop purchase, would you suggest if I’m looking for a laptop with AMD Radeon as graphics are there particular models of AMD Radeon I should look for?

Imagine I’m searching on the net for a new laptop – Amazon, Toshiba, Dell, Acer and ascertaining specs. I’d be searching for a laptop with at least an Intel iCore 7 2.20GHz CPU with at least 8GB Ram expandable to 32GB with at least 1TB hard drive, SD card reader,2x2 802.11ac Killer 1535 Wireless+Bluetooth 4.2 and a separate AMD Radeon graphics board/card (cf. onboard graphics – on the mother board)?

Thanks again.

An SSD would be a useful addition.

This company deceptively advertises itself as Shotcut when you search for Shotcut on Google. Same goes for Filmora (Wondershare and iSkySoft) and Movavi. So, now, would you trust them?

image

I use a content blocker and therefore never encountered these ads. Fortunately, I never was tempted to use VideoPad after my bad experience with WavePad and now it shows, that was the right decision. Quite a distasteful behaviour.

That is despicable, to use someone else’s products and advertise them as your own.
I think they should be named and shamed when ever the opportunity to do so arrises.

As for ad blockers, I too use one but disable it only for this forum.
Not that I particularly like adverts but make an exception here as Dan benefits from the
ads shown.
I think it’s a fair price to pay for the use of Shotcut.