In case you are searching for one, here are some of the great open-source video editors that you can use in your Linux machine. Some of them are available for Windows and Mac as well. Do check them out even if you are not using Linux.

1. Avidemux

Avidemux is a free video editor used mainly for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It is often dubbed as the VirtualDub for Linux as it can do many things that VirtualDub can do. It supports many files types, including avi, DVD compatible mpeg files, mp4, asf and even the not-so-common ogm and matroska format.

Some of the useful features of Avidemux include a simple WYSIWYG interface, easy conversion from one format to another, plenty of filtering effects and a built-in subtitles processing capabilities.

2. Cinelerra

Cinelerra is a powerhouse video editing software used by many professionals for high quality video production. Cinelerra does mainly three things: capturing, compositing, and editing. It has a great support for very high-fidelity audio. In addition, it is resolution and frame rate-independent.

What this means is that it can handle all sorts of video resolution, regardless of whether it is standard or high definition (HD), without any issue.

If you are using a high-end graphics card, Cinelerra allows you to preview your edited video in real time without any rendering required. This makes your video editing much more faster, easier and intuitive.

Cinelerra is not updated very frequently. If you are looking for an updated version with more features, you should install the Cinelerra-CV community version instead.

3. FFmpeg

Unknown to many, FFmpeg is the most widely used application in Linux. FFmped is a command line tool that is composed of a collection of open-source libraries. With these sets of libraries, one can easily record, convert and stream digital audio/video in numerous formats. It does not come with a GUI, but it is used by many video players/converters as the backend application.

4. Jashaka

Jahshaka is a software that has not been updated since November 2006. Nevertheless, it is still a powerful video editing application that can turn you into a professional. There are plenty of useful features in Jahshaka. Functions include adding effects in real time, adding animations with unlimited features, paint and design on moving video and working in any video format at any resolution makes it a very versatile and sturdy video editor.

Jahshaka makes use of the OpenLibraries as its backend support. The Openlibraries are a powerful set of C++ libraries that provides its users tools to edit, compose, play media, encode and image process.

Jahshaka is cross platform and available for Linux, Mac and Windows.

5. Kino

Kino is a video editing software mainly for Digital Video (DV). If you take a lot of video shots with your video cam, then Kino is the application that can make life very easy for you.

Kino is a non-linear DV editor for Linux. It is a simple software with some useful functions. You can edit, split, trim, add filters and even publish your video to blip.tv. It supports Firewire and IEEE-1394 and is able to capture video from a Firewire connected DV device.

One of its best features is that it supports a wide variety of video formats (DV over IEEE 1394, Raw DV, DV AVI, still frames, WAV, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4) and you can export your work to any of your preferred formats.

6. LiVES Video Editor

LiVES started off as a Linux Video Editing System, but it is now supported in the various OS’s.

The power of LiVES lies in its ability to mix realtime video performances and non-linear editing in one application. It supports multitrack timelines and enables you to import, edit and mix several video tracks at the same time.

There is a VJ mode that allows VJ to set multiple real time effects during playback. There are also plenty of effects that one can add to your videos.

Overall, LiVES is a simple to use, yet powerful and flexible video editing tool with plenty of customization options.

7) KDEnlive

KDEnlive stands for KDE Non-Linear Video Editor. Started as part of the KDE project, it is also available for various desktop managers in Linux.

At first use, I found KDEnlive surprisingly fast and easy to use. It integrates well with the desktop manager and has an simple interface. Most of the stuff (such as adding effects, adding clips) can be easily done by drag-and-drop action, which makes it very user-friendly.

It supports a wide variety of file formats, as well as a wide range of camcorders and cameras. Like LiVES, it allows multitrack editing of unlimited video and audio tracks. There are some nice effects with KDEnlive such as sepia, grayscale, gamma, inverse color and speed changes. One thing that I like is that the effect is rendered on the fly and you can immediately see the preview to checkout the video effect. This is surely one of the great pieces of software that I would recommend.

In conclusion, there are plenty of video editors out there and all have their own pros and cons. Choosing the best one for you depend on what features you need and the level of your technical skills. Some are good for expert users (Cinelerra) while some are designed for beginners (Kino, KDEnlive). Take your time to review each and every one of them and you will be able to find the best one for you.

These video editing sites are generally characterized by a great ease of use, which makes it a breeze to do both basic and advanced editing even for the non experts. Most of them allow users to publish their edited videos on any web page, embedded in a video player; however, only few of them let users save their edited videos on their computer.

In this mini-guide I have collected for you the most popular sites that allow users to edit videos online. Characterizing traits that I have taken in consideration while reviewing them are:

• Input file formats: which are the supported file formats of the video that can be edited online.
• Output file formats: in which file formats can be saved the videos edited online.
• Embedding support: the possibility to post the edited video on any webpage.
• Upload from HD, Mobile or URL: whether the videos can be uploaded from the hard disk, mobile phone or URL.
• Max video size: the maximum size of the video that can be uploaded.
• Transition effects: the capability to add transition effects to separate different video clips.
• Audio dubbing: the option to edit audio, reduce noise and add special effects to it.
• Titling: the possibility to add titles and captions within the video.
• Special video effects: the availability of special video effects that can be applied to the video.
• Save video to desktop: the capability to save the edited video on the computer.
• Price: information about the cost of the service.

Please note that this mini-guide is only a collection of the online video editing tools available in the Web and in no ways intends to represent a complete resource.

Online Video Editing Tools :

Eyespot

• Input file formats: .avi, .mpeg, .mov, DivX, .wmv, .mp3
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD, Mobile or URL: HD and mobile
• Max video size: You can upload up to seven items at a time, with a 100 Mb file size limit.
• Transition effects: YES
• Audio dubbing: YES
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: YES
• Save video to desktop: YES (both Windows and Mac)
• Price: free

Eyespot is an online video mixer that makes it easy to upload, organize and share video, photos, and music. It allows you to apply special effect and add transitions to any videos; audio dubbing is supported too. You can also send your cell phone videos to your account via MMS. Eyespot organizes all your videos in albums and lets you embed them in any webpage. Eyespot works on any platform and within any browser.

Link: http://eyespot.com/

Jumpcut

• Input file formats: .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .avi, .mov, .wmv, .flv, .rm, 3GP.
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD, Mobile or URL: HD and mobile
• Max video size: 100MB
• Transition effects: YES
• Audio dubbing: YES
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: YES
• Save video to desktop: NO
• Price: free

Jumpcut is an online video editing and remixing tool that lets you edit your videos, create slideshows and post them on any webpage. You can easily add and arrange content in your movie by dragging and dropping thumbnails, select the best parts of your video clips, change duration for your images, add your music or sound effects, choose transitions, add titles and special effects.

Link: http://www.jumpcut.com/

Motionbox

• Input file formats: .avi, .mov, .dv, .mpg, .mp4, .wmv, .asf, and .qt.
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD or URL: HD
• Max video size: 100MB per file.
• Transition effects: YES
• Audio dubbing: NO
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: NO
• Save video to desktop: NO
• Price: free

Motionbox is a web-based video editing service that features the ability to link to a very specific point or “segment” within the clip itself. The integrated video sharing support gives users the power to select any number of highlights in their online videos, assign them with tags, and share them with friends, giving Motionbox a temporary space under the spotlight. Motionbox works on the most popular browsers, both with Windows and Mac.

Link: http://www.motionbox.com/

Photobucket

• Input file formats: .avi, .mov, .dv, .mpg, .mp4, .wmv, .asf.
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD or URL: HD
• Max video size: Max 10 minutes.
• Transition effects: YES
• Audio dubbing: NO
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: YES
• Save video to desktop: NO
• Price: free

Photobucket enables video editing within a browser using Flash and lets users remix their photos and home videos with other elements, such as music, video captions, and transitions. Photobucket also provides a simple service that enables you to store, share and publish your visual digital content online. Images and videos can be directly linked from Photobucket to any site.

Link: http://photobucket.com/

StashSpace

• Input file formats: .avi .mov .wmv
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD, mobile or URL: HD
• Max video size: Not relevant
• Transition effects: YES
• Audio dubbing: NO
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: YES
• Save video to desktop: NO
• Price: free with 5 Hours of Video / 500 photos. The Nickel Stash plans costs $5/month or $50/year with10 hours of video / 1,000 photos. The Dime Stash plan costs $10/month or $100/year with 25 Hours of Video / 2,500 photos.

StarterStash is a web-based service that allows you upload, store and edit your videos online. You can also record directly from your camcorder or digital camera with StashPad to create a library of video that you can organize on your local computer and sync with your online StashSpace. You can mash together scenes from any video in your stash to create new movies on the fly.

Link: http://stashspace.com/

Cuts

• Input file formats: .flv
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD or URL: URL
• Max video size: Not relevant
• Transition effects: NO
• Audio dubbing: NO
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: YES
• Save video to desktop: NO
• Price: free

Cuts is a service that makes it easy to create and share your take of any online video. With Cut it’s only a few clicks to insert sound effects, add captions, loop the best parts and in minutes you can share your creation by embedding it on any webpage and blog, or emailing it to your friends. All you need is the page URL of your favorite video. Cuts works on any platform and within any browser.

Link: http://www.cuts.com/

VideoEgg

• Input file formats: .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .avi, .mov, .wmv, .flv, .rm, 3GP.
• Output file formats: .flv
• Embedding support: YES
• Upload from HD, Mobile or URL: HD
• Max video size: N/A
• Transition effects: YES
• Audio dubbing: N/A
• Titling: YES
• Special video effects: YES
• Save video to desktop: N/A
• Price: To be discussed with VideoEgg

If you want to build a video community, VideoEgg is a video editing platform that you can add to create a social network and offers opportunities for monetization. Users can take any file format, from anywhere (their hard drive, web cam, camcorder, etc.) drag it into the editing platform and then create a movie. And thanks to the publishing platform, users are able to edit, add effects, make slide shows, create mash-ups, etc- all within the context of your site.

Link: http://www.videoegg.com/