6 ms·

Kdenlive hits the perfect sweet spot for me. It's much more capable than basic editors like iMovie, but doesn't have the overwhelming learning curve (or steep h

Kdenlive hits the perfect sweet spot for me. It's much more capable than basic editors like iMovie, but doesn't have the overwhelming learning curve (or steep hardware requirements) of DaVinci Resolve. Like others have mentioned, pairing it with OBS for screen recording and Audacity for audio makes for an incredibly powerful, 100% FOSS media creation stack. It's amazing to see how far open-source video editing has come.

nathanmills 6mo ago
Or with Tenacity insead of Audacity for the 100% invasive free software setup!
- arcanemachiner 6mo ago
  I thought they rolled back those changes in a hurry.
freedomben 6mo ago
Same. They really thread that needle well IMHO. I choose to use Kdenlive over paid options, not because I have to, but because I want to. It's quality software, and it being free (in both aspects) is a dream come true.
BodyCulture 6mo ago
Be careful with any serious project, this software most certainly will crash and destroy your work. It crashes since many years and developers do not seem to care or are not able to understand how important stability for media creation software really is. Especially small and independent artists should absolutely avoid any software that introduces additional risk of project failure as one such crash scenario at an advanced project state has a high potential of total destruction. Choose wisely! Resolve is available for very little money and not only a much safer choice, but you will also learn to use an industry standard tool and might be able to monetise that skill one day. Kdenlive is a hobbiest project and is probably still ok for occasionally splitting a downloaded YouTube video or converting your OBS recordings, but never should you remotely think about using it for a project where you need to rely on your tools. The developers are not warning you enough, instead still trying to market this software as kind of a serious competitor to pro software, so I do that as a service for the aspiring video editor, taking your downvotes proudly as the price honest people have to pay. Yes, obviously I write from experience.
- squigz 6mo ago
  This argument would be a lot more convincing if you linked to issues or something.
  - SamPatt 6mo ago
    I can second the sentiment, I have had kdenlive crash on me several times without saving. I still use it because it's great for quick and simple things, and I save frequently, but it is extremely frustrating when it happens.
  - coldtea 6mo ago
    The parent does not want (or claims) to produce a report on Kdenlive's reliability or lack thereof. He merely comments on it. Those interested either already know (and agree or disagree) or can find out with a test run.
    - rpdillon 6mo ago
      So my son and I have used Kdenlive quite a bit and we've never had it crash. That's why I was asking for specifics: it would be interesting to know what circumstances lead to crashes, even if it's just a hunch.
- sheiyei 6mo ago
  Based on your comment I guess you have never used Premiere Pro (and never learned ctrl + s)
  - CyberDildonics 6mo ago
    premiere pro is still hugely unstable but think kdenlive is somehow even worse if you can believe it. It is basically unusable.
    - danparsonson 6mo ago
      I've been using it recently and haven't noticed any stability issues at all so far.
blensor 6mo ago
kdenlive to me is like gimp. I launch it everytime I want to do something quickly, without really thinking about what tool to use. With Davinci Resolve I have to intentionally plan on making a video to be willing to use it, because it's much heavier, doesn't support the audio in most of the source videos I am using, so I have to convert that first, and does a lot more than what I usually need.
- ErroneousBosh 6mo ago
  > doesn't support the audio in most of the source videos I am using What codecs are you using, and what's the source?
  - blensor 6mo ago
    AAC and mostly recordings of VR games I have to first convert the audio track to MP3 for Davinci Resolve to support it.
    - MrDrMcCoy 6mo ago
      Why not convert to PCM to avoid quality degradation?
      - blensor 6mo ago
        It's mostly for youtube shorts that don't get a ton of views in the first place, so I am going for a quick and easy fix that keeps the file size mostly the same. But you are of course right, if I would go for a professional setup I would not recompress it
    - ErroneousBosh 6mo ago
      If you're recording the games why don't you just record them in a better codec? AAC is pretty horrible quality. Just use PCM, the size difference is nothing compared to the size of the video stream.
      - 6mo ago
dbolgheroni 6mo ago
> much more capable than basic editors like iMovie, but doesn't have the overwhelming learning curve Kate/Kdevelop also feels the same way, but for editors. Just the right amount of features.
xattt 6mo ago
Minor quibble, but I loved the mechanic of FCP taking over a second screen as a full-res scrub monitor. It made the computer feel like an appliance. I think the Kdenlive option is to move the scrubbing monitor window to the second monitor.
- xattt 6mo ago
  Follow-up to this: there is indeed an option. Extremely nitpicky, but it doesn’t do Apple’s sweet fade in/out when it takes over the second monitor.
mikae1 6mo ago
Do you deal with log encoded video?
sgc 6mo ago
I am so embarrassed I have never tried it. I am extremely bursty with video so I just grabbed obs and openshot and use those. I always presumed it wouldn't be enough because it was 'just part of the kde suite'. I will try to remember to spin it up next project.

nathanmills 6mo ago

Or with Tenacity insead of Audacity for the 100% invasive free software setup!

arcanemachiner 6mo ago
I thought they rolled back those changes in a hurry.

freedomben 6mo ago

Same. They really thread that needle well IMHO. I choose to use Kdenlive over paid options, not because I have to, but because I want to. It's quality software, and it being free (in both aspects) is a dream come true.

BodyCulture 6mo ago

Be careful with any serious project, this software most certainly will crash and destroy your work. It crashes since many years and developers do not seem to care or are not able to understand how important stability for media creation software really is. Especially small and independent artists should absolutely avoid any software that introduces additional risk of project failure as one such crash scenario at an advanced project state has a high potential of total destruction. Choose wisely! Resolve is available for very little money and not only a much safer choice, but you will also learn to use an industry standard tool and might be able to monetise that skill one day. Kdenlive is a hobbiest project and is probably still ok for occasionally splitting a downloaded YouTube video or converting your OBS recordings, but never should you remotely think about using it for a project where you need to rely on your tools. The developers are not warning you enough, instead still trying to market this software as kind of a serious competitor to pro software, so I do that as a service for the aspiring video editor, taking your downvotes proudly as the price honest people have to pay. Yes, obviously I write from experience.

squigz 6mo ago
This argument would be a lot more convincing if you linked to issues or something.
- SamPatt 6mo ago
  I can second the sentiment, I have had kdenlive crash on me several times without saving. I still use it because it's great for quick and simple things, and I save frequently, but it is extremely frustrating when it happens.
- coldtea 6mo ago
  The parent does not want (or claims) to produce a report on Kdenlive's reliability or lack thereof. He merely comments on it. Those interested either already know (and agree or disagree) or can find out with a test run.
  - rpdillon 6mo ago
    So my son and I have used Kdenlive quite a bit and we've never had it crash. That's why I was asking for specifics: it would be interesting to know what circumstances lead to crashes, even if it's just a hunch.
sheiyei 6mo ago
Based on your comment I guess you have never used Premiere Pro (and never learned ctrl + s)
- CyberDildonics 6mo ago
  premiere pro is still hugely unstable but think kdenlive is somehow even worse if you can believe it. It is basically unusable.
  - danparsonson 6mo ago
    I've been using it recently and haven't noticed any stability issues at all so far.

blensor 6mo ago

kdenlive to me is like gimp. I launch it everytime I want to do something quickly, without really thinking about what tool to use. With Davinci Resolve I have to intentionally plan on making a video to be willing to use it, because it's much heavier, doesn't support the audio in most of the source videos I am using, so I have to convert that first, and does a lot more than what I usually need.

ErroneousBosh 6mo ago
> doesn't support the audio in most of the source videos I am using What codecs are you using, and what's the source?
- blensor 6mo ago
  AAC and mostly recordings of VR games I have to first convert the audio track to MP3 for Davinci Resolve to support it.
  - MrDrMcCoy 6mo ago
    Why not convert to PCM to avoid quality degradation?
    - blensor 6mo ago
      It's mostly for youtube shorts that don't get a ton of views in the first place, so I am going for a quick and easy fix that keeps the file size mostly the same. But you are of course right, if I would go for a professional setup I would not recompress it
  - ErroneousBosh 6mo ago
    If you're recording the games why don't you just record them in a better codec? AAC is pretty horrible quality. Just use PCM, the size difference is nothing compared to the size of the video stream.
    - 6mo ago

dbolgheroni 6mo ago

> much more capable than basic editors like iMovie, but doesn't have the overwhelming learning curve Kate/Kdevelop also feels the same way, but for editors. Just the right amount of features.

xattt 6mo ago

Minor quibble, but I loved the mechanic of FCP taking over a second screen as a full-res scrub monitor. It made the computer feel like an appliance. I think the Kdenlive option is to move the scrubbing monitor window to the second monitor.

xattt 6mo ago
Follow-up to this: there is indeed an option. Extremely nitpicky, but it doesn’t do Apple’s sweet fade in/out when it takes over the second monitor.

mikae1 6mo ago

Do you deal with log encoded video?

sgc 6mo ago

I am so embarrassed I have never tried it. I am extremely bursty with video so I just grabbed obs and openshot and use those. I always presumed it wouldn't be enough because it was 'just part of the kde suite'. I will try to remember to spin it up next project.