The Web 2.0 era of active social media sharing has spoilt us: we no more want to pay for useful software we are using. But it doesn’t mean we need to start using torrent and pirate sites to download and hack paid software to use it for free.
There’s a better way to go: use freeware alternatives!
Most of audio and video programs (as well as audio and video editing software) are too expensive. Not many of us can afford to have the best and the newest programs, so consider trying the following feature-rich freeware alternatives:
Quicktime Pro -> VLC or KMPlayer or Winamp
Don’t feel like paying for Quicktime Pro? Try VLC instead! The VLC player can handle almost any type of media codec – which means you can use a single piece of software to play online radio stations, web streams, VCDs, DVDs, CDs, and other media file types and formats on your computer.
KMPlayer is another great alternative to Quicktime Pro. KMPlayer can handle various media formats including RealMedia, WMV, 3GP, MOV, OGM, Theora, Ogg, MKV, AVI, DVD and VCD – thus you can use it to play both video and audio files.
Winamp is the oldest and the best know free audio and video playing software. It is very compact, feature rich and flexible. It is also backed by the friendly and active community of developers and fans.
Adobe Premier Pro -> CinePasint or Avidemux or Cinelerra 4.0
Adobe Premier Pro is another expensive, yet useful piece of software you are likely to dream about. Stop counting money – consider these alternatives: Cinelerra 4.0, CinePaint and Avidemux
Avidemux is a free video editor that allows for encoding cutting and simple footage. Cinelerra 4.0 is an advanced tool that provides us with more complex video editing features including compositing. Finally, CinePaint was originally part of GIMP, but it has been developed into a standalone piece of software and become very popular among the movie-making professionals.
AllCapture -> Camstudio
Camstudio is an excellent open source tool aimed to replace AllCapture. It lets you easily record any audio or screen activity on your computer. Thus, that’s an awesome tool for creating detailed how-to guides, capture screen and add your comments.
Code It Wave Editor -> Audacity
Code It Wave Editor has a great freeware alternative as well: Audacity. The latter offers the basic but essential sound recording and editing features as well as easy media conversion options.
Now, just don’t get desperate. There’s a free alternative for anything! Yes, there will be no 24-hour customer support and in some cases, you will need a few alternatives to replace one solid paid software but this makes things even more interesting!
6 Comments
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
jorge
September 2, 2011 at 4:24 am
I’d count all these softwares in if it weren’t for the price.. getting free ones is a lot easier in the pocket but the service and ease they offer is really amazing and it is worth their price somehow..
kevin
September 5, 2011 at 2:24 pm
These are nice.. I’ve never thought that they are also free softwares for video and audio editing too! thanks a lot for sharing!
joe
September 6, 2011 at 1:41 pm
as some would demand better services or softwares.. these ones right here willd o for the resourceful person..
Sandra
September 7, 2011 at 10:40 am
Nice post. I’ve seen some programs that I don’t use yet.
I haven’t used quicktime for a long time because that program really sucks.
I’ve been using vlc for a long time and even though it’s not the most beautiful player around but it is definitely a player that plays almost every format.
Jon
September 8, 2011 at 6:18 am
Good list of free stuff!
PL
September 22, 2011 at 11:48 am
I believe that Most of audio and video programs (as well as audio and video editing software) are too expensive. Not many of us can afford to have the best and the newest programs, so you can go for the options given in the post.