A vast array of software is available to support your podcasting requirements; some programs offer one stop integrated solutions to all your podcasting needs, while others fill more specific niches. However, every piece of software that you need in order to record and produce a professional, quality podcast is readily available free of charge. Summary: Best Podcast Editing Software. As I said at the start, everyone is different, and it's impossible to pick one single best podcast editing software option. It all depends on where you are at this moment in time in your podcasting journey. There will always be exceptions, but on a general level here's a summary of my recommendations.
- Video Podcast Software
- Video Podcast Software
- Free Podcast Software For Windows
- Live Video Podcast Software
Video podcasting requires a lot of different gear from audio podcasting. Consider the following 7 categories of podcasting equipment for a video podcast. Audio is the most important part of video. Thus, you need a microphone close to your voice in order for your message to be heard. Video Podcast Software There are a lot of popular video editing software programs that will do everything needed to edit your audio and video, add effects, and encode it for YouTube. You can also find stand alone products for each individual function. Camtasia – I record using a VOIP (usually Skype) to call interviewees, and as podcast recording software I use Camtasia editing software for the Mac. It’s much more versatile and intuitive than GarageBand and allows for video editing, so it works better for me than free podcast editing software like Audacity.
PRODUCT DISCLOSURE $
Using free video editing software is a convenient way to edit your videos. Plus, most of them are so easy to use that they're great for beginning editors.
You might want a video editing program if you need to extract audio from a video or add different audio, cut out parts of the video, add subtitles, build a DVD menu, merge video files, or fade a video in or out. Most vloggers need a video editor of some kind.
Because most free video editors limit their features to advertise their professional versions, you may find roadblocks that stop you from making advanced edits. For editors with more-advanced features but that aren't free, check out mid-level digital video software or top professional video editing programs.
If you need to convert your video files to different file formats such as MP4, MKV, and MOV, this list of free video converters has some great options.
of 06
OpenShot (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
What We Like
- The easy-to-use interface.
- It's open source.
- Great user forum.
What We Don't Like
- The application has multiple layers of setup.
- Occasional lag.
Editing videos with OpenShot is extraordinary when you see everything you can do with it. You can download it free for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.
The supported features in this free editor include desktop integration for drag-and-drop, image and audio support, curve-based keyframe animations, unlimited tracks and layers, and 3D animated titles and effects.
OpenShot is also good for clip resizing, scaling, trimming, snapping, and rotation, plus motion picture credit scrolling, frame-stepping, time-mapping, audio mixing, and real-time previews.
The fact that you get all of this for free is reason enough to download it yourself and try it out before you purchase a video editor.
of 06
VideoPad (Windows and Mac)
What We Like
- Supports a wide range of video formats.
- Easy to install and use.
Another video editing software program for both Windows and Mac is VideoPad, from NCH Software. It's free for non-commercial use.
It supports drag-and-drop, effects, transitions, 3D video editing, text and caption overlay, video stabilization, easy narration, free built-in sound effects, and color control.
VideoPad can also change the video speed, reverse the video, burn DVDs, import music, and export movies to YouTube and other similar sites and a variety of resolutions including 2K and 4K.
of 06
Freemake Video Converter (Windows)
What We Like
- Supports many input formats.
- Burn files directly to a disc.
- Easy-to-use editing features.
What We Don't Like
- May require purchase of needed features.
- Can be slow to make conversions.
- Limited number of output formats.
Freemake Video Converter is a free video converter with simple and easy-to-use editing features that set it apart from some of the more complex and confusing editors.
Being able to do light editing to your videos with the same tool you use to convert the file to a variety of other formats, or even burn the files directly to a disc, is convenient.
Some of the video editing features of this program include adding subtitles, clipping out sections you don't want in the video, removing or adding audio, and merging or joining videos.
of 06
VSDC Free Video Editor (Windows)
What We Like
- Features you won't find elsewhere.
- Exports to a variety of file formats.
- Includes optional screen recorder.
What We Don't Like
- Not super user-friendly.
- Some video lag with free version.
VSDC is a full-featured free video editing tool that you can install on Windows. A fair warning though: This program might be a little hard to use for beginners because of the sheer number of features and menus.
However, if you poke around for while and play with your videos within the editor, you'll find that it's not quite as daunting as it seemed when you first opened it.
There's even a wizard you can run to make things easier. Use it to do add lines, text, and shapes, as well as charts, animations, images, audio, and subtitles. Plus, as any good video editor should, VSDC can export videos to a variety of file formats.
The VSDC Video Editor setup lets you easily install the company's video capture program and screen recorder. These are optional, but they may come in handy in certain projects.
of 06
iMovie (Mac)
What We Like
- Easy-to-use interface.
- Plenty of tools to improve video and audio quality.
- Supports 4K.
What We Don't Like
- Limited features available.
- Output controls not robust.
iMovie is free for macOS users. It offers many options for editing video and audio plus adding photos, music, and narration to your videos.
One of the best features of iMovie is its ability to make 4K-resolution movies. You can even start doing so from your iPhone or iPad and then finish on your Mac. That's pretty cool!
of 06
Movie Maker (Windows)
What We Like
- User-friendly with a classic Microsoft feel.
- Great for beginning video editors.
Movie Maker was Windows' pre-installed free video editing software. While it is no longer pre-installed, you can still download this application from some third-parties and use it to create and share high-quality movies.
It's included in this list because it's already on lots of Windows computers, which means you might not even need to download anything in order to start using it.
Online-Only Options
If you've tried out these video editing programs but prefer some other options or you're more interested in editing videos online for free than downloading software, there are several online editors that function in the same way as these downloadable tools:
These services are great for re-editing and remixing web videos, and some even let you produce DVDs of your videos.
Let me tell you – running a live video stream and podcast every week is tough work indeed. Actually… that’s a complete lie – but don’t tell my co-hosts that because they think I’m a genius – it really couldn’t be easier.
You don’t need expensive software, you don’t need any specialized “podcast webhosting”, and it doesn’t even take that much effort to set everything up.
Hardware
Nothing special here, but a headset is a must, and if you can splash out on a decent microphone then do so; my co-hosts have been known to use USB RockBand mics before, which are actually rather good. The absolute worst thing you could do is to use the microphone and speakers built into a laptop, because your listeners will be grinding their teeth as they listen to your CPU fan and random interference.
![Podcasting Podcasting](/uploads/1/2/4/9/124907359/299785059.jpg)
For a few extra bucks, grab a pop filter, which will lessen the impact of plosives.
Podcast Hosting
Although your show will be going out live, you’re also going to want a recorded copy to publish via a podcast RSS feed for iTunes and other podcatchers. The easiest way to do this is with your own custom domain, and some standard web hosting running WordPress and PodpressA Guide To Setting Up Your Own Podcast Website & Feed Using Wordpress & PodpressA Guide To Setting Up Your Own Podcast Website & Feed Using Wordpress & PodpressI recently had the opportunity to become part of a podcast which I’m sure you’ll hear about soon enough - and it's all fairly new ground for me. As the only one with enough bandwidth..Read More, which will handle both audio and video, let you create separate feeds for mp3 and iTunes enhanced files, and give you the world’s favourite CMS platform to publish show notes. Beware though that hosting videos is going to use up a lot of bandwidth – for our show, the videos remain on YouTube, and the podcast feeds we publish on our site are audio only.
You might choose to go with a specialized podcasting service or one of these new fangled “broadcast yourself instantly” apps, but I’d suggest you leave them well alone. It seems easier to start out – but you’ll be locked into their service, so when the time does come that you “make it big”, migrating to a proper hosting platform will be impossible. You’ll have advertising plastered everywhere, which you may never see any actual income from, and you certainly won’t have any control over. Don’t throw your creative value into someone else’s hands.
Interested in hosting your podcast on SoundCloud6 Reasons to Host Your Podcast on SoundCloud6 Reasons to Host Your Podcast on SoundCloudSoundCloud is one of the best places to host your podcast, so here is why SoundCloud is perfect for your podcasting needs.Read More? Here are some reasons you should consider it.
Running the Live Show
Video Podcast Software
If it’s just you presenting alone, or along with your guests in the same room as yourself (assuming you have your own hardware mixer), there are quite a few ways you could feasibly run a live show – but instead of wasting your time with an endless list, I’m just going to tell you the best ways of doing it.
For audio only, I suggest Mixlr.com. It’s easy to set up with a cross-platform desktop broadcasting application that they provide for free; the service itself is free; and you get a built-in chatroom for listener feedback.
Video Podcast Software
It’s designed to stream music so the quality is excellent, and you can download your previous episodes for offline editing or hosting on your own podcast feed. Doesn’t get much simpler than this.
For solo video broadcasts, Justin.TV/Twitch.TV is the most popular online streaming platform, but you’ll still need a bit of software on your PC that sends the video to the service – I’d suggest FFSplit for this. It’s free, but aimed at users who want to record their desktop gaming sessions with a webcam overlay. It can both record locally and transmit live at the same time, which is convenient. If you’re using some other way to broadcast that doesn’t record locally as well, you can always download your broadcasts using this Twitch downloader tool.
For multiple presenters, in different locations, things get rather more complicated.
Mixlr will still work for multi-host audio broadcasts, but you’ll need some fairly complex technical magic to pipe your Skype audio into a single channel and send it over to the Mixlr app. Luckily for you, I wrote a tutorial on precisely thatHow To Set Up A Live Skype Audio Broadcast With A Chatroom [Mac]How To Set Up A Live Skype Audio Broadcast With A Chatroom [Mac]Now that our little Technophilia Podcast has amassed over 500 weekly listeners (guys, we love you), we’ve been looking for ways to interacts with listeners in real-time while we record live. That’s no easy task..Read More.
Free Podcast Software For Windows
Multi-host video broadcasts are surprisingly easy thanks to Google’s Hangouts On Air. Hangouts is a powerful free video conferencing system available to everyone on the Google Plus social network; On Air is the newest feature that enables the Hangout to be simultaneously broadcast live to YouTube.
When the Hangout is over, it remains online as a regular YouTube video. For our weekly Technophilia Podcast, this has been by far the easiest way to get everything running – usually quite smoothly if everyone has a good enough internet connection. Just start the Hangout, invite your co-hosts, and make sure to check off “On Air” option at the start.
You can start the live stream at any time, and the YouTube part of things is all handled automatically, saving to the account of whoever started the Hangout. You can download the video afterwards; I import the resultant mp4 video file straight into Garageband for producing the audio showLearn Podcast Editing Basics With Garageband [Mac]Learn Podcast Editing Basics With Garageband [Mac]Last week, I talked about how to get started recording a podcast - microphones, Skype or Google Plus and how to record either. This week, I'll be looking at how to edit your (audio) podcast..Read More. The only downside to using Hangouts is the lack of a decent chatroom, but the auto-refreshing YouTube comments can work in a pinch.
Structure
It’s not all about the software though; a lack of structure and a strong lead host can kill even the most determined podcasters. For collaborative editing of a show outline, we use Google Docs. We collate stories to discuss with links for everyone to read up on beforehand (though I get the feeling Dave never reads anything beforehand), comment on feedback from listeners and claim stories we want to take the lead on. Some of us even write our own notes on want we want to say; rarely does just “winging it” result in a good show. When you have more than one host, it’s also important that one of you take the lead – keep the show moving along, filling in the gaps and sequeing between stories.
Have you ever run a live podcast, and how did you do it? Do you have any more advice for any budding podcasters you could share in the comments?
Explore more about: Podcasts.
Live Video Podcast Software
- how would you take live phone calls
- I'm a podcaster of three years now, and Google+ Hangouts works well for podcasting. But I've recently switched to R-HUB's all-in-one setup for my online collaboration.
- Seeing as how this was written 3 years ago and tech changes so rapidly, is the process still valid?
If not, how can two or more people in different cities record a audio/video broadcast together? - This article was published about 3.5 years ago. Is Mixly still, in your opinion the best way to broadcast live audio?Is there a way to do this now through wordpress/podpress?I would like your assistance in finding the cheapest and the highest quality way to broadcast my voice over the internet.. live.
- How do we pipe in calls to our IP phone lines?Trying not to go ghetto and just put the callers on speaker phone to ask our show's guest a question.We're looking for something that allows them to call in and get on the air just like in radio..messaging is ok and comment are alright but nothing best the power of having your listeners/viewers get their voice heard. So crucial!!
- Great article.. found it while searching for 'videocast'. adding my 2.5 cents:We started off using BlogTalkRadio but left due to the horrid AM-radio audio quality. We recorded all our shows separately using Audacity then compressed and uploaded clear quality shows to Podbean. We then discovered Spreaker, which at the time was a growing podcast community with lower prices per month than BTR. We jumped there and haven't looked back. I get the whole 'don't sign up with this or that company' because of who really owns the content, but it is a much quicker way to get discovered when joining a community like that. They introduced their partnership with iHeartMedia (then iHeartRadio) and we were selected to be included on their new talk-podcast platform.We're looking to branch out into the video element now. YouTube seems to be THE place to go, as there are no big videocast sites like BTR or Spreaker in the audio world.One really good point mentioned above is: make sure you have something outlined to talk about! Even just jotting down bulletpoints - that will help the flow of things. As was said before, it doesn't need to be a word-for-word script, but a general outline will definitely make the flow of the show much better.I'll add one thing that I didn't see: Watch your crutch words. 'Um' and 'uh' is something most people say a LOT when trying to fill dead air. We recently had an interview with Chris Hansen from Dateline NBC's 'To Catch a Predator' fame. His people asked for a transcript of the interview. Once the audio was fully transcribed, the amount of 'um' and 'uh's were astounding. And we've worked really hard over the years to minimize them. They just come so naturally sometimes. When you see it in black and white, it really does wake you up about how you speak.
- We're currently using Google Hangouts on Air - but are seeking alternatives because sometimes Hangouts has a difficult time of deciding who's talking and therefore only allows one person to talk at a time.I'll check out mixlr to see if it can bring the support we're looking for at On Tha Mic Podcast (www.onthamic.com). Also, SoundCloud is a good way to distribute your podcast after your episode is created/edited.Thanks for this article - good read!
- Hopefully you get comments on older articles. I would love to chat some with you on this subject. My friend and I were hosting a live weekly show a couple years ago on a local Internet Radio station. We want to start back up again and it has been suggested that a live podcast would be a better avenue to go with. I am trying to pull together helpful information to assist in doing this and this article was extremely helpful. If this is possible let me know how else I could contact you.
- Comments work, but I'm not able to respond personally outside of comments for technical support.
- If you are also saving the recording of your podcast, PLEASE only begin recording once you have all the technical stuff straightened out, and have actually begun talking.
- Thank you for the article. This is right on time since I'm doing a dry run podcast with some friends in different locations!
- One can run a live podcast with Spreaker. One disadvantage is that they limit your bandwith.