After using Logic and Pro-Tools, Reaper is my first DAW since 2 years ago. Logic and Pro-Tools are great, Reaper is as much great, and is more flexible, adaptable, fast (on experience), and has a suprisingly optimezed CPU load, and still 64-bit internal mixing engine.
- It replaced a 12 Core Mac Pro 'Cheese-grater' fully loaded with hard drives, an Avid Pro Tools HDX card, and a UAD Octo card. It is a 6-Core and Dual GPU, 3.5GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor, 32GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory, Dual AMD FirePro D500 with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM each and 256GB PCIe-based flash storage.
- Best Match currently selected. Avid Pro Tools 9 for PC & Mac. 2 product ratings - MAC PRO Tools Stainless Steel Makeup Palette with Thumb Hole New 100% Authentic.
How to use this guide
In this guide, we will show you how to get your new Pro Tools software. That means we’ll show you how to register it and get your iLok license. Follow the sections below to get started.
- Academic eligibility(required for Academic versions)
Getting Started
Congratulations on your new Avid software! To begin, you’ll first need to create an account and register with Avid and iLok. If you have already made the accounts, you don’t need to make new ones. Just make sure to continue using the same accounts.
Create iLok account
Avid software is licensed with iLok. That means you will need to connect its iLok license to your computer in order to use it. For Avid software, this can be done with an iLok USB dongle or iLok Cloud Session. If you don’t already have an iLok account, you’ll need to create one and install the iLok License Manager app. If you already have an account, pass these steps and continue to Create Avid Account. Learn more about iLok licensing in our iLok Quickstart Guide.
1. Visit iLok’s registration page and complete the registration form. Take note of your User ID and password.
2. Open the iLok Account Activation email and click on the verification link.
3. Download and install the iLok License Manager.
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4. Launch the iLok License manager app and sign in to your iLok account.
- (optional) Connect an iLok USB dongle and, when prompted, click Yes to register it to your account.
Pro Tools and iLok Licenses
A valid iLok license must be detected every time you launch Pro Tools. To get the license, you must enter your iLok account information into your Avid Master Account (next). This tells Avid which iLok account to send your license(s) after you register an Activation Code. Once done, The iLok License Manager app can then be used to store licenses on either a physical iLok USB dongle or iLok Cloud Session. Each license can only be used on one system at a time.
Once you’re iLok account is created, continue to create an Avid account.
Create an iLok account.
Create Avid account
Before you can activate your software with Avid, you first need to create an Avid Master Account. We strongly recommend writing down your email address and password and keep them in a safe place. If you forget, you may need to reset your Avid password or iLok info. Once your Avid Master Account has been created, you can register the Activation Code to your account.
1.Sign in to your current Avid Master Account or create a new one. Gimp for mac 2018.
2. Visit the Default iLok Account page of your Avid Master Account.
3. Enter your iLok ID, click Use this account, and follow the on-screen instructions to sign in and sync your iLok account.
iLok User ID
Make sure to enter the correct iLok User ID. If you are not sure about which User ID to use, log into the iLok License Manager. If you see licenses you already had or your iLok USB dongle is detected (icon isn’t red), then you’ve got the correct account. If not, then your licenses are likely associated with a different User ID.
Once your Avid Master Account has been created, you can register the Activation Code to your account.
Syncing iLok and Avid accounts.
Register and Authorize
Once your Avid and iLok accounts are set up, you next need to register your software’s Activation Code. This will give you access to your downloads and iLok license. If you bought an academic version, you will need to verify your academic eligibility with Identit-e afterward to access your downloads and licenses.
Register Activation Code
The activation process is what gets Pro Tools and its downloads to appear on the My Products and Subscriptions page of your Avid Master Account. Activating your Avid product(s) is easy, just open the Software Activation Instructions email from your Sweetwater Sales Engineer and find the Activation Code(e.g. FE 260-999E9001L-5BE47R9N). If you purchased a boxed copy, open the box and remove the card inside to find the code. Once you’ve registered the code, continue to authorize the iLok license. Student’s and teachers versions won’t receive licenses until first confirming their academic eligibility.
1. Copy the Activation Code Bitdefender total security 2018 for mac. you received from your Sweetwater Sales Engineer and go to the Avid Activation page.
2. Paste the code into the box and click Activate Product.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to register Pro Tools with Avid.
Additional steps for Pro Tools expired plans and updates
If you are reinstating (aka restarting) an expired plan, the instructions above still apply to you, but you will need to also surrender your old license in exchange for a new one. To get your new license:
- Go to the My Products and Subscriptions page of your Avid Master account.
- Click the purple bar for your Pro Tools software, and click Select upgrade options.
- Select the license you wish to upgrade and receive future updates.
Academic or educational purchases will continue to verify their academic eligibility. Otherwise, continue to authorize iLok license.
Register Avid Activation Code.
Academic eligibility
Student and teacher versions of Pro Tools must be verified by Identit-e before you can receive your Pro Tools license. Once activated on Avid’s website, Avid will provide you a new EDU verification code on the My Products and Subscriptions page of your Avid Master Account. You will then need to submit your new code and any additional documentation to Identit-e’s eligibility confirmation page.
When Identit-e has verified your eligibility, they will send a verification email and code to the email address you used for academic verification. You will then register the included code by entering it in your Avid account. If you purchased a student/teacher subscription renewal, instead follow the renewal instructions. Learn more about this topic on Avid’s eligibility page. Once you’ve registered the new code, continue to authorize the iLok license.
1. Register your Activation Code with Avid (above).
2. Visit Identit-e’s eligibility page, enter the EDU verification code, and then click continue.
3. Complete the eligibility form and make sure to enter your academic email address. If required, upload clear copies of any additional documentation. Here are some useful PDF scanners we found for Android and iOS.
4. Check the registered email address for a confirmation email from Identit-e. Find the new Activation Code in the email and enter it on Avid’s Activation page.
Once verified, continue to authorize iLok License.
Academic registration form.
Authorize iLok license
Pro Tools software is authorized by iLok, which means you’ll need to have a valid license on your iLok or an iLok Cloud session in order to launch your software. If using an iLok Cloud Session, make sure your license is not on an iLok USB dongle, otherwise you won’t be able to access it until the license is removed from the iLok. Follow the steps below to complete the iLok authorization process and then continue to our Pro Tools download and install guide.
iLok USB Dongle
Pro Tools can detect licenses stored on a connected iLok USB dongle. To add licenses to your iLok:
1. Launch the iLok License Manager.
2. Locate your license under the Available tab.
3. Drag/drop the license onto the icon for your iLok USB dongle.
iLok Cloud Session
Pro Tools software can also be licensed with internet access via the iLok License Manager.
1. Launch Pro Tools and, when prompted, click Activate.
2. Enter your iLok User ID and password.
3. Click Next and your license will be added to the new iLok Cloud Session.
One iLok Cloud Session at a time
Starting a second iLok Cloud Session with the same account will force the first session to log out.
Learn how to install Pro Tools in our download and install guide.
Edit Video on Your PC
Nothing makes an impression like moving pictures with sound. That's why digital video continues to grow in importance online. Couple that trend with the ever-increasing availability of devices capable of high-resolution video recording—phones, GoPros, DSLRs—and the case for ever-more powerful video editing software becomes clear. Further, the software must be usable by nonprofessionals, and it has to keep up with newer formats such as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) and 360-degree VR video, and it has to be able to handle 4K and higher resolution.
Increasingly, new capabilities trickle down from professional-level software to the consumer category. That's a good thing for nonprofessional movie editors, since the more consumer-oriented software tends to make easier procedures that can sometimes be pretty tricky in the pro-level software. Read on for a survey of the latest trends in video editing software along with our top picks in the field.
Multicam, Motion Tracking, and Yet More Motion
Advanced abilities continue to make their way into accessible, affordable, and consumer-friendly video editing software as each new generation of software is released. For example, multicam editing, which lets you switch among camera angles of the same scene shot with multiple video cameras, used to be a feature relegated to pro-level software. Now this and many other advanced effects are available in programs designed for use by nonprofessional enthusiasts.
Another impressive effect that has made its way into consumer-level video editing software is motion tracking, which lets you attach an object or effect to something moving in your video. You might use it to put a blur over the face of someone you don't want to show up in your video. You specify the target face, and the app takes care of the rest, tracking the face and moving the effect to follow it. This used to be the sole province of special effects software such as Adobe After Effects. Corel VideoStudio was the first of the consumer products to include motion tracking, and it still leads the pack in the depth and usability of its motion-tracking tool, though several others now include the capability.
The 4K Video Factor
Support for 4K video source content has become pretty standard in video editing software, but the support varies among the products. For example, some but not all of the applications can import Sony XAVC and XAVC-S formats, which are used by Sony's popular DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, camcorders, and professional video cameras. The same holds true for the H.265 High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. Most of the applications here now can import and export HEVC, though there are still a few holdouts.
360-Degree VR Support
Several of the products here (Adobe Premiere Elements is a notable exception) still support 3D video editing if that's your thing, though the this has been replaced by 360-degree VR footage like that shot by the Samsung Gear 360 as the current home-theater fad. As is often the case, our Editors' Choice, CyberLink PowerDirector was the first product in this group to offer support for this new kind of video media.
Other programs have jumped on board with 360 VR support, including Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, and Magix Movie Edit Pro. Mac for beginners. Support varies, with some apps including 360-compatible titles, stabilization, and motion tracking. PowerDirector is notable for including those last two. Final Cut offers a useful tool that removes the camera and tripod from the image, often an issue with 360-degree footage.
Video Editing 101
Of course, none of the extras matter if an app can't do the most basic editing tasks. At this point, however, all of the products included here do a good job of letting you join, trim, and split video clips. They also let you make use of special effects such as animated transitions, picture-in-picture (PiP), chroma-key (the technique that lets you place a subject against any background, often known as green screening), and filters that enhance colors or apply creative effects and distortions. With most of them you can add a multitude of timeline tracks that can accommodate video clips, effects, audio, and text overlays.
A tool coming to the latest versions of video editing applications is support for seamless transitions. Picture a scene showing people at a beach, and suddenly the sky zooms in and your in Rome or Paris, but it looks like you're in the same place because the transition glued the two scenes together using the sky. There are plenty of other examples of seamless transition; this magnificent video shows a good selection of them, and is partly responsible for starting the trend.
Color, LUTs and CLUTs
One of the capabilities that has been making its way into consumer-level video editing software is more-detailed color grading. Color wheels, curves, and histograms give editors control over the intensity of every shade. Related to this is support for LUTs (lookup tables), also known as CLUTs (color lookup tables). This staple of pro-level software lets you quickly change the look of a video to give it a specific mood. For example, think of the dark blue look of thriller movies like The Revenant. You can download LUTs for free from several sites or use those included with some video software to give your video a specific look. One well-known LUT type is the kind that can make a daytime scene look like it was shot at night.
Where the Action Is
Many video editing apps now include tools that cater to users of action cameras such as the GoPro Hero7 Black. For example, several offer automated freeze-frame along with speedup, slowdown, and reverse time effects. CyberLink PowerDirector's Action Camera Center pulls together freeze frame with stabilization, slo-mo, and fish-eye correction, and color correction for underwater footage. Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium includes the third-party NewBlue ActionCam Package of effects. And Wondershare Filmora lets you subscribe to new effect packs on an ongoing basis.
Titles That Zing
I've been seeing a lot of attention paid to creating title effects in the applications over the past year. Apple Final Cut Pro X has added 3D title creation, which is pretty spiffy, letting you extrude 2D titles and rotate them on three axes. Corel VideoStudio in its latest version also adds 3D Titling, though not as powerful as Apple's. PowerDirector's Title Designer offers transparency, gradient color, border, blur level, and reflection in titles; Magix has impressive title templates, complete with animations. Premiere Elements offers a nifty title effect in which your video fills the text characters, and Corel recently followed suit in VideoStudio 2019. Look for an application that lets you edit titles in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) mode, so that you can type, format, and time it right over the video preview.
Gathering Speed
Video editing is one of the most computing-intensive activities around, so you'll want the best laptop or desktop you can afford if you're serious about cutting your own movies. Most applications help speed up the editing process by creating a proxy file of lower resolution, so that normal editing and previewing aren't slowed down by the huge full-resolution files.
Particularly intensive is the process of rendering your finished product into a standard video file that will by playable on the target device of choice, be that an HDTV, a laptop, or a smartphone. Most of the software can take advantage of your computer's graphics processor to speed this up. Be sure to check the performance section in each review linked here to see how speedy or slow the application is. In rendering speed testing, CyberLink and Pinnacle have been my perennial champs.
Other measures of performance include startup time and simple stability. Again, video editing is a taxing activity for any computer, involving many components. In the past, video editing programs took longer than most other apps to start up, and unexpected shutdowns were unfortunately common, even in top apps from top developers such as Adobe and Apple. The stability situation has greatly improved, but the complexity of the process, which increases as more powerful effects are added, means crashes will likely never be fully eliminated, and they often raise their ugly heads after a program update, as I found with the latest version of Pinnacle Studio.
Free Video Editing Software
If you don't want to invest a lot of money and effort into your video editing exploits, there are a few free options. Of course, if you use a Mac, the excellent iMovie comes with it. For PC users, Windows 10's Photos app (as of the Fall Creators Update) lets you join, trim, and even add background music, 3D animated effects, and titles to video.
There are also some free video apps on the Windows Store, including Movie Moments, PowerDirector Mobile, Movie Maker, and Magix Movie Edit Touch. Some of these are quite basic, but the Magix app is fairly capable, with clip joining, transitions, and effects, in a very touch-friendly interface.
Free video editing software often comes with legal and technical limitations, however. Some widely used codecs require licensing fees on the part of the software maker, meaning they can't offer free software that can handle these standard file formats. That said, the impressive open-source Shotcut does a lot of the same things that the paid applications in this roundup do, including things like chroma-keying and picture-in-picture. Shotcut is completely open-source and free, while another free option, Lightworks has paid options that remove a 720p output resolution limit. Note also that both Shotcut and Lightworks run on Linux as well as Windows and Mac.
![Best Mac For Pro Tools 2018 Best Mac For Pro Tools 2018](/uploads/1/2/6/1/126155886/599632731.jpeg)
What About Apple?
Though Mac users don't have the sheer number of software choices available for PCs, Apple fans interested in editing video are well served, by four products in particular. At the entry level, the surprisingly capable and enjoyable-to-use iMovie comes free with every Mac sold since at least 2011. iMovie only offers two video tracks, but does good job with chroma-keying, and its Trailers feature makes it easy to produce slick, Hollywood-style productions.
In the midrange, there's Adobe Premiere Elements, which is cross-platform between Macs and PCs, and offers a lot more features and lots of help with creating effects. Professionals and prosumers have powerful, though pricey options in Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro. Final Cut is a deceptively simple application that resembles iMovie in its interface and ease of use, but it offers massively deep capabilities, and many third-party apps integrate with it for even more power. It also makes excellent use of the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro, as shown in photo above. Premiere Pro uses a more traditional timeline and adds a large ecosystem of companion apps and plug-ins. It also excels in collaboration features.
Audio Editing
We still live in the days of talkies, so you want to be able to edit the audio in your digital moves as well as the images. Most of the products included here offer canned background music, and many, such as Pinnacle Studio, can even tailor the soundtrack to the exact length of your movie. All of these programs can separate audio and video tracks, and most can clean up background noise and add environmental audio effects such as concert hall reverb. A couple of the products have an auto-ducking feature, which lowers background music during dialog—a definite pro-level plus.
What's Not Here
There are more video editing software applications than we can fit into this roundup of the best options, which includes only software rated three stars and higher. The best known among them is probably Vegas Movie Studio, which was recently acquired by Magix from Sony. Sony's product used a very cluttered interface that more resembled high-end professional video editing software from the early days of the craft. Magix has made some progress in simplifying it and bringing it up to par with the competition, but more work is needed for it to be included here.
Another program, VSDC Video Editor Pro, simply has too outdated an interface, making common tasks difficult. Longtime pro video editors will note the absence of Avid Media Composer, which is simply too unwieldy for PCMag's primarily consumer audience. There are a couple of more interesting applications—NCH VideoPad and AVS Video Editor among them—that we simply haven't tested yet.
The Finish Line
The video editing application you choose depends on your budget, the equipment you're using, and how serious you are. Fortunately, you're spoiled for choice with the products available. Peruse our in-depth reviews of enthusiast-level video editing software reviews linked below to see which is the right one for you.
One final note about the features table at the top of this story: Check marks represent differentiating, above-the-call-of-duty features, rather than essential ones. So, just because Nero Video and Wondershare Filmora don't have any checks, it doesn't mean they're not good choices. In fact, both offer decent basic editing on a budget. The new apple mac pro for 2018.
Best Video Editing Software Featured in This Roundup:
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Adobe Premiere Pro CC Review
MSRP: $19.99Pros: Clear, flexible interface. Lots of organizational tools. Responsive speed. Ultimate power in video editing. Rich ecosystem of video production apps. Excellent stabilization. Unlimited multi-cam angles.Cons: No keyword tagging for media. Some techniques require additional applications such as After Effects or SpeedGrade.Bottom Line: An expansive professional-level digital video editing program, Premiere Pro CC has everything today's pro video editor needs, particularly when it comes to collaboration.Read ReviewCyberLink PowerDirector Review
MSRP: $129.99Pros: Fast rendering. Clear interface. Loads of effects. The most 360-degree video capabilities of any video editor. Multicam editing. 3D and 4K capability. Motion tracking. Screen recording.Cons: No trimming in source panel. Number of options can make interface overwhelming. Weak color matching.Bottom Line: PowerDirector is one of the fastest and most capable consumer-level video editing apps for Windows around, and the first to support 360-degree VR footage.Read ReviewCorel VideoStudio Ultimate Review
MSRP: $99.99Pros: Wide selection of fun video-creation tools. Clear, simple interface. Fast rendering. Support for 360-degree VR, 4K Ultra HD, and 3D media. Multipoint Motion tracking. Multicam editing. HTML5 video page creation. Stop-motion tool.Cons: No keyword tagging for media.Bottom Line: Corel VideoStudio remains one of the most feature-packed consumer video editing packages around. The 2019 update adds powerful color-grading tools, seamless transitions, and text masks.Read ReviewPinnacle Studio Ultimate Review
MSRP: $129.95Pros: Clear interface. Edits 360-degree VR content. Fast rendering performance in testing. Tons of effects. Multicam editing. 4K and H.265 support. Tagging and star ratings for media. Good audio tools.Cons: Motion tracking issues on one test PC. Occasional crashes in testing. Uneven 360-degree VR implementation.Bottom Line: Pinnacle Studio is a fast, full-featured, near-professional-level video-editing application with support for 360-degree VR, 3D, and multicam edits. New color grading and four-point editing make it even more appealing, though our testing uncovered some instabilities.Read ReviewMagix Movie Edit Pro Premium Review
MSRP: $129.99Pros: Lots of video effects. Multicam. Good titling tools. Trailer-like movie templates. Solid audio editing tools. Strong disc authoring. Fast rendering. Good stability. 360-degree media support.Cons: Not much help with difficult procedures. Lacks import and organization tools. Extra costs and coded downloads for some video formats.Bottom Line: Now with faster rendering, Movie Edit Pro offers solid stability, up-to-date support for 4K, 360-degree, and multicam editing, but it trails other video editing software in ease-of-use.Read ReviewAdobe Premiere Elements Review
MSRP: $99.99Pros: Clear, simple interface. Guided Edits ease basic and advanced projects. Lots of video effects. Solid text tools. Powerful Audio editing. Good control over stabilization. 4K support.Cons: No 360-degree VR or 3D editing. No multicam feature or screen recording capability. Slow rendering speeds. No HEVC support in Windows.Bottom Line: Adobe's consumer video editing app adds a new start page, Auto Creations, a redesigned quick-editing interface, and faster performance.Read ReviewWondershare Filmora Review
MSRP: $59.99Pros: Pleasing interface. Inexpensive. Lots of effects and overlays. Good title tool.Cons: Action Cam and Cutter modes only allow one clip at a time. No search for effects or transitions. No motion tracking. No DVD menu or chapter authoring. Not a touch-friendly interface.Bottom Line: Wondershare's Filmora video editing software may not have multicam or the hottest new VR tools, but it does have a pleasing interface and lots of effects.Read ReviewApple Final Cut Pro X Review
MSRP: $299.99Pros: Magnetic, trackless timeline. Superior organization tools, including libraries, ratings, tagging, auto analysis for faces, scenes. Support for 360-degree footage and HDR. Multicam support. Fast performance. MacBook Touch Bar support.Cons: Nontraditional timeline-editing may turn off longtime editors. Can't import projects from previous versions without a third-party plug-in. No stabilization or motion tracking for 360-degree video.Bottom Line: Apple's professional-level video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, brings a wealth of power in an interface simple for pros and consumers alike. Recent highlights include rich support for 360-degree content and improved stability.Read ReviewNero Video Review
MSRP: $49.99Pros: Inexpensive. Plenty of video effects. Good audio tools. Solid file format support, including H.265. Compatible with 4K content. Burns DVD, Blu-ray, and AVCHD.Cons: Light on features. Outdated, unconventional interface. No 360 or 3D support. No motion tracking. No direct output to social networks.Bottom Line: For less money than the competition, Nero offers a wide array of enthusiast-level video editing capabilities, but the interface is dated and it trails in support for new formats and techniques.Read ReviewApple iMovie Review
MSRP: $0.00Pros: Beautifully simple interface. Color matching for consistent movie looks. Classy themes. Great chroma-keying tool. Lots of audio tools. Theater feature shares movies to all your Apple gear.Cons: Not as flexible as some PC video editors. In the name of simplicity, some useful controls are missing. Does not support tagging. Lacks multicam or motion tracking capabilities. Limited to two video tracks.Bottom Line: Apple's excellent entry-level desktop video editing application can turn your footage and photos into impressive productions.Read Review