Download of the day: Windows Movie Maker

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Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker may be getting on a bit – Microsoft hasn’t updated it in four years, although apparently a big update is coming this year – but it remains one of the easiest ways to edit video on a PC. Unlike many other free apps it doesn’t blast you with ads or otherwise annoy you.

Why you need it

Because Windows Movie Maker is really good. Video editing can be quite difficult, especially with apps that follow the conventions of professional editing tools, but that’s not the case here: if you can put together a PowerPoint presentation you’ll have no trouble making films with Windows Movie Maker.

The only big downside is that Microsoft hasn’t kept up with formats, so for example if you want to make a movie from clips shot on an iPhone you’ll find that Windows Movie Maker doesn’t like its MOV files.

That’s okay, though – there are plenty of video file converters and free codecs (encoders and decoders for video formats) right here on our downloads channel.

Download here: Windows Movie Maker

Popular downloads

The most popular software available to download from TechRadar right now:

Windows Movie Maker: One of the best free video editors around. Simply drag and drop videos, audio and photos onto the timeline, and trim them to fit.

LibreOffice: An excellent alternative to Microsoft Office, with tools for making and editing text, presentations, spreadsheets, graphics, equations and charts.

AVG Antivirus Free: Top quality protection doesn’t have to cost a penny. AVG has received the gold award in independent virus detection tests.

GIMP: Not only does GIMP provide all the standard drawing and editing tools, it’s packed with powerful built-in plugins that rival professional photo editors.

VLC Media Player: VLC Media Player can handle pretty much any video or audio file without any additional codecs. The only media player you’ll ever need.