The Bottom Line
ZS4 hasn't been updated since 2007, but you can still download the program and access the online help files. It's interesting to play around with if you are a video geek, but if you're just looking for a way to manage your home movies, head in a different direction.
Pros
- Free
- Works with Macs, PC and Linux systems
- Provides extensive control over video assets
Cons
- Overly complex and difficult to use
- Not designed for beginners
- Antiquated interface that doesn't work smoothly on all computers
- Not updated since 2007
Description
- Unlike most free editing programs, which are designed to be easy for beginners, ZS4 is designed for maximum complexity.
- The inelegant interface is the opposite of intuitive, and it caused more than a few slow-downs and crashes on my computer.
- ZS4 is designed for advanced video editors who are working with multiple types of footage and video sources.
Guide Review - ZS4 Video Editing Software is Free, and You Get What You Pay For
Using the t@b Zwei-Stein (ZS4) video editing program reminded me of a favorite phrase of my grandfather's: if it's free, run.
The ZS4 website proudly explains that the program's design favors "choice over clarity, uniqueness over "standard", chaos over order, flexibility over simplicity." That's not exactly what you're looking for if you're just getting started with video editing.
This is a program for video geeks (I mean that in a nice way!) - folks who want to access and manipulate the nitty-gritty video settings. Folks who enjoy creating workarounds and diagnosing software bugs. In other words, it's probably not for most Desktop Video readers.
