Up until 2011, Apple continued to develop Final Cut Pro to the point that it was competitive with the then dominant Avid Media Composer while being a fraction of the price of a full Avid system.

Initially developed by Macromedia, the video editing software that eventually became Final Cut Pro was bought by Apple in 1998 with the first release of Final Cut Pro being made in 1999. Beyond that are considerations as to what other software is either bundled or available as an option - typical video editing software systems extend beyond the core features of non-linear editing software and often support advanced color grading, motion graphics, visual effects and multi-channel audio processing. That said, each has its own approach to video editing and one may be better suited to a particular workflow than another. Each of these are packed with features to get you from a collection of source footage to a final cut as quickly as possible and with the highest quality possible. These days, professional video editing software often means one of Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro.

To the extent that it helps, we'll break the contenders down into categories. Which video editing software you ultimately choose is going to depend on a number of factors ranging from what capabilities you need to how much you are willing to spend. So, you have a bunch of video and you want to edit it together into something that tells a story - you're going to need some video editing software.

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