Getting Started With vclub
So I kept hearing mixed stuff about vclub everywhere – Reddit threads popping up, Twitter arguments, the whole mess. Figured instead of just reading, I should actually use this thing myself for a solid week and see what’s up. Downloaded it right off their official page Tuesday night. Installation was stupid simple, just clicked next a few times like any other software. Didn’t even reboot my PC.
First Impressions & Initial Use
Fired it up Wednesday morning. The UI looks kinda sleek, I’ll give ’em that. Dark theme by default which my tired eyes appreciated. Jumped into creating a basic project immediately. Found the “New Project” button easily enough. Dragged a couple test files in, hit render… annnnd it just sat there spinning. Left me staring at a progress bar crawling slower than my grandma’s internet. Took 11 minutes just to export a 90-second clip on my fairly decent gaming rig. Not cool.
Digging Deeper Into Features
Thursday, I decided to test what it actually promises to do well:
- Pro: Effects library is surprisingly huge. Found these retro VHS filters that actually looked dope on test footage. Drag and drop worked smooth.
- Pro: Color correction tools? Simple sliders but got the job done quick for basic adjustments. Felt intuitive.
- Con: Stability issues hit hard. Crashed 3 times when I tried adding subtitles. Lost work twice because auto-save seems flaky.
- Con: Audio editing tools felt like an afterthought. Trying to sync background music to cuts felt like wrestling an octopus. No waveform zoom? Seriously?
- Con: That “Optimized Encoding” they brag about? Rendered a file supposedly in HD. Looked pixelated as hell. Re-rendered using custom settings – better, but what a hassle.
The Dealbreaker Moment
Friday afternoon disaster struck. Tried importing footage shot on my iPhone 14. vclub straight-up refused to recognize the format. Error message just said “unsupported file type” like it’s 2005. Googled furantically – found a “community workaround” involving converting files first with another free tool. Spent an hour messing with settings just to get clips INTO the editor. Felt ridiculous. Who designs video software in 2023 that can’t handle basic .mov files?
Final Verdict After Testing
Look, if you need VERY basic cuts, and only work with super common file types, and enjoy living dangerously with crashes… sure, it’s free-ish. But honestly? For anything beyond clip stitching, vclub feels half-baked. Gave it till Sunday. Found myself constantly fighting the software instead of just editing. Uninstalled it Sunday night. Freed up 4GB space too, which was nice. Might revisit if they fix the crashing and iPhone support, but for now? Nah. More headache than it’s worth for serious work.
