Web Tools:

Multimedia Software Tools

Look here for links to multimedia programs and utilities that you can use to add audio, video, and animation to Web sites.

Audio Utilities
Video Utilities
Flash Animation Utilities

Audio Editing

Cross-Platform

Audacity. Free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.
Adobe Audition CC. Was Cool Edit Pro before it was bought out by Adobe. Advanced audio mixing, editing, and effects processing capabilities.

Windows

Cool Edit 96 is still available for download at various places on the Web, including here. True shareware (so no timeout). You are limited to using any two out of eight features in any one session. Windows.
Hammerhead Rhythm Station. A simple TR-909-like drum computer program aiming at the dance-scene. Create Techno loops, Jungle patterns or House beats. Suitable for Hip Hop, Triphop, Rap, Industrial, etc. Six separate channels, 29 built-in drum sounds, six complete breakbeats, import six samples of your own. Save noise-free CD-quality wave files to use them with your sampler, tracker or sequencer program. Freeware. Windows.
Acid Music Studio from Sony Media Software. Multitrack audio and MIDI recording, 3,000 ACIDized loops, studio quality mixing, effects processing, burn CDs, etc. $59.95. Acid Pro $374.96. Windows.
Free ACIDxpress. A free 10-track version of the ACID software. Windows.
Sound Forge. Digital audio editor for audio editing, audio recording, effects processing, streaming content creation, and more. $299.96. Windows.
DDClip Pro. Professional, non-linear, non-destructive, multitrack, real-time audio and video editor. Process and mix up to 32 high-quality audio tracks. Score video clips, create audio commercials, synchronize voice with music, and mix audio tracks. $199 to register. DDClip SE and DDClip LE also available at $99 and $48, as well as a free version, DDClip Free (four tracks of audio and one track of video). Windows.
FL Studio. Digital Audio Workstation, with a complete set of instrument and studio tools, functioning as both a pattern and track-based sequencer. $49 (Express Edition), $99 (Fruityloops Edition), $149 (Producer Edition), and $361 (XXL Bundle). Windows.
n-Track Studio by FASOFT. Digital audio multitrack recorder. Record, playback, and overdub. Apply effects, realtime input processing, automated aux channels sends and returns, destructive and non-destructive wave editing. $64. Windows.
Goldwave Digital Audio Editor. Edit large audio files (4GB and beyond; NTFS only). $45 Canadian. Windows.
Audioactive Production Studio. MP3 software encoder, developed in partnership with the inventors of MP3. Freeware. Windows.
RealProducer Basic by RealNetworks. Create your own RealMedia streaming audio and video files. Free. Windows.

Macintosh

Sound Studio. You can digitize records and tapes, record live events, create podcasts, tweak the audio in your iMovie or Final Cut project. $79.99. Macintosh.
AmadeusPro. Multitrack audio editor supporting a variety of formats including MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, Apple Lossless, AIFF, Wave and many others. $40. Macintosh.

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Video Editing

Cross-Platform

Adobe Premiere Pro. Real-time video and audio editing tools. $799 to register. Windows and Macintosh.
QuickTime Pro. Besides being a player, lets you edit movies and prepare and compress audio and video for Web delivery. $29.99. Windows and Macintosh.
Zwei-Stein Video Editor by Thugs at Bay. Fully functional video editor that can output files in AVI 1.0, RealVideo, RealAudio, Windows Media Format, WAV, and BMP. Edit on up to 512 tracks, with 512 subtracks. Cropping, matrix effects, wipes, image distortion, rotation, color/opacity/chromacity adjustments, color/opacity mapping, millisecond-precision tweening, and more. Output resolution up to 800x600, 30fps, 44.1 khz. Freeware. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.
LiVES. Open source video editing software that mixes realtime video performance and non-linear editing in one application. Free. Originally created for Linux, but now also available for Windows and Macintosh.

Windows

Vegas 5 by Sony Media Software. Professional digital video and audio production, DVD creation. $584.92.
Pinnacle Studio. Analog video capture, video editing, add transitions, titles, music effects. DVD creation. $49.99.
Easy Media Creator by Roxio. Video editing suite that includes SmartScan, Cinemagic, and VideoWave. $99.99.
Ulead Video Studio. Home video editing software. Share finished projects on DVD, tape, the Web, and mobile devices. $69.99 (standard) and $99.99 (Plus).
MULTIQUENCE: Multitrack Audio/Video Mixer, by Goldwave. $39 Canadian.
Blaze Media Pro. All-in-one audio and video suite. Editing, conversion, DVD and CD recording. Rated 5 cows at Tucows. $50.
FadeToBlack AVI Video Editor by Thoughtman Software. Join, split, crop, trim, modify color, rotate, overlay, merge, or blur your AVI video files, along with sequences of JPG and BMP images or photos from your digital camera. Full support for the latest DivX video codecs and MP3 audio codecs. $44.95.
Windows Movie Maker by Microsoft. create, edit, and share your home movies on your computer. Save your movie back to the video tape in your camera to play back on a TV. Free.
CyberLink PowerDirector. Edit videos and slideshows. Fix and improve videos. Add effects and styles. Import HD, including AVCHD. Publish to the Web, uTube, or Streamload. DVD template designer. $89.95.

Macintosh

Final Cut Studio 2 by Apple. Video and film editing, graphics and animation, audio post-production, color grading, compressor, and delivery ( DVD, the Web, iPod, etc.). $1,299.
Media 100 Producer. software-only model that offers a mobile and scalable editing environment as well as FireWire I/O and Panasonic P2 acquisition capabilities. $895.
iMovie by Apple. Organize, edit, view, and share your videos. Add titles, transitions, and music. Part of the iLife suite (also including iPhoto, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. $79.
Norrkross Movie. Edit video in multiple layered tracks, add your own movie titles, use green screen effect. $59.

Linux/Unix

Cinelerra. Open Source software for capturing, compositing, and editing audio and video with sample level accuracy. Free. Linux. (See also Professional Video Editing on Linux with Cinelerra.)

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Audio and Video Players

Cross-Platform

VideoLAN - VLC media player. Free. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux/Unix.
QuickTime Player by Apple. Free. Macintosh and Windows.

Windows

RealPlayer by RealNetworks. Click the link in the upper right to download the free player. Windows.
Windows Media Player by Microsoft. Download the latest version for free. Windows.
Gr8_Player. Simple but powerful media player with a support for a lot of different file types. Free. Windows.
Multimedia Xplorer by Moon Software. Plays MPEG, AVI, MOV files, in addition to many sound formats. Also functions as an image viewer, icon extractor, and animated cursor viewer. Freeware. Windows.

Macintosh

RealPlayer for Mac OS X by RealNetworks. Free. Macintosh.
Windows Media for Mac by Microsoft. Free. Macintosh.

Linux/Unix

Linux Video Player. Free. Linux/Unix.

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Flash Animation Software

Cross-Platform

Adobe Flash. $699. Windows and Macintosh.
Adobe Fireworks. Primarily an image editor/drawing program optimized for creating web graphics, but also works with Flash and Shockwave. $299. Windows and Macintosh.
Text-Osterone by Vertical Moon. Create Flash animation text effects. $39.95. Macintosh.
Video2SWF by Vertical Moon. convert your video files into streaming Macromedia/Adobe Flash files. Video2SWF is easy to use and is great for displaying your videos on websites, CD-ROMs, and presentations. $79.85. Macintosh.

Windows

SWiSHmax. Full-feature Flash animation software. $149.95. Windows.
Mix-FX. A Flash animation tool which creates Flash buttons, Flash animations, Flash text effects and Flash effects. $27 (with all future upgrades for free). Windows.
CoffeeCup Firestarter. Create complex text and image effects, Flash Intro pages, navigation systems, graphic logos, and more. $49. Windows.
flash4D. Create Flash intros, presentations, movies, and more. $49 (Home Edition) and $99 (Pro Edition). Windows.
KoolMoves. Create animated text effects, banners, multimedia slide shows, splash pages, flying logos, navigation systems, character animation, interactive games, and more. $49. Windows.