One of the most basic tasks of editing a video is cropping. If you want to crop a video file using Windows 10, you have come to the right place. In this guide, we will make you learn how to cut movie clips in windows 10 easily. Without wasting time anymore, let’s start.
What is Meant by Cropping Videos?
In simple words, cropping eliminates unwanted portions from video frames and changes the video size as well. For example, look at the image below:
This is the official wallpaper of windows 11 with its original aspect ratio, and it’s not cropped at all. Now here is the cropped edition below:
In this picture, the unwanted portions have been removed by cropping, and the aspect ratio and frame size were changed.
So now you know what video cropping is. Now it’s time to learn how you can do it using Windows 10 for free.
Cropping Video Files Using VLC Media Player
Although VLC Media Player is famous as a video player, few people know that we can use it as a video editor. You can easily crop videos using VLC Media Player. Moreover, VLC Media Player adheres to the FOSS principle, so we recommend using this program over other paid applications.
To crop a video file using VLC Media Player, follow these steps:
1. Download and install VLC Media Player if you haven’t already.
2. Play the video file you want to crop using VLC Media Player.
3. Go to Tools > Effects and Filters. A small window will open. You can also press Ctrl+E instead.
4. Go to the “Video Effects” tab and click on the “Crop” subtab.
5. Now crop the video as you want. Memorize the values you have entered to crop the video. Close this tiny window.
6. Go to Tools > Preferences or press Ctrl+P.
7. At the bottom, select the “All” radio button.
8. From the left pane, go to Video > Filters > Croppadd. Now write the values from step 5.
9. Click on “Filters” and put a tick mark on “Video cropping filter” just like the screenshot.
10. Go to Media > Convert/Save and Add the target video file by clicking “Add”. Then click on ‘Convert/Save”. Select the Destination file, click “Start”.
11. Wait for some minutes until conversion finishes.
That’s it. You have successfully cropped a video file using VLC Media Player. Now play that file and check whether it’s cropped perfectly or not. If you have completed all the steps correctly, whether you play the file, will VLC or not. You will find it cropped.
Crop A Video in Windows 10 Using FFmpeg
FFmpeg is a powerful multiplatform free video editor which will help you crop your videos at ease. If you prefer using a CLI method instead of GUI, perhaps FFmpeg is the perfect tool for you to use. Here is a simple guide on how to crop videos using FFmpeg. Let’s start.
1. First of all, download FFmpeg from here. Right-click on the zip file and click “Extract all…”. Then choose the target directory and extract the files.
2. Go to the target directory where you have extracted FFmpeg using windows explorer. Now hold shift and right-click on the background window. You will see an option that says “Open PowerShell window here”. Click on that, and a PowerShell window will pop up.
3. Write “ffmpeg -i inputfile -filter:v “crop=w:h:x:y” outputfile” on the powershell window. Remember, you need to replace the inputfile with the video file name and the outputfile with the output file name. Also, why needs to be replaced with the final video frame size you want to have in the output file.
The final command should be like this “ffmpeg -i C:\Media\input.mp4 -filter:v “crop=200:100:300:100” C:\Media\output.mp4”. Press enter to start cropping the video file.
4. Wait for a moment until the conversion finishes.
That’s it. Now you know how to crop video in windows 10 using CLI.
FAQs
How do I crop the top and bottom of a video?
If you want to crop only the top and bottom of a video, don’t increase the values of “Left” and “Right”. You can also put a tick mark on “Synchronize top and bottom” if you want.
What is the best video editor for Windows 10?
It all depends on what you want to do. For very basic video editing, VLC Media Player is enough. But if you want to do some heavy video editing, you might want to use Adobe Premiere Pro or Da Vinci Resolve. These video editors can do advanced video editing jobs, but you need to be skilled enough to use them.
Does Windows 10 have a free video editor?
Yes, Windows 10 and Windows 11 include a free video editor. However, that editor is not much convenient and lacks a lot of features. We do not recommend using that program for regular usage.
Can I crop a video in Windows video editor?
As we mentioned before, the Windows video editor lacks many features, and it can’t be used to cut a video file. However, if you want to trim a video and do other simple editing jobs instead of cropping, you can use windows video editor.
Final Thought
If you have read the whole article carefully, you should know how to cut video in Windows 10. Video cropping is easy in windows 10, and you don’t need to spend too much time learning it. Let us know how you like to crop videos in the comment section, and we will see you in another article.
