5 top tools and ways to watermark your videos

Adding watermarks in videos has been proven to have many benefits both in terms of copyright protection but also around branding. There is a plethora of tools and software out there that can help everyone according to their specific needs and also based on their technical affinity. But what are some of the best tried and tested tools that are available? Here we explore some of our favorites.

Previously, we discussed the various reasons why watermarking videos is useful, including copyright protection, branding, promotion, and content monitoring.

While there are no right or wrong approaches to watermarking, depending on the situation, one tool could be more preferable than another. Here are some of the tools we've tried for watermarking videos:

FFmpeg is a powerful command-line tool that is widely used for multimedia data handling, including video watermarking. It supports the addition of text watermarks or image watermarks using filters like drawtext or overlay. One of the key advantages of FFmpeg is its versatility, as it supports a wide range of video formats and provides ample customization options. This tool is well-suited for users who are comfortable with command-line interfaces and prefer a flexible and highly customizable solution for watermarking their videos. Here's a discussion on Stack Overflow that I find very interesting on using FFmpeg to add a watermark to the center of a video.

OpenCV is a popular computer vision library that offers video watermarking capabilities. It provides a range of functions to manipulate video frames and overlay images or text onto videos. OpenCV allows for precise control over watermark placement and appearance, making it an excellent choice for users who require fine-grained control over their watermarking process. This tool is particularly useful for applications that involve complex video processing tasks in addition to watermarking.

One of my favorites: MoviePy is a Python library built on top of FFmpeg. This tool gives offers a nice friendly interface for all video editing tasks, including watermarking. It simplifies the process of watermarking videos with its TextClip and ImageClip classes, allowing users to add text or image watermarks without much effort. What i really like about MoviePy is that it can support some nice visual effects , making it a fun tool for creating visually appealing videos that are protected through a watermark. This library is an ideal choice for users who prefer a straightforward and easy-to-use solution with additional video editing capabilities. Here's a detailed article about using MoviePy to edit and watermark videos.

Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional video editing software that offers extensive features for video watermarking. It allows users to import videos and provides options to add image or text watermarks. Adobe Premiere Pro offers advanced tools to adjust opacity and precisely position watermarks using the timeline and layers, giving users a high level of control over their watermarked videos. This software is ideal for professionals and advanced users who require comprehensive video editing functionalities along with watermarking capabilities.

Now, the right tool of course depends on the technical affinity of the user. One solution that i really like is the one of the Cloud based APIs. This is the right one for the ones who prefer a more user-friendly approach, without much coding and configurations. How many options are there for APIs? I hear you ask. Well, there are enough thats for sure. Some examples of such API services are:

These services offer interfaces that may add some simplicity in the process of watermarking videos. However, as always, it is super important to have a look and review the API documentation and terms of service for these API services to make sure that they meet any specific requirements that you might have. It's also important to mention that most cloud-based APIs do not verify the legality, authenticity, or ownership of the content users submit for watermarking. Therefore, users are entirely responsible for ensuring the authenticity and legality of the videos they upload. In any case, cloud-based APIs can be a very good solution for all content creators, online education providers, or websites with various types of video content. The ApyHub watermark video API (free tool for up to 2M API requests/month, also including a free trial) is our response in the problem of watermarking video files. We have designed it in a way that it makes for a quick solution to watermark videos. The way that it works is that it allows users to upload either URLs or video files. The API can improve the overall appearance and security of a video, by adding a company logo or any other information in the watermark.

Video watermarking is a great way to protect your videos and also increase brand recognition. The tools out will vary both in terms of the level of detail they provide but also, and more importantly, on the level and the technical affinity of the user and the specific need. All you need is patience to explore al the tools and find the one for you 🙂 The main options include selecting between a good Video watermark software or a cloud based API. In both cases, the users will be able to upload any file in video format and apply a text watermark or any personalized watermark to ensure that the video is being protected.