Avidemux vs HDR Merge Master
Avidemux
avidemux.sourceforge.netHDR Merge Master
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Avidemux | HDR Merge Master |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · HDR Software | 8.3 (#4) | 7.5 (#14) |
| Automation | Tasks can be automated using projects, a job queue and scripting capabilities. | A headless command-line mode supports batch files, folder input, recursive processing, alignment options, thread counts, and cleanup. |
| License | The program is available under the GNU GPL license. | The repository identifies its license as GPL-3.0. |
| Purpose | Avidemux is a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. | HDR Merge Master uses Blender's compositor to merge exposure brackets in bulk into 32-bit EXR files. |
Plans
In their own words
Avidemux
Avidemux has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
HDR Merge Master
HDR Merge Master is a free, GPL-3.0 open-source tool that uses Blender’s compositor to combine exposure brackets in batches. It outputs 32-bit OpenEXR or Radiance HDR files and creates tonemapped JPG previews alongside them. Multiple input folders can be added, with optional recursive subfolder processing and JSON batch import or export. Alignment choices include none, Hugin pre-alignment, and MTB alignment, depending on Blender version and mode. A headless command-line mode supports folder processing, JSON input, alignment, thread settings, and cleanup. Camera RAW processing requires RawTherapee, with adjacent PP3 profiles applied automatically. Documented workflows include Blender, RawTherapee, Hugin, Luminance HDR, and PTGui; a script can replace JPG paths with EXR paths in PTGui PTS projects. Blender 4.5 LTS and 5.1 LTS are actively tested, while older versions use a reduced-feature legacy script. The tool does not remove ghosting, so a steady tripod is advised.