This is a tool for Twitch and YouTube streamers to quickly convert their clips into viral Tiktoks/Reels/Shorts!
One thing to keep in mind for this series is that it is for giving and overview and opinion on various content repurposing tools out there.
The structure is the overview, pricing, pros, cons, and then any particular experience I may have with the tool good or bad. Finally, at the end I’ll wrap up any extra thoughts.
Overview
This is a tool meant for streamers to grow their audience using clips from their already made VOD's. I just happened to have come in with a ton of clips already, and not really any video VOD's.
You still have to find those clips after all, which is where perhaps some other tools come in handy. Including ones that might work well with Combo.
Starting out is the Dashboard
A huge gripe of mine is that it always starts out in the imported view, but since I don't import from Twitch or YouTube it is really annoying. I wish you could change the default to the "uploaded" view.
You can make templates for various games, alongside some of their basic ones too.
A more robust editor than you may expect
Although something I talk about in the Cons section, is that sometimes the timeline clips at the bottom will stick in a weird way. Causing issues when moving a lot of them around.
You end up having a lot for each of the viewing ports, i.e. facecam, gameplay, or hud clips, text, and more.
Automation Workflows
This is a beta feature that I sadly wasn't able to get access to. However when it does come out it would perhaps warrant another look at the tool. This feature would put it next to Repurpose.io and Zapier for automations, which is really exciting.
Pricing
Honestly the prices aren't that bad for what you are getting. I think they might have changed some of it too since the last time I checked. I don't recall the free plan being able to do 1080p exports. Although the issue is usually more the 100mb file size, and that was why I ended up having to go for the pro plan. Now there seems to be the "Starter", which is a lot more viable for a lot of people.
Sure the "Creator" plan isn't a whole lot more, but for some creators they don't have the income to spend on tools like these very consistently.
$6 brings it much more to average cost, and you still get a whole lot from it:
- 75 videos /mo (more than enough for most people)
- 250mb file uploads (max any clip platform seems to take)
- 1080p export quality (minimum requirement IMO, don't do 720p)
Weighted Pros/Cons
To be honest this one is a doozy, as while the cons were enough for me to have to find another solution. If you only game in 16:9, therefore your clips are the same aspect ratio, and you can deal with a couple technical hiccups here and there. Then the Cons that bothered me won't bother you, and the pros will outweigh them for YOU. Just take a look and see!
Pros
- Clean interface.
- Helpful team, if you can get ahold of them.
- Great template designs!
- Import from Twitch and YouTube (other tools just do Twitch)
- Upload files.
Cons
- It cost more than its competitors, but does less.
- Can’t handle Ultrawide, when all of the competitors do.
- Lot of positioning issues to the layers when moving them around.
- Timeline snapping hurts more than it helps.
My Experience
Note: That this may be what I had happened, but your mileage may vary.
The tool itself is really nice, and generally speed is working well too. I like a tool that can keep up. However it didn't always work, and that process meant all of the steps had to be redone. No matter how quick it is, that is frustrating.
I just kept having performance issues. I mean some of the features are really interesting like the auto subtitles, but those failed to come up with any text from a video that had a decent amount of voice. Although it was the game character, not mine, and that may have been the cause.
Even after waiting...
Eventually I got it to work.
I was forced to go to a competitor…
Let me be clear that I tried over and over again to use JoinCombo, and if anything I prefer it to some of the others when I can get it to work. I like the timelines because it also for a more creative result. I think their features are interesting, and are going to release more really cool ones soon I think.
However a MAJORITY of my videos were recorded on my PC (21:9), versus my Xbox (16:9). Meaning that most of my videos are in an ultrawide format, but that shouldn't matter because the whole point of using Combo (or a tool like it); Is to be able to pick and grab sections from a video to share into a vertical format.
In the end for all of my 150+ Apex clips I had to use Crossclip in order to convert them into a usable Tiktok/Reels. When I had already paid for Combo, and I seem to recall having the same problem over a year ago too sadly.
Wrap Up
While I think it is a great tool, by a really nice team (I talked to a couple people from there, and they're cool). There are some technical issues that need to be ironed out to really get the platform to the next level.
Hopefully over the course of the year that will happen. I am also
Save time editing your clips!
Combo is the fastest way to store, edit, and share your short-form content from one platform to another. For example, if you want to share your Twitch clips to TikTok in a few clicks, you can do that with Combo.
P.S.
I created a list website of various tools just like this one, that can help you on your creator journey.
Find JoinCombo and more on https://polytools.softr.app
