> Many times Movie Maker just can't cut it. You know that. I've made
> suggestions in the past, but perhaps you don't want to invest more
> money to get something better. Two applications anyone seriously into
> making videos should have, both free, one you may know about, the
> other you may not have heard of and surprise, it's also from
> Microsoft, but tucked away in some dark corner of their expansive
> site.
>
> Neither of these are intended to replace Movie Maker, rather they can
> be used to complement Movie Maker and get you over some of the rough
> spots that Movie Maker stumbles on or just doesn't support.
>
> The first 'must have' application you may have heard about is called
> Virtual Dub.
>
>
http://www.virtualdub.org/index>
> It was originally written many years ago by a young guy named Avery
> Lee who just happened to be somewhat bored, and in a weekend knocked
> together what is still one of the best video editors out there. The
> only downside is it is somewhat geeky in that is assumes you know what
> you want to do, so it is seriously lacking in hand holding and lacks
> the typical bells and whistles that many Windows applications offer.
> Still is can be very powerful, so don't let that throw you. Once you
> use it a few times it becomes very simple to understand.
>
> One if it's strengths is it isn't put off by damaged files and often
> will fly right past file corruption without blinking an eye and simply
> fix what's wrong. Don't we all wish Movie Maker was that smart.
>
> This is one of those very clever applications that doesn't need to be
> installed. You simply download it, create a folder to put it in, make
> a shortcut to it, and bing, bang zoom, it is ready to go.
>
> To get you over the initial hump to get it to work all you need to do
> is click on File, open a video file on your system, then wait until it
> is loaded. You'll be presented with two placeholders, a before and
> after preview window.
>
> The real power of VirtualDub is it's filters. Many come included, many
> more are for the taking on numerous web sites that you can add to your
> collection. Because this is a geeky application, it may take a bit of
> time to figure out and often it just sits there assuming you known
> what you want to do next. Applying filters for example. Here's how:
> Click the Video tab, then Filters and you're presented with a empty
> new window. Now click on ADD and you'll see about two dozen filters
> presented. Click on the ones you want to try. Many open their own
> preview window so you can see the effect of the filter in real time.
>
> In VirtualDub, filters can be chained which simply means the effect of
> one filter gets added to the effect of other filters which can also be
> influenced by their order as you add or delete them, so moving filters
> up or down within the "add" window can impact on the effect, sometimes
> greatly. OK, that should wet your appetite. VirtualDub can do much
> more. The two big benefits it can "fix" your source video, correctly
> many common problems, plus "repair" broken files. It can't work
> miracles, but often leaves Movie Maker in the dust.
>
> Next comes Windows Media Encoder.
>
>
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx>
> It too is on the somewhat geeky side and also assumes you know what
> you want to accomplish, so little hand holding. It is more powerful
> than Movie Maker and will operate on files Movie Maker stumbles on.
> This tool can be a good choice to encode files Movie Maker won't open
> converting them to WMV format which Movie Maker can open. It like
> VistrualDub has a rich range of features beyond the scope of this
> post.
>
> To use it at a very basic level do the following.
>
> After downloading and installing when Windows Media Encoder starts it
> should bring up a new session window. While it can do a lot more,
> generally you will want to select 'convert a file' then press OK.
>
> Under 'source file' navigate to the location on your system where your
> SOURCE file is located. Under 'output File' provide a location where
> you want the converted file to be copied to. This folder should exist
> on your system BEFORE you start up the encoder.
>
> You should see two placeholders, called input and output. This is
> where you will see your source file playing and the new converted file
> being created assuming you set options appropriately.
>
> Under choices pick 'File Archive' then Next. Now select your encoding
> option. Some will take much longer and are multiple pass. Click Next
> to add comments about the project then click Next again and the
> Encoder after some pause which can be a couple minutes for larger
> files should start up and begin to encode your file to the new format
> while giving details of it's progress in the monitor window depending
> on how you set up options.
>