14 DAY TRIAL // "Loaded with tools, geared for fun." That is how Microsoft describes Windows Movie Maker and Movie maker HD in Windows Vista. While there is little disputing over the fact that the new entertainment features in Windows Vista deliver both great tools and fun, they are both connected to file format support. Via Windows Movie maker, users can import a range of five name extensions and use the files to generate personal projects. The file format is in fact nothing more than a container for the audio or video streams. The codec is associated with the encoding and compression of the audio and video streams.
That being said, Windows Movie Maker delivers support for:
￭ Video files: .asf, .avi, .dvr-ms, .m1v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv2, .wm, and .wmv; ￭ Audio files: .aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma; ￭ Picture files: .bmp, .dib, .emf, .gif, .jfif, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff, and .wmf.
But while DV-AVI, Windows Media Video and MPEG-1 are common across all editions of Windows Vista, DVR-MS is only supported by Windows Media Center in the Premium and Ultimate editions, while MPEG-2 only by program streams in the same two editions.
"When a file is imported in Movie Maker, Movie Maker will open the container format and then use DirectShow to determine what codecs are required to decode the audio and video streams. Just because the format is supported, for example AVI, doesn't mean the required codecs are installed on the machine. Given the wide range of codecs available this can cause confusion. If the codec required to decode the video is not available, the file will not be properly imported. For example, if only the audio codec is available for a video file, the video will be rendered as black," revealed Michael Patten, Microsoft Program Manager.
Windows Movie Maker is in no way restricted only to these formats. The limitations in some cases depend on the video codecs installed. Movie Maker will import all content with the condition that the proper video codec be installed. One restriction that will not be solved by any codec is the import of DRMed content. Materials protected by Digital Rights Management cannot be imported into Movie Maker.
"When publishing your movie from Movie Maker, Movie Maker can publish video files to DV-AVI, Windows Media and Windows Media HD. Movie Maker provides a set of predefine Windows Media profiles targeting the most common scenarios, but you can also create your own custom profile. On Vista Premium and Ultimate, you can also publish your videos directly to DVD," Patten added.