VirtualDub
Contents
About
VirtualDub is a free movie tool for Microsoft Windows for creating and editing AVI files. In 2010 it also includes the ability to do video screen capture too. Before using VirtualDub I liked to edit movies using QuickTime 7 Pro, but found QuickTime doesn't deal very well with .avi files (.avi are a Windows standard and so QuickTime prefers .mov) and simple tasks like changing the frame-rate is unnecessarily difficult. VirtualDub makes these tasks pretty easy, and unlike QuickTime Pro it is free.
Installation
To download and install the VirtualDub program go to their source-forge page: http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net/
Tips and Tricks with VirtualDub
Changing the Frame Rate of an Exiting AVI
The most common thing I've used VirtualDub for is changing the framerate.
Open the movie (drag and drop is easiest), and then go: Video > FrameRate... here to you tell the computer the new frame rate or to drop every 2nd slide etc.
To save the .avi in the new format go: File > Save as AVI (F7) and bob's your uncle.
Create an AVI from an Image Sequence
If you have a numbered image sequence (eg: "image001.png", "image002.png", "image003.png", etc) you can turn this into an AVI by these three steps:
- Click File > Open, then select the first image in the sequence.
- Click Video > Frame Rate, to change the frame rate (once loaded).
- Click File > Save as AVI.
See Also
- Convert an image sequence to a movie - shows some other program you can use to make movies
