How to Use the New Features in Movie Maker 2.1
Published: December 13, 2004
Windows Movie Maker is a great tool for making home movies on your computer. It just got better with Movie Maker 2.1, the upgrade that's available as part of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). Movie Maker 2.1 isn't available as a separate download, but you'll want the improvements that come with SP2 anyway, as well as the new movie-making features.
I often get questions in the newsgroups about how you can import video from a non-digital source such as a VHS tape or an analog camcorder into your computer. Movie Maker 2.1 includes support that lets you capture video that's passed through a DV camera to your computer. In this column, I'll describe how to use this feature, called digital video (DV) pass-through.
The other common question I get is about how to fix video or audio problems that occur because of filter conflicts. This was tough to answer in the past because the topic of filter conflicts is quite technical for the average home user. But Movie Maker 2.1 includes a new feature that automatically turns off video and audio filters that are known to cause problems in Movie Maker. I'll talk about filter compatibility and explain how to choose which filters to turn on or off in this column.
Check the Movie Maker 2.1 FAQ for information about installing Movie Maker 2.1, saving a movie, importing video, editing video, capturing video, and how to perform other typical movie making tasks.
Get Service Pack 2
You can upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), if you haven't already done so, in the following ways:
I suggest you read Charlie Russell's Getting and Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 column for useful information on preparing your system for the upgrade. Barb Bowman's Introduction to Windows XP Service Pack 2 covers the new security features in the service pack.
Use Digital Video Pass-Through
Movie Maker fans have been waiting for an easy way to transfer video from an analog video camera or VCR to a computer in digital form. There are many capture card and capture box solutions available, but using them means finding, selecting, and buying an extra card, dongle, or box. These solutions do a fine job, but many people want to use their DV camcorder as their capture device. (Not all DV camcorders have this capability, but many do.) Now that Movie Maker 2.1 supports DV pass-through, follow these steps to set up a pass-through from an analog camcorder or VCR:
1. | Connect the Audio Out of your analog source to the audio connectors of your DV camcorder using standard RCA cables, as shown in Figure 1.  Figure 1. Setting up pass-through on your DV camera |
2. | Connect the video output and input of the two devices using either the composite video (yellow RCA connector) or S-Video connections, whichever is available. S-Video will give you the best quality. |
3. | Connect the DV output of your camcorder to the IEEE 1394 port of your computer. Some manufacturers use brand names for these ports, such as Apple FireWire or Sony i.LINK. |
4. | Turn your DV camcorder to its VCR/VTR mode. (Some cameras also need additional configuration to enable pass-through mode. Consult your User's Manual.) |
5. | Open Movie Maker. If the Movie Tasks pane is open, under Capture Video, click Capture from video device. If you don't use the Movie Tasks pane, then on the File menu, click Capture Video. On the wizard pages that follow, select your DV camera, a file name and location for the captured file, the video resolution and encoding format desired, and then finally, on the Capture Methods page, click Capture parts of the tape manually. |
6. | Press Play on your analog camcorder or VCR. |
7. | Click Start Capture in the Video Capture Wizard to begin capturing video. |
8. | When you have captured the portion of the analog source you wanted, click Stop Capture, and then press Stop on your analog device. |
For more information, see Capturing Video in Windows Movie Maker 2.1 by Using DV Pass-Through.
Work with Video and Audio Filter Settings
My first experience with a filter conflict was when Movie Maker played back the audio of my movie preview at twice the normal rate. I was perplexed until I figured out that a filter from another product was causing the problem. If you have installed products from other software providers that work with digital audio and video, it can be difficult to determine the source of the problem when these conflicts occur.
What is a filter? Movie Maker uses DirectShow, an application programming interface (API), to accomplish its high-quality video and audio capture and playback. Movie Maker uses a DirectShow filter graph, which is essentially a flow chart of exactly how the audio and video data will flow in the computer to achieve the desired result. Each filter in the graph has a specific task. One filter extracts the contents of .AVI or .WMV files. Another filter decodes the compressed audio or video data. Still other filters take uncompressed audio and video data and output them to sound cards and video cards. Specialized filters can be developed to create special effects, such as embossing video frames or adjusting the pitch of the audio. The ability to create filters and insert them into the data flow in the graph makes for a very powerful and flexible system of dealing with digital media. For more information, see Working with Video Filters in Windows Movie Maker 2.1.
Earlier versions of Movie Maker had problems when video and audio filters installed by other programs weren't compatible with Windows Movie Maker. Some other programs that install video and audio filters include digital media player software, DVD player software, DVD writing software, video and audio editing programs, and video and audio codec installation software packages. When trying to import, preview, and save movies, users had to track down all the incompatible filters in their system and rename them so they could not be found by Movie Maker. Or worse, they had to uninstall entire applications to make the problem go away.
Movie Maker 2.1 presents a more elegant solution. Although it's still not possible to tell which filters will have compatibility problems, Movie Maker 2.1 now has a Compatibility tab that lets you see all the filters that are not recognized as safe by Movie Maker, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. The new filter Compatibility tab
You can select specific filters to be ignored by Movie Maker and try your task again. As soon as it works, you know which filter to disable within Movie Maker.
To select filters for exclusion, follow these steps:
1. | On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Compatibility tab. |
2. | Select a filter check box to allow Movie Maker to use it or clear the filter check box to disable it in Movie Maker. Then click OK. |
You might want to just exclude the filters that appear to pertain to your problem first, such as audio decode or MPEG-2. Why not just exclude everything and be done with it' Because you need some filters to accomplish tasks you may want to do such as MPEG-2 decoding, for example. So it's best to leave the most compatible or functional filters available for Movie Maker to use.
The great part about this procedure is that you don't have to uninstall an entire application or rename its filters and break its functionality. Even though you've turned off the filters in Movie Maker, they still work in other audio and video programs.
Add Additional Language Support
Movie Maker 2.1 is now also available in 25 languages as part of the Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Packages for Windows Movie Maker 2.1. This is available for users of Multilingual User Interface (MUI) versions of Windows XP who have installed SP2. This is a powerful feature of Windows XP, allowing the user to switch instantly from among any of the languages installed for a particular application. Movie Maker 2.1 now joins the ranks of Microsoft Office in offering this capability. You can download a language pack at the Multilingual User Interface Packs for Windows Movie Maker 2.1 site.
Other Improvements in the Update
Movie Maker 2.1 also has improved support for IEEE 1394 converters and USB 2.0 devices. And if you really need additional reasons to consider upgrading to SP2, I leave you with this Top Ten List of reasons why you want to upgrade.
 | Galan Bridgman is a developer, architect, and enthusiast for digital media technologies. He co-developed QuickTime for Windows for Apple Computer. At Starlight Networks he developed innovative client and backend technologies using ActiveMovie® and NetShow® Server, the precursors to Windows Media Technology. He's currently developing a next-generation, fully-automated radio station using Microsoft Windows Media technologies. After hours he enjoys showing others how to make the most of Microsoft's latest Windows Media applications. Check Galan's Web site for more information about him.
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