Creating Custom Profiles for Windows Movie Maker 2
Published: March 7, 2003
Windows Movie Maker 2 features a wide variety of video capturing and movie saving settings. The settings you choose when capturing video and audio or when saving a movie determine the quality and size of the captured digital media file or final saved movie file. In addition to choosing one of the settings installed with Windows Movie Maker 2, you can also specify settings by creating a custom profile.
Although creating custom profiles is not officially supported in Windows Movie Maker 2, this article provides step-by-step instructions for creating your own custom profile by using Microsoft Windows Media® Profile Editor and instructions for using the new profile to capture video or save a movie. The profiles you create by using Windows Media Profile Editor are in the same format as the video capture and movie saving settings in Windows Movie Maker 2.
To create a custom profile, you must first install Windows Media Profile Editor. Windows Media Profile Editor is automatically installed when you install Windows Media Encoder 9 Series. You can download and install Windows Media Encoder 9 Series from the Windows Media Web site.
To start Windows Media Profile Editor
| • | On the Start menu, point to All Programs, point to Windows Media, point to Utilities, and then click Windows Media Profile Editor. |
To create a custom profile
| • | In Windows Media Profile Editor, type a name for your custom profile in the Name box. This name will appear in the Other settings drop-down box in Windows Movie Maker 2 when you choose a setting for capturing video or saving a movie. |
| • | Select the Audio check box, and then click either CBR or Quality VBR in the drop-down box. |
| • | In the Codec drop-down box for audio, click the Windows Media Audio 9 codec that best matches the type of content you plan to capture or save in Windows Movie Maker 2. |
| • | Select the Video check box, and then click either CBR or Quality VBR in the drop-down box. |
| • | In the Codec drop-down box for video, click Windows Media Video 9. Note
The drop-down box also lists previous versions of the Windows Media Video codec, such as Windows Media Video V7 or Windows Media Video V8. You might use one of these codecs if you think members of your audience will watch your movie on computers that are not running the Microsoft Windows operating system, or if members of your audience will watch your movie on computers running Windows NT® 4.0 or Windows 95. To capture and save the highest quality content in Windows Movie Maker 2, however, it is suggested that you choose the Windows Media Video 9 codec whenever possible. |
1. | In the Target bit rate area, click Add. In the Bit rate box, type a value for the bit rate followed by K for kilobits or M for megabits. This number is the total bit rate. If you are creating a quality-based VBR profile, you will not be prompted to type a bit rate. Note
When creating a profile and entering a bit rate value, it is important to keep in mind that higher bit rates require a fast computer with enough system resources to capture video, edit a project, and save and play back a movie. If your computer does not have enough system resources to capture video or save the movie with a higher profile setting, you will notice a decrease in the quality of your captured video and saved movies. If this occurs, reduce the bit rate in your custom profile or choose a setting in Windows Movie Maker 2 that has a lower bit rate than the one specified in the custom profile. |
2. | Ensure that the Allow interlace processing and Allow nonsquare pixel output check boxes are cleared. |
3. | Optionally, you can customize the profile further by entering information in the additional tabbed area that appears in Windows Media Profile Editor. |
4. | When you have finished configuring the profile, click Save and Close. Type a name for the profile in the File name box, browse to the following folder location, and then click Save: <Drive>:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\Profiles |
The following image shows an example of a custom profile for use in Windows Movie Maker 2 created by using Windows Media Profile Editor.
Windows Media Profile Editor
To capture video in Windows Movie Maker 2 by using a custom profile
1. | Start Windows Movie Maker 2. |
2. | In the Movie Tasks pane, click Capture from video device. |
3. | On the Video Capture Device page, click the video and audio capture devices you want to use to capture video and audio. |
4. | On the Captured Video File page, type a name and choose a saving location for the captured video file. |
5. | On the Video Setting page, click Other settings, and then click the custom profile you created. |
6. | Continue the Video Capture Wizard and capture video and audio as usual. Note
If the custom profile does not appear in the Other settings drop-down box, try creating the profile again by using different settings and by following the tips for creating valid custom profiles for use in Windows Movie Maker 2 at the bottom of this page. Although the profile you created may be valid, the specific settings in the profile might not be supported in Windows Movie Maker 2. |
To save a movie in Windows Movie Maker 2 by using a custom profile
1. | In the Movie Tasks pane, click Save to my computer. |
2. | On the Saved Movie File page, type a name and choose a saving location for the saved movie file. |
3. | On the Movie Setting page, click Other settings, and then click the custom profile you created. |
4. | Continue the Save Movie Wizard and save the movie as usual. Note
If the custom profile does not appear in the Other settings drop-down box, try creating the profile again by using different settings and by following the tips for creating valid custom profiles for use in Windows Movie Maker 2 at the bottom of this page. Although the profile you created may be valid, the specific settings in the profile might not be supported in Windows Movie Maker 2. |
Tips for Creating Custom Profiles for Use in Windows Movie Maker 2
The following list contains tips about creating valid custom profiles by using Windows Media Profile Editor. By following these tips, you can ensure that that the custom profile you create is valid and usable in Windows Movie Maker 2.
| • | Only choose CBR or Quality VBR encoding modes in Windows Media Profile Editor. Windows Movie Maker 2 supports constant bit rate (CBR) or quality-based variable bit rate (Quality VBR) encoding modes only. Therefore, when creating profiles for Windows Movie Maker 2, you must choose one of these two encoding modes. For detailed information about encoding modes, see Windows Media Profile Editor Help. |
| • | The custom profile must contain one audio stream or one audio stream and one video stream. In Windows Movie Maker 2, a custom profile must contain either one audio stream or one audio stream and one video stream. Profiles that contain only a video stream with no audio stream cannot be used in Windows Movie Maker 2. |
| • | Clear the Script check box in Windows Media Profile Editor. Windows Movie Maker 2 supports audio and video streams only. Other types of streams, such as scripts, are not supported in Windows Movie Maker 2. |
| • | Clear the Same as video input check box in Windows Media Profile Editor. To ensure that that you can use your custom profile in Windows Movie Maker 2, clear the Same as video input check box on the bit rate tab in Windows Media Profile Editor. |
| • | The audio stream cannot contain more than two audio channels. Custom profiles that contain audio streams with more than two channels cannot be used in Windows Movie Maker 2. |
