Making Sure You Have the Right Hardware to Use Windows Movie Maker
Updated: August 25, 2004
A feature of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional, Windows Movie Maker 2.1 includes all of the tools and features you'll need to create entertaining movies that have a professional look and feel. To use Movie Maker 2.1, you must have Windows XP SP2 installed on your computer.
PC Requirements
Windows Movie Maker 2.1 requires the following minimum system configuration for your PC:
| • | SP2 for Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional |
| • | A 600 megahertz (MHz) processor, such as an Intel Pentium III, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon, or equivalent processor |
| • | 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM |
| • | 2 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space |
| • | An audio capture device (to capture audio from external sources) |
| • | A DV or analog video capture device (to capture video from external sources) |
| • | An Internet connection (to save and send a movie to the Web or to send a movie as an attachment in an e-mail message) |
Keep in mind that video editing is a processor-intensive activity. In order to optimize your experience and the performance of Windows Movie Maker, we recommend the following:
| • | A 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) processor, such as an Intel Pentium 4, an AMD Athlon XP 1500+, or equivalent processor |
| • | 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM |
Video Capture
You will need capture hardware to transfer videos into your PC. The hardware required will depend on the source of your video.
If you have a digital video (DV) camera, you'll need either a FireWire card (also known as IEEE 1394) or an analog video capture card. FireWire is recommended for the best quality results. Many new PCs come with a FireWire card already installed. If not, there are a number of manufacturers that make a card that will work with your PC.
If you have an analog camcorder, a Web camera, or a VCR, you will need an analog video capture card.
Playback
To play the movies you've created with Movie Maker, you will need the following software:
| • | Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.0 or later (Windows Media Player 9 Series is recommended to optimize movie playback) |
| • | Microsoft Windows 98 or later or Windows NTŪ 4.0 or later |
