When importing footage into the program, a user can either choose to Capture Video (from camera, scanner or other device) or Import into Collections to import existing video files into the user's collections. The accepted formats for import are .WMV/.ASF, .MPG (MPEG-1), .AVI (DV-AVI), .WMA, .WAV, and .MP3. Additionally, the Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Movie Maker support importing MPEG-2 Program streams and DVR-MS formats. [6] Import of other container formats such as MP4/3GP, FLV and MOV ,MIDI, AIFF, AAC and SWF is not supported.
When importing from a DV tape, if the "Make Clips on Completion" option is selected, Windows Movie Maker automatically flags the commencement of each scene, so that the tape appears on the editing screen as a collection of short clips, rather than one long recording. That is, at each point where the "Record" button was pressed, a new "clip" is generated. However, the actual recording on the hard drive is still one continuous file. This feature is also offered after importing files already on the hard drive. In the Windows Vista version, the "Make clips on completion" option has been removed — the clips are now automatically created during the capture process.
The efficiency of the importing and editing process is heavily dependent on the amount of file fragmentation of the hard disk. The most reliable results can be obtained by adding an extra hard disk dedicated as the Movie Maker "Scratch Disk", (it need not be very large) , and regularly re-formatting it, rather than simply deleting the files at the end of the project. Fragmented AVI files result in jerky playback on the editing screen, and make the final rendering process much longer.
Although it is possible to import digital video from cameras through the USB interface, most older cameras only support USB version 1 and the results tend to be poor — "sub VHS" — quality. Newer cameras using USB 2.0 give much better results. A FireWire interface camera will allow recording and playback of images identical in quality to the original recordings if the video is imported and subsequently saved as DV AVI files, although this consumes disk space at about 1 gigabyte every five minutes (12GB/Hr). Alternatively, most DV cameras allow the final AVI file to be recorded back onto the camera tape for high quality playback. Some standalone DVD recorders will also directly accept DV inputs from video cameras and computers
After capture, any clip can be dragged and dropped anywhere on the timeline. Once on the timeline, clips can be duplicated or split, and any of the split sections deleted or copied using the standard Windows keyboard shortcuts or clicked and dragged to to another position. Right-clicking any clip brings up the range of editing options. An AutoMovie feature offers predefined editing styles (titles, effects and transitions) for quickly creating movies.
Like all non-linear editing systems, the original camera file on the hard drive is not modified in any way; the current project file is really just a list of instructions for re-recording a final output video file from the original file. Thus, several different versions of the same video can be simultaneously made from the original camera footage.
Windows Movie Maker can only export video in Windows Media formats or DV AVI. [7] It includes some predefined profiles, however, users can create custom profiles which utilize newer codecs using Windows Media Profile Editor (part of Windows Media Encoder 9 Series) and copy those profiles to the %ProgramFiles%\Movie Maker\Shared\Profiles folder for them to be used in Windows Movie Maker. [8]
Earlier versions of Windows Movie Maker did not support direct burning of DVDs. The project had to be first saved as an AVI file, and a separate authoring program used to produce and burn the DVD. The Windows XP Media Center Edition version, specified software licensed from Sonic Solutions (Sonic DVD Burning engine) to author and burned the DVD, however in many cases basic DVD authoring software often bundled with DVD burners (eg Power Producer) was adequate. The Windows Vista version of Windows Movie Maker passes the video project to Windows DVD Maker to burn DVD-Video discs.
Video can be exported back to the video camera if supported by the camera. Movie Maker also allows users to publish a finished video on video hosting websites.
The program is known for suffering from frequent crashes and freezes. Many of these problems come from sudden memory spikes that deplete the system's virtual memory. This sometimes occurs while saving, causing the user to lose their work despite saving consistently, as the existing saved file is deleted[10] (users must use a different filename at every save to avoid this).
Though it is possible to set the end of a clip exactly on a certain frame, it often appears that in the rendered and exported movie this clip is followed by a couple of additional frames. Similar to this sound is sometimes setting in at normal level for a split second after a fade-out.
There have been countless complaints with the preview function not working properly. It usually happens after a person creates about fifteen or so edits for a movie. Microsoft have yet to have a solution yet offers hotfixes for the problem. [[1]]
Additionally, it is not uninstallable through the Add/Remove control panel, confusing users who wish to remove it from their system.[11]
The problems appear to be largely machine dependent, as other users report years of trouble-free operation. One of the most common causes of problems is heavily fragmented hard disks, which is why it is recommended that a dedicated (and regularly re-formatted) hard disk be used.