I was unable to enlarge some of the cells to see what they contained. The timeline track heads are still problematic, since, spreadsheet-style, some information cells are hidden.
But that is awkward to use, making even basic trimming a challenge. The separate Cutting and Splitting window also lets you preview a clip while cutting regions. Most apps use those in editing rather that the full-size video, to speed up working in the timeline. But playback isn't as smooth as in competing programs, because it doesn't use proxy files. As you preview, the insertion point on the timeline now keeps sync with what you're watching. You can even start playback with the spacebar.
You can move the panels around, undock them, and select which buttons you want to appear in the various toolbars.Ī big improvement since the last time I reviewed VSDC is that you can now actually preview your project without having to open Windows Media Player. The interface is very customizable, with a big preview panel at top center, Resources and Effects on the right, and Objects Explorer on the left. Another issue is the aforementioned fact that many capabilities live within the arcana of Properties menus. I finally figured out that the little green play button icon opens an import File Explorer window for video clips. One case of that is when choosing to start with a blank project, since there's no Import media button. One thing I could not find in any of these many toolbars was a Help button. Features include effects such as color correction and filters, 4K editing, blending, masking, chroma-keying, waveforms, 3D charts, and combining multimedia. Startup choices include Blank Project, Slideshow, Import Content, Video Capture, and Screen Capture. As in Office apps, you can customize the small Quick Access toolbar at the very top, with the standard New, Open, and Save options, but also a Preview button. You can minimize the ribbon to show just the smaller editing toolbars. The interface is now pleasingly dark, and the top menu switches the toolbar ribbon among Projects, Scenes, Edit, View, Editor, Export, Tools, and Activation modes. The center of the program's startup interface shows five square buttons under the Start Project Now group and eight round ones under Get to Know Top Features. You often find yourself searching for a feature that's buried behind a Properties panel accessed by a right-click. These are actually links to web help pages.Īs you might expect from such an inexpensive program, VSDC's interface lacks some of the polish of, say, CyberLink PowerDirector ($69.99 at CyberLink).
The choices include Open a New Project, Start Editing, and Export a Project. When you first run the program, a dialog box offers help with getting started. After installation, the program takes up 284MB on the hard drive. The installer weighs in at 70 MB-svelte, compared with most video editors, which often top the scales at over a gigabyte.
I'd imagine that there are freeware programs out there though that would get the job done.The program runs on Windows XP SP3 through Windows 10 (though no one should be running old, unsupported operating systems!). Here's where my instructions end, because I've not needed to make any animated GIF files recently.
Save as BMP files so you don't get quality loss at this stage. Now, load the AVI file into Virtualdub, set your cut points, then File -> Save as Image Sequence. :|Īnyhow, use that program to Add the D2V file created previously, and click Convert. I had to type the post 2x before I realized what the "forbidden word" was. It of course just tells you "you typed a forbidden word" and then it wipes out what you'd typed. Pissed me off once long ago, cause I was writing a tutorial to post here on converting DVDs to XviD and getting good results. It contains a forbidden word, the once infamous f-a-p word. Just set the points ahead and after the scene you want so you're sure to get it. This part doesn't have to be perfectly accurate.
Set the cut points close to the scene in the movie that you want. Now, my method for transcoding DVDs to XviD is partly used here: Rip the chapter of the DVD to the hard drive with DVD Decrypter, SmartRipper, or whatever program you have.