VirtualDub: Difference between revisions

VirtualDub

File:Vdub logo.PNG
Screenshot of VirtualDub version 1.5.10
Developer(s)	Avery Lee
Stable release	1.6.16 / Aug 12, 2006
Repository	sourceforge.net/projects/virtualdub/files/
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	Video editing software
License	GPL
Website	www.virtualdub.org

VirtualDub is an open source video capture and linear processing tool for Microsoft Windows. It is written by Avery Lee, and is licensed under the GPL. It is hosted on SourceForge.

About VirtualDub

VirtualDub features many advanced features as well as being able to use plugins to add different video processing techniques, and can process *.avi files, regardless of the codec as long as the video and audio codecs are installed.

Spin off projects

• VirtualDubMod was started to include extra features not in Avery Lee's version - such as support for MPEG-2 and Ogg Theora.
• VirtualDub-MPEG2 added MPEG-2 support

File:Virtualdubmain.png

VirtualDub 1.6.9 is shown with a simple custom-made video. A cubic rock is shown with a band of lights coming toward it surrounded by clouds on the top and bottom. This has been scaled down to half of the original size.

Filters

VirtualDub comes with a number of filters. Examples include reducing the video size by half, converting the video to grayscale, arbitrary rotation and about a dozen more. Plugin filters further extend VirtualDub's capabilities.

Modifying a video

In addition to filters, you can save the entire image sequence onto your hard disk as BMP or TGA files. From there, you can modify the images and later add your modifications. Also you can extract the sound track of a video, and make modifications. You can then apply filters and make modifications to sound track and reapply them to the video. You can even replace an existing sound track or video or add a sound track or more frames to your own creations. Frame sequences and sound tracks must be editted in external software programs.

Creating a video

VirtualDub can also be used to create a video file from a series of bitmaps or targas. Individual frames are created in an external graphics program like Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, or the GIMP, or a series from a digital stills camera. The images must be in sequential order without any missing numbers (e.g. 001.bmp, 002.bmp, 003.bmp...). From those, you can adjust the frame rate, add a sound track and make other modifications.

Capturing Video

VirtualDub has capture support using DirectShow & VFW.

VirtualDub on AMD64

VirtualDub is being released in a AMD64 version for Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

Legal Dispute

Early versions of VirtualDub supported importing of Microsoft's *.asf file format, but this was removed in version 1.3d due to a complaint from Microsoft alleging that it infringed a software patent on asf.

Microsoft never cited any specific patent numbers that it believed to have been infringed, however there was some speculation by others that US Patent 6,041,345 might be relevant.[1] For future versions, Avery has promised "legal" *.asf support through the use of DirectShow Filters.

Many other software packages can read asf files, and as of 2006, Microsoft does not appear to have taken action against any of them.

See also

• Avidemux - a cross platform program similar to VirtualDub, available for Linux, Windows and Mac.
• AviSynth
• VirtualDubMod
• Video editing

External links

• Official Homepage
• Why Avery wrote VirtualDub
• SourceForge Project Page
• Forums
• Microsoft's ASF patent notice (detailed discussion linked from there too)
• Microsoft patents ASF media file format, stops reverse engineering