Windows Movie Maker 2012

In the run-up to the release of Windows 8, Microsoft worked diligently to 'update' existing packages. The Essentials suite, consisting of Messenger and Movie Maker, among others, has also been rejuvenated. Inside the package we find version 2012 of Movie Maker.

Nothing very drastic has changed in Movie Maker, the changes that have been there are partly visible on the surface, but also lurking under the hood. The program is optimized for Windows 8, but it also runs on Windows 7.

A new feature is image stabilization. With this, Microsoft is responding to the trend in which more and more videos are being shot with a mobile phone or other small camera.

The function is relatively simple. Select the clip and choose Video stabilization. Then you can choose from three modes, which correction looks most natural depends on the source material. We tested the feature with three different videos, and it was worth experimenting for the best results. Speaking of the end result: videos are now saved by default in the widely used H.264 format, which makes it easy to share them via various (social) channels.

Sounds

In terms of sound, we find a number of relatively small improvements. For example, you can specify which audio track should be emphasized, for example if you have a combination of audio from the movie and audio from background music and want to switch between them. Nice is the addition of a third audio channel, which you can use for the voiceover. You can add the voiceover from a video to the separate audio track.

You can optimize a movie for the iPhone.

The new version of Windows Movie Maker uses the new hardware acceleration of Windows 8. For example, several parts have been overhauled, including the Direct3D technology. In the 11.1 version used in Windows 8, it has become easier for developers to combine different types of content in one window. This is because the new code now manages all the video card resources responsible for that particular window. This results in speed gains when working with images.

Inconvenient when installing on our test system is the message that the .NET Framework 3 is not yet present and this component must be installed first. At that point, no more than a link to the download page will be provided. After installing this, Movie Maker setup should be restarted. It would have been easier to download and install the component automatically.