Getting Started with Movie Maker

Windows Live Movie Maker is a free program that can be used on Microsoft Windows as part of the Windows Live Essentials package. It can allow you to edit video clips from digital cameras and camcorders, as well as videos downloaded from the internet. It can be used to combine clips from a variety of sources into a single video clip.

You can use Windows Movie Maker to capture audio and video to your computer from a video camera, Web camera, or other video source, and then use the captured content in your movies. You can also import existing audio, video, or still pictures into Windows Movie Maker to use in the movies you create. After editing the audio and video content in Windows Movie Maker, which can include adding titles, video transitions, or effects, you can then save your final movie and share it with friends and family.

You can save the movies you create to your computer or to a recordable (CD-R) or rewriteable (CD-RW) CD (depending on your CD recorder). You may also choose to share it with others by sending the movie as an attachment in an e-mail message or by sending it to the Web. If you have a digital video (DV) camera connected to your computer, you can also choose to record the movie to a tape in your DV camera and then play it back on the DV camera or on a TV.

Windows Movie Maker requires the following minimum system configuration:

1. Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional 
2. A 600 megahertz (MHz) processor, such as an Intel Pentium III, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon, or equivalent processor 
3. 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM 
4. 2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space 
5. An audio capture device (to capture audio from external sources) 
6. A DV or analog video capture device (to capture video from external sources) 
7. 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)

To optimize the performance of Windows Movie Maker, the following system requirements are recommended:

1. A 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) processor, such as an Intel Pentium 4, an AMD Athlon XP 1500+, or equivalent processor. 
2. 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM.

The following software is required to play back a movie:

1. Microsoft Windows 98 or later or Windows NT® 4.0 or later.
2. Software that can play Windows Media Video (WMV) files, such as Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.0 or later (Windows Media Player 9 Series is recommended to optimize movie playback).