Top 10 video-editing tools

From...

by Linda L. Grubbs

(IDG) -- From home video to high-tech telecasts, this diverse collection of video utilities will put the tools of the master into the hands of the apprentice. Indulge your paranoia with motion-sensitive video surveillance; capture baby's first steps and then display the video for Grandma on your Web site; or send video e-mail to your colleagues in another state.

The video tools on this week's list will help you create, edit, and distribute videos across a variety of media. Multimedia Xplorer, a $25 shareware utility, lets you easily view and manage images, sounds, videos, and icons. Gotcha, another shareware program, allows you to add digital video effects to captured images. There's also the latest release of QuickTime, the video player that started it all.

Top 10 video-editing tools

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1. ChillCam: Want to let people access your own live video feed over the Internet? This $25 utility captures images from any video device and, at a specified time interval, uploads them to any number of Web servers. You can also add digital video effects to the captured images. Note: If you are running Windows NT, you need to have Service Pack 3 installed.



2. Gotcha: Need a closed-circuit video camera? Create video of events that occur over extended periods with this $65 shareware program. You won't have to give up half your hard drive space to do it: The motion-activated program captures images only when it's triggered and provides a time-stamped video of events as they occur without recording inactivity.



3. Indeo Video Drivers: Ramp up your video playback with Intel's latest drivers. The drivers are free and support Indeo video codecs 4 and 5. They also support audio codec 2.5 (decode only) and plug-ins for Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.



4. Microsoft Windows Media Player: This audio and video player supports almost any type of local and streamed multimedia format, including RealAudio, RealVideo, QuickTime, MIDI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP3, AVI, .wav, .mov, .vod, and .au. The latest release of this free program has a Music button on the main toolbar that lets you find streaming media on the Web.



5. QuickTime: Play streaming audio and video on your Mac or PC. Supports MIDI, MP3, and many other types of streaming Web media, as well as most image file formats. This version features support for MiniDV, DVCPro, and DVCam camcorder formats, as well as AVI, AVR, MPEG-1, and OpenDML. Note: This link takes you to a site outside of FileWorld where you can download the player.



6. Remote Witness Video Surveillance: This remote video monitoring system can be used from anywhere in the world. It will capture images when motion is detected, without recording inactivity between events, and then notify you via pager or e-mail. The program can upload images via FTP so you can create your own video surveillance Web site, and it will notify you via e-mail or pager when video is captured. The software can be registered for $149.



7. Video Mail Professional: Record, edit, and send video messages via e-mail. VideoMail provides a built-in Internet mail program, or if you prefer, it will work with other e-mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook. Video messages are compressed using RealNetworks technology, so anyone with RealPlayer 5.0 or later can view them. A trial version is available for 15 days and includes animated borders and overlays. The registration fee is $15.



8. WebCam 2000: Serve up live images to the Web from any video-capture device connected to your computer with this free program. WebCam 2000 can serve pictures in either JPEG or .bmp format and can include complete HTTP headers. New features in this version include text captions, adjustable JPEG compression, and image overlays.



9. Multimedia Xplorer: This $25 program lets you easily view and manage images, sounds, videos, and icons. You can create thumbnails with batch conversion, see images and videos in the same window, and edit and save slide shows. There's also an ActiveMovie Repair Wizard that automatically solves problems with MCI drivers. A demonstration copy can be used for 30 days before you have to register the product.



10. Full Motion Video: Edit footage by extracting frames or by adding transitions. Capture video clips and then convert them for viewing on the Web. Change the audio, or use the zoom feature to change the size. You can also create screen savers from video clips and then play them on your desktop. The program supports Windows Media Player and Apple Quick Time 4.0, and has customizable skins.

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