VirtualDub is an unusual and interesting name for video software. Having used VirtualDub hundreds of times during the writing of this introductory chapter, I’ve come to appreciate how apt the name is. By selecting a video file and then applying a myriad of individual or grouped filters, I quickly see what would happen if I decided to go forward and capture the changes in a new file. Since I preview them and don’t create a new one, I’m looking at a ‘virtual’ file—one being ‘dubbed’ from the source file but with the changes I want. It’s so easy, quick, and wonderful that you can easily forget the long time spent in seeing such previews when you were working with video editing software. Such is the world of VirtualDub.
You may have heard good things about VirtualDub. You probably bought or picked up this book because you’re eager to explore the topic. Or maybe you just bumped into it while browsing books about digital video editing. In either case, this is the right book.
If you’re already dabbling in digital video editing, you may have VirtualDub for no other reason than it was a free download and you had heard about it, but you don’t know how to use it. Hopefully you have a camcorder or a library of old videos and a yearning to try your hand at digital video editing. But you’re not sure where to begin and can use some more knowledge and skills, especially with VirtualDub.
Millions of photographers, videographers, amateurs, and computer users are in the same situation. Many use their computers to retouch images, make slide shows, and even try their hand at non-linear video editing. Others are eager to learn and try.
The constant rollout of new digital hardware and software products is dazzling and exciting, but it can also be intimidating to those who don’t understand the basics or need to develop their skills further. Continued education and skill development are critical to enjoying the editing process and achieving results.
Thousands of software applications and utilities are being developed and rolled out as commercial products, shareware, or freeware. Most are short-lived or used by very few. Rarely does new software gain global acceptance (from casual to power users) and go on to enjoy a full life of its own. VirtualDub is one of those rarities. That in itself is a good reason to explore what it’s all about.
Started only a few years ago, it has emerged since then to global awareness, acceptance, use, and accolades. It has a significant community of users and has inspired or spawned the development of other related software products such as VDubMod and AviSynth. According to the statistics at SourceForge.net there have been over 17 million downloads of VirtualDub or its associated packages for the four and a half year period from mid-2000 through the end of 2004.
VirtualDub and related software products make up the world of VirtualDub and this book will either introduce you to it or help you develop your skills with it.
Don’t expect to stop when you finish reading this book. With ongoing development and expanding usage, there may never be a final product. It’s the kind of software that continues growing and evolving. Use the book to get the background knowledge of the VirtualDub world, develop your skills to become totally comfortable with the software, and from there follow and adopt future developments with ease and excitement. Keep this book in your library for continued reference.
Whatever your main video editing software is and your personal video goals are, VirtualDub will enhance your videos.
The main web page http://www.virtualdub.org/ defines VirtualDub as follows:
"VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP), licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It lacks the editing power of a general-purpose editor such as Adobe Premiere, but is streamlined for fast linear operations over video. It has batch-processing capabilities for processing large numbers of files and can be extended with third-party video filters. VirtualDub is mainly geared toward processing AVI files, although it can read (not write) MPEG-1 and also handle sets of BMP images."
VirtualDub is an Open Source tool and freely available to all. Various software tools have their place in the VirtualDub world, and we will cover them to some degree in this book. Use those that best fit your needs.
My personal video efforts revolve around the world of Windows XP and its Movie Maker software: a digital video editor that, like VirtualDub, has a significant user base. Movie Maker is similar to VirtualDub in that it focuses on handling AVI files. I can do lots without leaving Movie Maker, but video editors are always looking for that something special in their next project. When I have that yearning, I often turn to the world of VirtualDub to achieve it. It’s been in my toolbox for years and I’m always encouraging others to use it too. I’ve written books and magazine articles on Movie Maker and publish a weekly newsletter. I try to keep my writings focused on Movie Maker but felt honored when asked to write this introductory chapter. VirtualDub is just too good a software package; writing about it is easy.
Besides providing great editing touches, the world of VirtualDub builds bridges and links for those needing to work with files from different environments. In fact, as I’m writing this chapter in one window on my computer, VDubMod is actively working in another, converting a file from a DVD to an AVI file that I can use in Movie Maker.
VirtualDub started with a Windows AVI base for computer-based work, but has been branching out to other file types. CD/DVD/TV systems use a different video format, standardized by MPEG files. MPEG-1 files are the standard for VCDs. MPEG-2 is the standard for SVCDs and DVDs. VirtualDub, with its roots in AVI files, can’t open the MPEG-2 files of a DVD. VdubMod, however, can handle the file type.
You don’t have to wait any longer to see what you can do with VirtualDub. Pictures are worth a thousand words and videos are even more so. Here’s a figure showing a video of a bride and her attendants arriving for the wedding ceremony, with the overlying text being added by the subtitler filter—one of the add-on filters for VirtualDub:
It’s playing in the filter preview window, which lets you quickly scrub through the video (‘scrub through’ means to quickly change the frame location by grabbing and moving that slider under the preview window) to see what the applied effect looks like at any frame of the video.
When you want to add some effect to a clip, and your primary editing software can’t do so, check VirtualDub and its related software. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.