Video Tools & Software

Before spending money on a video editor, be aware that Windows XP comes with Windows Movie Maker, a rudimentary editor that may or may not fulfill your needs, and most DVD writers (as well as many video cards) include software for editing video. For more advanced functionality (like ripping a DVD into a DivX file), you'll need some extra sofware though.

Here are some popular tools you should consider:

• Dr. DivX
  Converts any format video (including DVDs) into the DivX compressed format. Very easy to use. ($, free trial)
  

• Pinnacle Studio Plus
  Pinnacle Studio Plus is an advanced consumer video editing application with plug-ins for hundreds of functions like Chroma Key and Picture-in-Picture effects, image stabilization, automated editing, color correction, noise removal and digital surround sound.
  

• TMPGEnc
  One of the most popular and well-known MPEG encoders, converts various formats to MPEG2. ($, free trial)
  

Anything we're missing? Let us know.

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