Vista - Good News for video fans, Microsoft has something new....

I've been a critic of Movie Maker. Sometimes a harsh critic, but
Microsoft FINALLY did something right. For the last couple months
Microsoft has had something new in the works called Expression Media
Encoder. While no Vegas, it is a leap forward. Yep, a leap, not just a
step.

Before anybody gets too excited it still is a BETA and to get a copy
you need to jump through a couple hoops. You need to have or sign up
for Windows Live account. Details here:

http://www.microsoft.com/Expression/...px?key=encoder

Once you download and install you immediately see this at least is an
attempt to get beyond the "toy" aspect I see in Movie Maker, my
biggest complaint. Keep in mind this is an encoder, not a full blown
editor, since there also is a expensive Expression Suite, so at least
in the beta what the encoder package which free to test are limited.

The power is you have far more options in HOW you encode which greatly
effects the final product. While mainly aimed to create for the web it
does do other things and seems more stable. Unlike Movie Maker it
didn't keep crashing. Unlike Movie Maker it actually understands more
file types and gives you more options on how to "publish" them and
blow me over, can open and play VOB files. Not a replacement for Movie
Maker, just another tool some may find a use for. I just started to
play with and like I said, so far, was fairly impressed.

While scant, they have a 41 page User Guide which has some nice
surprises as to what else you can do. I'll let you discover that on
your own.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/t...displayLang=en