Microsoft Windows XP Power Toolkit

When multimedia computers became common more than a decade ago, one of the dreams for these systems was that video would be a major part of the multimedia content that they delivered. However, it wasn’t until recently that hardware that allowed full-screen, full-motion video to be displayed on computer screens became affordable. This has created a revolution in desktop video, as more and more people use their computers to watch movies or even make movies of their own.

This chapter introduces you to some great third-party tools for working with digital video. Authoring tools for creating your own movies are covered first, followed by tools for watching DVDs in Microsoft Windows XP or recording your own DVDs. Digital video tools covered in this chapter include the following:

• Sonic Foundry’s VideoFactory

• Ulead’s VideoStudio

• Adobe Premiere

• CyberLink’s PowerDVD SE and Power DVD XP

• InterVideo’s DVD XPack

• Sonic Solutions’ CineMaster DVD Decoder

• Ahead Software’s Nero

• Ulead’s MovieFactory