Let's face it: the Windows Media Maker in Windows XP was pretty crappy, and only created videos in very small sizes. It had basic transitions, and a weird title maker. Well, the Windows Movie Maker HD shipped with Windows Vista is almost the same, apart from they've slapped some HD stuff on it.
This new version doesn't even support capture from a webcam, as I found out when I was shouted at by the below error.
I could even try to learn how to connect a camera to my computer! I could never do that on my own...
I guess some things have improved, like the effects and transitions palettes. They now included transitions that actually look smooth, but are still pretty simple. The effects are basically the same as the Windows XP version, but they felt more elegant, and didn't distort the movie I was applying them to.
The publish wizard has been kitted up with HD video formats, allowing you to export up to 1080p which is pretty cool for a free program on Windows. The only format is still AVI and WMV, but hey, that's movie maker. I've included a demo of the high definition-ness below.
Download The Windows Movie Maker HD (1080p) Demo Video (14.8 mb)
