Windows Movie Maker

Windows Live Movie Maker
	Windows Live Movie Maker running on Windows 8
Type
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Operating system	Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, 8.1
Supported platforms
Initial release version
Initial release date
Latest release version	16.4.3528.0331
Latest release date	2014-04-17
Latest pre-release version
Latest pre-release date
Other name(s)
License	Proprietary, freeware
Website	Microsoft Support Article on Windows Essentials
Succeeds
Successor

Windows Movie Maker
	Component of Microsoft Windows
	Windows Movie Maker in Windows Vista
Introduced in	Windows Me
Last included in	Windows Vista
Replaced by
	Windows Live Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker is a discontinued video editing app developed by Microsoft.

History[edit | edit source]

Windows Movie Maker was first introduced in Windows Me build 2416 as Windows Media Pad, before it was renamed in build 2429. The first fully-developed version of Windows Movie Maker was released on 14 September 2000 as part of Windows Me.

Version 1.1 was released on 25 October 2001 as part of Windows XP, which brought support for DV AVI videos and WIA-based (Windows Image Acquisition) media importion. Version 2.0 was released in November 2002 as a free update over Movie Maker 1.1; installing Service Pack 2 upgrades Movie Maker to version 2.1, while Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 added support for DVD burning.

In Windows Longhorn build 4093, an Avalon-based version of Windows Movie Maker was included, however it was later removed due to the development reset. In Windows Vista, the WPF version of Windows Movie Maker was retained and the app gained support for HD video, Xbox 360 playback support, DVR-MS file format support and Direct3D-based transitions. The WIA-based media acquisition was also removed from the app. It's also the first and the last version of Windows Movie Maker that had the same version numbering as most of the other Windows components and apps. However, Microsoft also provided Windows Movie Maker 2.6 for Windows Vista for lower-powered PCs, which was essentially identical to Movie Maker 2.1, but with stripped-down video capture features.

Windows Movie Maker would be removed in Windows 7. However, it can be added back by copying the files from an earlier version of Windows.

Replacements[edit | edit source]

Windows Movie Maker would be reintroduced in Windows Live Essentials suite as Windows Live Movie Maker. The app underwent 3 major updates since then: 2009, 2011 and 2012. The user interface was also redesigned to use a ribbon toolbar like Office 2007 and Windows 7's Paint.

Windows Movie Maker 2012 is the last version of Windows Live Movie Maker. This version includes Vimeo uploading support and MP4 replaced WMV as the default video export format.

The app was discontinued in 2017 and Windows 10's Video Editor (formerly Story Remix, works under the Photos app) has taken its place. Some features of the app (such as AutoMovie) made their way into the new Video Editor app. Even though the app has been discontinued, it still runs on the latest versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

In September 2021, Microsoft acquired Clipchamp and was bundled into Windows 11 starting with the 2022 Update. It brings back the timeline editing layout which was removed in Windows Live Movie Maker along with additional features such as a text-to-speech generator powered by Microsoft Azure and integration with OneDrive.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

The tour included in the first version plays three sound tracks. There is, though, a fourth unused track, which can be found in C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Tour\Audio alongside with the other. Not only there are WAVE audio files, but also HTML pages, which however play the same track.