Windows Movie Maker

DPO

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Hi,
I have been using Wiidows MM for a few years, just recently it simply refuses to regognise videos from my tablet and my phone, stock standard mp4 format. Anyone have any ideas?. If I can not getit to work Ii will need advice on a new siimple programme, and I stress Simple .
Thanks.
 
You could convert the mp4 to another format that WMM will recognize like .wmv. There are some online sites that will do this. You upload your file, it does the conversion and you download the converted file which will hopefully open in WMM. I've used Zamzar in the past : https://www.zamzar.com/convert/mp4-to-wmv/
 
Which OS, and did it used to work with videos from the same tablet and phone or has it never worked with them, and what do you do in the editor?

If it used to work on the same files then something probably got corrupted and you'll need to fix or reinstall (not sure if that's doable - looks like MM is no longer available). If it never worked with these files then they may be in a newer codec than you have installed for MM (there isn't a single "stock standard mp4 format" - it's really a collection of standards)

For stress on the simple alternatives:
Windows 10's Photos app has simple movie editing built in. It doesn't do much, but it's very simple if you're just trimming and adding titles or graphics.
If your tablet is an iPad then it should have iMovie. Again: very simple if you don't need to do anything fancy.

If you don't mind spending a bit of money then Adobe Premier Elements is good and fairly simple, and there are lots of tutorials around for it. This may be overkill for your needs.
OpenShot is free and has a pretty good reputation. Reviews are that it's easy to get started with, but I haven't used it.

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]https://alternativeto.net/software/windows-movie-maker/?license=free&platform=windows[/FONT]
 
I have had the same problem, as I wish to stick with Windows 7. I also do not like online converters. I looked for a free piece of software and it was "Shotcut".
https://shotcut.org/download/ There are tutorials on Youtube, and although it took some experimenting, I can now trim videos containing waffling, and get to the music.
It works well, but that is my opinion. You might want to consider it ?
 
I'd suggest that the tablet/'phone may have been "updated" and now use a newer codec that Windows is unaware of ... I've got the same problem with Pentax cameras, editing video from the older camera is fine, the current model produces "different" videos!
Try to ascertain which codec(s) are being used to generate your videos, then do a search on-line for a codec update for Windows.

Good luck :)
 
I have been making video movies on a computer since 1995 and each time Windows is updated there is always the risk of video not working correctly.

As it is WMM is not the best free editing app for making movies.

As long as your PC is up to the task with its specification then Black Magic Design’s DaVinci Resolve is by a country mile the aboslute best editing software for both PCs and Mac’s and best of all it is totally FREE.

Enjoy.
 
Thanks for all the help and advice. I downloaded Openshot but it does not recognise the video. I have recorded on my adroid phone and tablet just like I have many times, the videos play on the devices but are not recognised my the editor. They appear to be MP4 files just like they usually are but will not open in either Win MM or Open shot. I am at a loss to know what to do. Any ideas for an easy solution?
Thanks
 
It must be two years ago I gave Openshot and ShortCut.
Time flies.

Back then, WMM was way more stable, though it didnt offer nearly as many features as the other options.
Openshot didnt work at all on my PC, kept chrashing and couldnt render the smallest video.
ShortCut only chrashed rarely, but didn't render in as good quality as WMM.

I dont know what to do when I dont have that software anymore.
 
Did you try the conversion idea?
If you can post to Dropbox or similar, I could take a look and see what it can find out.

Hi Jim,
Just tried that but my file is bigger than the free limit of 50mb and am not inclined to pay for something which may not work. I don't have dropbox or anything like it.
It's very strange the files appear to be the same as they always are and I can play them on the device just not in any editor.
 
Download and install VLC

It is a media player that should play anything you have.

When Windows is updated then the CODECs used to play back a video file may have been overwritten and installing VLC should reinstall said CODECs, if it does not then a special CODEC pack like K-Lite may do so.
 
Download and install VLC

It is a media player that should play anything you have.

When Windows is updated then the CODECs used to play back a video file may have been overwritten and installing VLC should reinstall said CODECs, if it does not then a special CODEC pack like K-Lite may do so.

Is it an editor? or is it just to reinstall the CODEC's ?
 
Maybe Openshot, it's free software.

https://www.openshot.org/

I tried that one a few weeks ago, when I was recording a video for the Seasons of the Ukulele. Unfortunately, it introduced some horrible crackling into the audio track, which made the resultant video completely useless. :(

I ended up just using the video that I recorded from my webcam, without any editing at all.
 
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