VirtualDub

VirtualDub is designed for Microsoft Windows but may run on Linux and Mac OS X using Wine (for example, to use it with the popular Deshaker plugin).{{cite web |url=http://forums.opensuse.org/new-user-how-faq-read-only/unreviewed-how-faq/429428-howto-install-virtualdub-under-wine-deshaker-plugin.html|title=HowTo install VirtualDub under wine with deshaker plugin|author=oldcpu|access-date=2010-01-13}} However, native support for these systems is not available.

VirtualDub was made to operate exclusively on AVI files; however, a plugin API was added from version 1.7.2 which allows the import of other formats.{{Cite web|url=https://virtualdub.org/blog2/entry_152.html|title=VirtualDub 1.6.18 and 1.7.2 released - virtualdub.org|website=virtualdub.org}} Appropriate video and audio codecs need to be installed.

VirtualDub supports both DirectShow and Video for Windows for video capture. Capture features include capture to any AVI variant, audio VU meters, overlay and preview modes, histogram, selectable crop area, video noise reduction, auto stop settings (based on capture time, file size, free space, and/or dropped frames), and designate alternate drive(s) for capture overflow.

VirtualDub can help overcome problems with digital cameras that also record video. Many models,{{weasel inline|date=September 2014}} especially Canon,{{which|date=September 2014}} record in an M-JPEG format incompatible with Sony Vegas 6.0 and 7.0. Saving AVI files as "old-style AVI" files allows them to appear in Vegas.

VirtualDub supports DV capture from Type 2 (VfW) FireWire controllers only (It cannot work with Type 1). There is no DV batch capture, still image capture, or DV device control capability.

VirtualDub can create a video file from a series of image files in Truevision TGA or Windows Bitmap file formats. Individual frames must be given file names numbered in sequential order without any gaps (e.g. 001.bmp, 002.bmp, 003.bmp..). From those, the frame rate can be adjusted, and other modifications such as the addition of a soundtrack can be made.

VirtualDub can also disassemble a video by extracting its soundtracks saving its frames into Truevision TGA or Windows Bitmap files.

VirtualDub can delete segments of a video file, append new segments, or reorder existing segments. Appended segments must have similar audio and video formats, dimensions, number of audio channels, frame rates and sampling rates. Otherwise, VirtualDub is incapable of mixing dissimilar video files or adding transition effects between segments.

VirtualDub comes with a number of video editing components known as "filters". They can perform basic tasks as arbitrary resize, converting the video to grayscale, arbitrary rotation, crop, or changing simple values like brightness and contrast. Filters may be used during the video assembly as well. Filter plug-ins further extend VirtualDub's capabilities. A plug-in SDK is available for developers to create their own video and audio filters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.virtualdub.org/filtersdk.html|title=Plugin SDK - virtualdub.org|website=www.virtualdub.org}}

Besides those basic features, its many third-party plug-ins make VirtualDub a "powerful" open-source tool when it comes to linear video processing, and in fact most of the hundreds of third-party plug-ins available for VirtualDub are filters related to either aesthetic effects or cleaning, fixing, and restoring image quality, such as various denoising and sharpening methods targeted especially at analogue and digital video signal and film defects (be they related to VHS, faulty cables, a distorted analogue terrestrial or satellite TV reception, or digital compression), deinterlacing and fields manipulation, colorspace conversion and manipulation, reverse telecine aka IVTC, deflickering, deshaking, adding and removing logos and subtitles, analysis of video content, etc.

All of these processing features are fully batchable to apply the same effects on a large number of files.

VirtualDub is free software, released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later and hosted on SourceForge.net.

File:VirtualDub2-screen-filter1.jpg

VirtualDub was originally created by the author, then a college student, for the purpose of compressing anime videos of Sailor Moon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.virtualdub.org/virtualdub_history.html|title=VirtualDub history - virtualdub.org|website=www.virtualdub.org}} It was written to read and write AVI videos, but support for input plug-ins was added, enabling it to read additional formats including MPEG-2, Matroska, Flash Video, Windows Media, QuickTime, MP4 and others. Development stopped as of 2013 {{ cite web | title = VirtualDub Stable Versions at SourceForge.net | url = https://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualdub/files/virtualdub-win/ | access-date = October 27, 2013 }} and the site's forums closed down in 2015.{{cite web| url=http://forums.virtualdub.org| title=Not found - VirtualDub forums| date=2015-10-12| access-date=2015-12-12| quote=Sorry, the VirtualDub forums have been closed, and as of this date (22 Oct 2015), it's now down}}

VirtualDub has spawned several forks, including VirtualDubMod and Nandub.{{cite web |url=http://nickyguides.digital-digest.com/nandub.htm |title=Nandub / SBC Encoding |publisher=Nicky Pages' Digital Solutions |access-date=2009-11-18}}

The latest fork is called VirtualDub2 (formerly VirtualDub FilterMod).{{cite web |url=https://sourceforge.net/p/vdfiltermod/code/commit_browser |title=VirtualDub2 / Code / Browse Commits |author=Shekh |access-date=2019-05-25}} It has all the features of the original VirtualDub, plus support for high bit-depth (i.e., deep color). It is no longer limited to Video for Windows (Video Compression Manager) codecs, and AVI format limitations (such as limited VBR support, H.264/HEVC minor incompatibilities etc.).

VirtualDub2 has built-in encode/decode of any container and video and audio compression formats supported by FFmpeg (H.264, HEVC, VP9, AAC, Opus and other formats) and can open and save QuickTime File Format (MOV), MP4, Matroska, WebM, AVI based on FFmpeg or only the audio from a video in M4A, Opus in Matroska, Ogg Opus, Vorbis, AAC or MP3 formats.{{cite web |url=https://sourceforge.net/p/vdfiltermod/wiki/Home/ |title=VirtualDub2 / Wiki / Home |author=Shekh |access-date=2019-05-25}}{{Clarify|date=August 2023}}

It also has improved navigation, display and user interface (e.g. pan display when zoomed in, color format selection), improved performance, and support for high bit-depth color formats.{{Cite web|url=https://www.videohelp.com/software/VirtualDub2|title=VirtualDub2 20 Update 19 Free Download - VideoHelp}}

Early versions of VirtualDub supported importing of Microsoft's Advanced Systems Format, but this was removed in version 1.3d following an informal phone call from a Microsoft employee in 2000 claiming that it infringed one of Microsoft's patents. Microsoft never identified any specific patent numbers that it believed to have been infringed, but speculation by others is that {{Cite patent|country=US|number=6041345}} (expired in 2017) might be relevant.{{Cite web|title=Microsoft patents ASF media file format, stops reverse engineering|url=https://www.advogato.org/article/101.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704222646/http://www.advogato.org/article/101.html|archive-date=2008-07-04|access-date=2021-09-06|website=Advogato}}

In August 2006, VirtualDub's German users who hosted copies of VirtualDub, or even linked to them on their web pages, began receiving cease and desist letters from a private individual that claimed to have German word mark on "VirtualDub".{{Cite web|url=http://forum.doom9.org/archive/index.php/t-114905.html|title=Illicit word mark registered on "VirtualDub" in Germany [Archive] - Doom9's Forum|website=forum.doom9.org}} However this issue has been resolved: the word mark in Germany has been deleted{{Cite web|url=https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/uebersicht|title=DPMAregister | Registerauskunft des Deutschen Patent-und Markenamtes (DPMA)|website=register.dpma.de}} and an injunction has been granted against the former owner of said word mark.{{Cite web|url=http://www.virtualdub.org/blog/pivot/entry.php?id=129|title="Preliminary injunction granted in regard to German word mark VIRTUALDUB"}}

{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

• List of video editing software
• Comparison of screencasting software
• Comparison of video editing software
• Avidemux
• AviSynth
• MediaCoder
• VirtualDubMod

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{sourceforge}}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109235522/http://www.v3.co.uk/vnunet/downloads/2233555/virtualdub-portable/| title=V3.co.uk Review}}
• [https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdfiltermod/ VirtualDub2] on SourceForge

{{Video editors}}

Category:Free and open-source video-editing software

Category:Free software primarily written in assembly language

Category:Free software programmed in C++

Category:Windows-only free software

Category:Portable software

Category:Software that uses FFmpeg

Category:Free screencasting software