Freeware Video Apps
CamStudio
CamStudio is a tool used for recording screen activity into standard AVI video files. Anything that you see on the screen and any sound from the speakers or microphone can be recorded with CamStudio. This program can record the whole screen or only a section of the screen and you can adjust the video quality settings to reduce file size. CamStudio also lets the user add annotations which can including a webcam movie of yourself into the AVI. It can also save the recording as a .swf file format, which can be played on a web site. This program is very useful for making video tutorials.
HandBrake
If you want an all-in-one DVD to iPod video converter, this is it. But wait, there's more! It can convert MPEG video (including DVD video) into .mp4, .avi (Xvid), .ogm, or .mkv.
MeGUI
This seems to be the number 1 tool for video encoding at the moment. It's a graphical user interface to different programs, and is worth checking out if you're serious about video encoding.
SUPER
SUPER is an excellent video converting application. It can convert to and from many different types of files, and is very useful for converting videos to formats compatible with the PSP, iPod, phone, etc. You can also adjust many different types of video and audio parameters for optimal size, compression and quality. DVDs can also be converted with the help of DVD Decrypter.
VirtualDub
VirtualDub is a video capturing and linear processing program. Editing features include filters such as blur, sharpen, emboss, smooth, brightness/contrast and many others. Audio tracks can be removed or replaced without altering the video. VirtualDub can also be used to create a video file from a series of bitmaps or targas. You may prefer VirtualDubMod or the latest beta version, however these might be less stable. VirtualDub will have you rollin' on dubs.
Wink
Wink is a program which records desktop actions and application windows to make Flash animations, which can be saved as SWF or a standalone EXE. To capture a frame, a certain keyboard key is pressed, and Wink can then render a smooth Flash animation. It features text annotation with various comment shapes. Navigation buttons can also be included. Wink is great for creating tutorials on web pages, as the files Wink creates can be high quality and also have a small file size.
