How to Import and Edit YouTube Video in Windows Movie Maker

Nowadays, there is a ton of video editing software flooding in the market like Adobe Premiere Elements, Vegas Movie Studio Platinum, Pinnacle Studio. Windows Movie Maker is one of them. It might not be the best, but it's the most easily accessible tool for us --- developed by Microsoft, comes preinstalled in your computer, so there is no need to search, download and install. I would say there is no other better choice but Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video for people that are not proficient in computer.

For some reason, you haven't got one, just go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=d6ba5972-328e-4df7-8f9d-068fc0f80cfc (for Windows Vista) to download for free.

In this tutorial, I would illustrate how you can edit YouTube video in Windows Movie Maker.

1. Download YouTube videos

Video downloader - a free Firefox plug-in, also a quick and convenient way to extract your favorite YouTube videos using this add-on. Besides YouTube, this plug-in supports other video streaming sites including Metacafe, Google Videos and Dailymotion, among others.

Step 1 Free download and install the Video downloader extension tool for Firefox here

Step 2 After installation, restart your Firefox browser, go to a YouTube video, you can see a small icon on the status bar at the bottom of the Firefox window; just click it to download the video you are currently watching. This will then open up video downloader. Simply click the "Download Link" tab to whichever videos you wish to download.

2. Convert YouTube video to Windows Movie Maker friendly format

Before import YouTube video to Windows Movie Maker, there is one more thing we need to do, that is convert YouTube video from flv to any format that Windows Movie Maker supports. Below are some videos formats for Windows Movie Maker.

Video format .asf, .avi, .m1v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv2, .wm, .wmv

1 Download a video converter, install and run it.

I am an early adopter of Video Converter Pro. Its friendly interface with brief instruction for user makes me operate it easily. Best of all, it can convert multiple video and audio formats with high quality.

2 Add YouTube files to the video tool

Click the button to import YouTube videos. The app supports batch conversion, so you can add more than one file at a time.

3 choose Windows Movie Maker compatible format as the output format

AVI and WMV are two major input formats for Windows Movie Maker. Both have their merits.

AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave. Being a container format, AVI can include both video and audio, allowing synchronous playback. AVI files can be found online as music videos, TV shows, streaming video and can even be downloaded as a full length motion picture.

WMV stands for Windows Media Video. This file type was developed by Microsoft specifically for streaming; however, it can also be saved to a hard drive or disc media for playback with Windows Media Player and other types of players such as Winamp, DivX and VLC player. The current version of WMV is WMV9 which includes the feature of a high compression rate in order to fit large videos into a small amount of storage space, making it a great format for transferring over the internet.

In the "Profile" column, choose AVI as the output format

4 Click "Start" to begin the conversion

3. Import YouTube video to Windows Movie Maker

Open Windows Movie Maker; go straight to the "Movie tasks", "Import video".

Now, just add different elements including video transitions, video effects, titles and credits to make an incredible video!

4. Conclusion

Overall, it's a simple process to edit a YouTube video in Windows Movie Maker. However, it's a great job to make a good video that needs time and patience. What's more, I like Video Converter Pro. It really helps me do a lot in my digital life.