How to create an avi video using VirtualDub

Sandino Morales
May 24, 2011
This manual describes how to create an avi video from a set of pgm images
using VirtualDub. This package is installed on all the lab PCs at the Tamaki
Innovation Campus. In the unexpected case that VirtualDub is not installed on
a UoA PC, you can download VirtualDub from http://www.virtualdub.org.
It does not require to be installed; just unzip it and place it in a convenient
folder. Thus you will be able to use VirtualDub on any UoA PC.
1. Open VirtualDub by double click on VirtualDub.exe.
2. Load an image sequence. On the menu bar, go to File > Open video
file... or just press ctrl + O.

3. Select the folder where the sequence is located. Double click on the first
image. VirtualDub will load the entire sequence. Use the navigation bar
(bottom of the window) to navigate through the sequence.
N.B.:
Valid input file formats for images in VirtualDub are png, bmp,
tga, jpg, jpeg, or iff. Transform your pgm images to any of those
formats (e.g. use the Batch Conversion/Rename tool from IrfanView;
see Appendix I).
1

 VirtualDub will not load the whole sequence if files end with c0, c1,
or c2; you will have to remove or rename this suffix (you can do this
using IrfanView).
4. Modify the frame rate. The default frame rate is 10 fps and we usually
record our sequences in HAKA1 at 25-30 fps.
(a) On the menu bar, go to Video > Frame Rate...

or press ctrl+R.

(b) On the Source rate adjustment tab select Change frame rate to
(fps):. Modify accordingly to the original frame rate of your input
sequence.
5. Modify the video compression. If you save your video as is, the size of
the file will be around 100 Mb.
(a) On the menu bar, go to Video > Compression... or press ctrl+P.

(b) Cinepak Codec by Radius and Xvid MPEG-4 Codec are both
good options. If you choose Xvid, you can control the the compression rate by clicking on Configure and adjusting the sliding bar.
6. Save the file. On the menu bar go to File > Save as avi...
a proper folder and name and click on Save.

. Select

Have a look on Video > Filters > Add... (or press Ctrl+p) to check for
a wide range of image processing tools that might be useful for your videos.
You can also use Windows Live Movie Maker to create wmv files; however, this
is usually not available on UoA lab machines.

Appendix I
This explains how to use the Batch transform/Rename tool from IrfanView to batch convert files.
1. Open IrfanView. (If it is not installed on your machine then download
from the IrfanView web site.)
2. On the menu bar, go to File > Batch Conversion/Rename...
press B. The Batch Conversion window will pop up.

or

3. Under the Work as tab, select Batch conversion.

4. Under the Batch conversion settings tab, select the desired output format. Make sure that it is a VirtualDub supported image format (png,
bmp, tga, jpg, or iff). Check the Use advanced options box to enable the use of the advance settings (crop, resize, rotate, change colour
depth, etc). Click on the Advance button to see which features can be
modified.
5. Select the output directory on the Output directory for result files by
clicking on the Browse button.
6. Select the files to convert on the Look in box by selecting them and
clicking on Add; or drag and drop them into the Input files box.
7. Click on Start Batch.