How to Add Audio to Video

Digital media is everywhere you look. Music and video production have made it to the grass roots level thanks to the affordability and widespread use of powerful computers.

Inexpensive digital video cameras are widely available, and older analog video cameras can be connected to a computer through a video card to download movies to the computer for editing, storage, and distribution to friends and relatives over the internet.

It has become fairly easy to edit your own videos, and there are many software packages available aimed at the amateur. The Windows operating system has its own video editing package called Windows Movie Maker that allows you to produce professional-looking videos.

As you explore this exciting new world, you will inevitably come up with the need to edit the audio portion of your video file. The sound quality of most video cameras is not great, so you may want to process the sound or replace it all together with music or voice-overs.

It is very easy to separate the audio from the video. Free software packages that do this task include Windows Media Encoder from Microsoft (if you are working with WMV video files) and VirtualDub (if you are working with AVI files). Either of these programs (and many others) allow you to save the audio portion of video file quickly and easily. Once you have your audio file, you can process it for noise reduction, bring up the volume, add music or do any digital magic to it that you desire.

With many video editing packages, however, it isn't necessary to split the audio to a separate file. Even simple packages like Windows Movie Maker have basic audio editing functions, and you can add separate music or voice tracks and mix all of them together.

If you have a particular audio file that you would like to use in your video (maybe a special effect or a voice over that you have recorded separately) simply add that file to the list of media to be included in the video. Other media formats can be separate video files, picture files or graphics.

The audio file can be placed anywhere on the time-line, and you can use the same file many times without requiring any extra storage space on your computer. For precise placement, zoom all the way into your timeline and place the audio exactly in sync with the video. That's it! You are well on your way to making professional-looking videos!

Hans is editor of the Audio Howto Section of the Selected Audio Review Guide

In The News:

VisualOn Integrates New Streaming Standard at the Cable Show 2012
MarketWatch (press release)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and BOSTON, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- VisualOn, Inc., a multimedia software company that provides solutions enabling high quality video and audio on any mobile platform, announced today that it has incorporated ...

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TVbytheNumbers
Check Out A Full List of This Years 2012 Billboard Music Awards Winners HERE!
PerezHilton.com
Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer Give Me Everything Top Streaming Song (Audio) — Adele Rolling in the Deep Top Streaming Song (Video) — Nicki Minaj Super Bass Top Pop Song — LMFAO Feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock Party Rock Anthem Top R&B Song — Kelly ...
Adele wins 12 Billboard awardsTelegraph.co.uk
BILLBOARD ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF “THE 2012 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS”TVbytheNumbers
Adele, LMFAO big winners at BillboardSydney Morning Herald
The Independent -AceShowbiz
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Endangered possums get helping hand
Brisbane Times
Websites in the Fairfax Digital Network offer streaming video and audio in the Flash format. Streaming media allows you to watch video on a website as a continuous feed, as opposed to waiting for an entire audio or video file to download to your ...

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Elemental Stream Pushes Multiscreen Video Processing into the Network
MarketWatch (press release)
Elemental Stream supports closed captioning and subtitle conversion and allows international broadcasters and operators to associate a single video with multiple audio tracks. SCTE-35 advertising triggers can address the regional advertising needs to ...
Elemental Launches Elemental Stream at The Cable ShowStreamingMedia.com
Cable Show 2012: Elemental Pushes Multiscreen Video To The EdgeMultichannel News

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RedOrbit
RIM unveils audio streaming service BlackBerry Music Gateway
Network World
By Chris Martin, TechWorld The small near-field communication (NFC) enabled gadget allows users to wirelessly stream music to a hi-fi, car stereo or other audio sources. The BlackBerry Music Gateway will be available in June with a US price of $49.
BlackBerry Music Gateway Uses NFC to Stream AudioPCWorld
BlackBerry Music Gateway: Streaming So Simple Your Grandma Could Do ItMashable
BlackBerry Enters Music Streaming Market: Too Little, Too Late?RedOrbit
CNET -ITBusiness.ca
all 2,245 news articles »

HTC Car StereoClip Bluetooth music adapter now available through Sprint
The Verge
By Chris Welch on May 21, 2012 12:40 pm 21Comments As expected, Sprint is now selling HTC's Car StereoClip, the miniature wireless adapter that plugs into any 3.5mm jack and lets users stream music from Bluetooth-enabled handsets.

and more »

MOH Technology Simplifies Direct Audio Streaming for Cisco Unified CallManager ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The MOH Technology innovation is to IP-stream the on-hold content directly to VoIP phone systems such as Asterisk and CallManager, using a low-cost IP audio device that is separate from the VoIP server -- thus avoiding the need to update files on the ...

and more »

Rovi Showcases Solutions for Highly Personalized Entertainment Experiences ...
MarketWatch (press release)
As part of the event, Rovi will be demonstrating its latest lineup of solutions -- including TotalGuide(TM), DivX(R) Plus Streaming and the Rovi Advertising Network -- that are enriching the discovery, delivery and enjoyment of cable services on ...

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She's Streaming:Social Media, Mobile Lifestyles
Jamaica Gleaner
Her first, Music, Media & Adolescent Sexuality in Jamaica, deals with what some may describe as 'old media' - television, in particular the music video - and its influence on youths. Her recently released book, STREAMING: Volume 1; #Social Media, ...


MOH Technology Simplifies Direct Audio Streaming for Cisco Unified CallManager ...
PR Newswire (press release)
The MOH Technology innovation is to IP-stream the on-hold content directly to VoIP phone systems such as Asterisk and CallManager, using a low-cost IP audio device that is separate from the VoIP server — thus avoiding the need to update files on the ...

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