On Ubuntu, after you install Avidemux, you can find the program on the Sound & Video menu. It means that if the lawyers come knocking at YouTube's door, they can redirect those lawyers to visit you instead. Most video-sharing web sites, including YouTube, ask you to swear that you have copyright for the material you're uploading, which is their way of passing the buck. ■ Note As you read a couple of chapters ago about making podcasts, it's important to check copyright details before you upload any media to the Internet. This section's example uses a video that's already been shot, and converts it to a format suitable for YouTube or another video-sharing web site.

Sometimes you have a complete video project that happens to be in the wrong format. Ubuntu users can install the program with the Synaptic package manager from the multiverse repository. You can download it via the project home page at in versions for all supported platforms. This makes the program an excellent conversion tool, either working alone or alongside other video-editing applications. Avidemux also handles a number of popular video and audio codecs out of the box. Its strength lies in its support for a wide variety of video file formats, including AVI, the MPEG-2 files found on DVDs, and the newer MPEG-4 standard.

Avidemux (GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac) is a Free Software video-editing application designed for simple cutting, filtering, and encoding tasks.

Avidemux online