Create hyperlapse videos with Microsoft Hyperlapse Pro
Microsoft Hyperlapse Pro is a free application for Windows that enables users to create hyperlapse videos from source videos they have captured previously.
Hyperlapse videos are similar to timelapse videos but with an added spatial component to them. Instead of showing one scene in an accelerated view of time, hyperlapse videos feature a changing camera.
The camera is usually fixed in these videos while it is being moved by foot, bike, car or other means of transportation.
Microsoft Hyperlapse Pro can be downloaded from Microsoft's Research website. It is compatible with all recent versions of Windows and only available as a 64-bit version.
The installation is straightforward and the installer itself is clean and does not include any surprises.
The hyperlapse video creation process itself is divided into four parts. First thing you do is create a new project and import a supported video format. Hyperlapse Pro supports mp4, mov and wmv video files only.
If your source video is in a different format you need to convert it first before you can load it in the program. You may use programs like THandbrake or Freemake Video Converter for that.
The video is loaded afterwards and you may play it in the interface. What you need to do then is set a start and end time for the video provided that you don't want to customize that.
A click on next opens the settings dialog. There you find listed the estimated output length of the video and options to change various factors.
You may change the speed up factor of the video for instance which has a direct impact on the length of the output video. Other options include selecting a resolution and desired framerate, and specifying a file name for the hyperlapse video file.
If the video has been captured using a supported camera model, e.g. a GoPro Hero 4, you may switch the smoothing algorithm from standard to advanced.
Another click on next processes the video file according to your specification. You may play it then right in the program interface but since it is saved on the system as well, you may play it directly in any other media player instead.
Note: The program adds a watermark to the application and displays credits in the end as well stating that the video was created with Microsoft Hyperlapse Pro. The program offers no options currently to disable that.
Microsoft released a beta app for Android as well. It is only supporting a handful of devices at the moment and you need to join the community first on Google Plus before you can download it. Additional information about the process are available on the Google Plus community page.
Verdict
Microsoft Hyperlapse Pro is an easy to use program that is held back by the watermarking system that it uses. It is a promising tech demo that highlights how easy it can be to create hyperlapse videos on Windows systems.
@Jeff, you may.
I’m a Frenchman living in France. I love my country but having traveled quite a lot I tend to develop a critical analysis of my country included, and I dislike behaving as what I condemn : always moaning! On another hand you cannot just wipe what you perceive (be it justified, well-founded or not) for the sole purpose of remaining positive. It’s sometimes a dilemma requiring extra thinking to find the right words to conciliate lucidity, objectivity and nevertheless refusal of defeatism. Extra thinking also called diplomacy.
The watermarking is absurd and a rather cheap attitude. Imagine an image editor watermarking images it processed. The application edits a video, an image, it is not the author of either. This attitude is a pain because it does not appear as legitimate. Sometimes I wonder (I often do in fact) if bigger a company tighter is its policy to stick on legal perspectives rather than concentrate on what is perceived as so obviously illegitimate that it appears as highly irritating to the user and basically counter-productive for the company, at least for its PR image. I won’t even try an application running on this scheme, be it free : recycle bin, immediately.
It is probably only a tech demo for them and not a program that they want anyone to use actively right now. Cannot think of another reason why they would add watermarks.
@Tom, off topic, but may I ask what country you are from?
Perhaps you’re right, Martin, when I maybe sometimes overreact about what is, basically, of a much simpler approach. I have to take care :) There are days, weeks where you can quickly slide to an offended child of the universe attitude as one subject of revolt ads to another, even when, as myself, one is not naturally inclined to this sort of zeal! Staying positive is not always obvious.