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Introduction
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There are many different audio and video formats out there, and most devices (such as the iPod) and programs (such as Windows Media Player) will only take a few specific formats. A DVD or WMV movie will not play on an iPod, for example, without being converted into an MP4 file. Many commercial programs will do this conversion for you, but there are a few good ones that will do it for free. None of these programs are quite perfect. Some support more formats and devices, some are easier to use, and some are more stable. While some are better than others overall, which one is best for you will depend on your specific needs. Note: I don't own DVDs, so I'm not qualified to review DVD rippers. If you want to review them, or have software suggestions, leave them here. |
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Discussion
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Two programs share Pazera's no-nonsense interface, but are extremely easy to use. They both achieve this mainly by ditching the confusing settings section you can see in the screenshot to the right (which removes any options for custom profiles). The better of the two is DVDVideoSoft Free, which is otherwise identical. It also supports Youtube video downloading. If it does not support your device, you can try XMedia Recode, which supports dozens of devices and is one program (not a collection with a launcher). However, there's no way to view or edit the encoder settings, a real problem when there is only one output setting for each device (no high/lo quality).
Tested and not recommended Auto Gordian Knot: Limited valid inputs and advanced options, DivX/AVI output only |
My favorite iPod/device converter is 
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2.15 
Unrestricted Freeware 
NT/2000/XP/Vista/7
This category is maintained by volunteer editor Arithmomaniac. Registered site visitors can contact Arithmomaniac by clicking here.
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Came across more media converters :
Aura Video Converter
Actusoft Video Converter
X2X Free Audio Converter
Anupam
I couldn't find Actusoft's home page.
Aura is another Any knockoff.
I'll have X2X tested by next week.
The home page is www.actusoft.com
Anyways, I had tried to rip a DVD with Actusoft, and it failed terribly. Even on selecting multiple titles, it will just rip one, and that too on individual selection. After conversion, the output file was just 4kb. Needless to say, I uninstalled the software without looking at other features.
I tried 2 products by X2X ... one was VideoAudio Merger... I tried merging audio files, and it worked well.
The other one was Video Flip and Rotate. That worked well too.
So, I think the video converter could be worth looking at.
Anupam
Yikes...looks like I have my work cut out.
Arithmomaniac
LOL... like I said, take your time buddy :D.
Anupam
I have seen some new media converters on some sites. If possible, could you review them please? Take your time of course :).
Here they are :
Oxelon Media Converter
Koyote Video Converter
Kigo Video Converter
WinX Video Converter
Clone2Go Video Converter
Sofonica Audio Video Converter
Thanks :)
Anupam
I looked at some of the above converters.
Sofonica Audio Video Converter is too basic. You can just select the output format, but cannot change any attributes. Not much useful.
Clone2Go Video Converter, and Kigo Video Converter look like clones of Any Video Converter... same interface, same functions, even the same settings. Wonder who is copying whom.
Anupam
The only ones here that support iPod and are not knockoffs are Oxelon and Koyote. I'll look at them by next week.
Thanks for the update :).
Yea, Oxelon and Koyote looked little different from others. WinX looked good, but I had converted a video with it, and the video did not have any sound. Maybe, I will give it another try later on.
Anupam
Hi, everyone! I'm sorry that this page hasn't been updated recently, but I've been very busy. DVDVideosoft will replace XMedia in my next review.
Arithmomaniac
MEDIACODER is as fast if not faster than Format Factory because it is more customizable. If you don't know what you are doing you get the beginner preset Format Factory. As soon as you learn what variable bit rate, keyframes, and rate distortion optimization are, thats when you make some fireworks with MEDIACODER
I would just like to put in a comment for MEDIACODER, mainly because of all the complaining and whining I see for it being buggy. Yes you do need to know what you are doing when you use MEDIACODER. Yes it is buggy and is picky on settings. BUT, there is NO free software that can encode all types of media with as high quality as MEDIACODER. Can you say H264 video with almost all the command line options, provided in the GUI! Prove me wrong. Somebody will try.
WMP can covert files to MP3 format for you. The concern is for videos and the ipod vedio converter works very well for conversions of many different formats to MP4 and the best thing is that it is free.
AutoGordianKnot would this program not nave a place in here?
the download page for format factory has this warning "Attention: NOD32 was wrong to report virus, Please don't worry.
We promise there are no harmful code in FormatFactory." on it today (29th sept 09). now i'm worried! is it safe?
OH! It is infected alright! Instantly, ground my system to a virtual halt! STAY AWAY!!!!
I used it just a couple of days ago.. and FormatFactory works really well, without any issue. It did a great job of converting video files.
Anupam
If it's safe. What caused the NOD32
Birdog from the flatlands of Kansas
It may be a false positive or it may not. The only way is to check this out for yourself by uploading the file detected to VirusTotal and then making a decision from the results displayed there.
http://www.virustotal.com/
I'm still using it.
Arithmomaniac
I have to say I think this is the best-managed category on the site. Consistently and conscientiously updated, the info is accurate and useful...just a great job. Arithmomaniac: thanks!
P.S. have recently bought a Mac machine which I am typing from now. Apparently Mac folks swear by Handbrake so, although my experience with it on Windows was that it was unreliable and disappointing, I will try it again at some point on this Mac and relay my impressions here.
Ok, as follow up...I decided to try right away. And I am sorry (and absolutely amazed) to say that my negative experience with Handbrake on the Mac dwarfs even that on Windows. It was not with the encoding (did not get that far, nor will I), but rather with the program itself. I installed v0.9.3 and decided to try a sample conversion of part of a DVD. But, it can't...I got a message that it "can't find VLC Media Player". Apparently it needs VLC to do this. Very negative start...I don't download a tool only to go chasing other tools that it needs to do its basic functions.
But ok, I'm familiar enough with VLC on Windows, so I download it, install, and try again. And AGAIN another problem...now I need "Fairmount" software in order for this to work. So, right out of the gate, what is supposed to be a simple single tool for basic DVD conversion requires TWO other pieces of software to even do this function. Actually I should say that I don't know if it actually needs any further software in this pleasant little download merry-go-round...I deleted both Handbrake and VLC at that point and won't bother with it again.
There is something quite dirty behind Handbrake, though you can't put your finger on it. Not a single of the real-life Mac users I know uses it, and yet on the internet it comes across as the video holy grail. Both of my experiences with it now - on both Windows and Mac - have been abject disappointments, and there is something more than a bit vile about its way of stringing a user along step by step and requiring other software that is not stated at the beginning. I will not be trying Handbrake again, ever. And this article is well accurate and correct not to have included it as a recommendation, regardless of the seeming hype and suggestions.
It's so odd how experiences from one user to another can vary. I use Handbrake on both Windows and OS X without any, or only minimal problems. It never asked me to install additional software - although I might have had VLC already, but I don't know anything about Fairmount... Bizarre...
I tried format factory for converting wma to mp3 and was sadly disappointed - just about everything I tried came back as a fail. I also tried pazerra, which worked but I couldn't get to take the information on artist etc. over to the new format - and as I was trying to convert large batches of files this was slightly inconvenient. Is Super worth a try?
I don't know if SUPER supports tag porting. MediaCoder does, I think.
Tried most of them and couldn't get the results I was looking for. In the end a friend pointed me in the direction of mediamonkey and the free version does the trick (even if limited to less than 100 files per conversion).
This comment is copied over from Site Suggestions and Feedback:
For future readers, the only 64-bit recommendation on this list is Mediacoder.
I always start (and usually end) my search for quality freeware here. This time I went with Format Factory and love. Quick, easy, and perfect for converting my weekly videos for my website. Keep up the good work here.
Regards,
Hey i put a comment with **soft anothers and you delete me.This is not democracy it is dictature.You delete a good comment because you don't like that others are not agree with you.
**soft flv to video converter is not free, so it has no place here first of all, as this site deals with freewares only. Second, the site page of **soft has not got very good WOT rating. Another reason why your comment was deleted. Please do not put false accusations on this site.
Anupam Shriwatri
Super is not so Super.
Quick Media Converter is so slow that I could spend all day waiting for it to convert one .flv file. And, it has a watermark right in the middle of the screen of the output file. Of course, $59 gets the watermark removed.
What is up with GIZMO?
I do not know where you got your download, but the link here for QMC is to a freeware. I use Format Factory, but just downloaded QMC and had no watermark on the converted video and I see no option to purchase within the program.
I clicked on the Cocoon Software link in the program and was taken to their webpage which indicates it is completely free, no trial etc
Also was voted one of the 12 best free windows applications of 2008 at lifehacker as well as one of the best freeware applications of 2009 at PCMAG.
Maybe a case of mistaken identity? There seems to be 100's of these things around. You only have to look at how many commercial variants appear on GOTD week after week. I know very little about this subject as I don't use these apps but like you I've only seen good reports for QMC.
Ahoy, tech savvy mates. I got a tv as a wedding present that has a USB port, which is a nifty thing, but will only play divx format video. Can anyone clue me in about which freebie to convert avi, flv, mp4 etc formats to the above format? Pretty puhleeze? Many thanks.
Bert.
Format Factory will do that. I have done all of those with FF.
After install, in FF select "Video" on the left and then "All to AVI".
On the All to AVI screen, select "Output Setting".
On the Output Setting screen look for "Video Encode" and click on the "Value" to the right of it. You will see a drop down menu and one of the options will be MPEG4(DivX). Select that and press OK.
Then "Add File" of "Add Folder" to select the videos you want to convert and press OK.
Back on the main screen, press "Start".
BTW you should also be able to play XviD encoded videos as well as DivX.
Edit: Saw it worked out. Good to hear.
Ok, did a trial and it all worked smoove, just like you said. Just the way I like it. Thanks again.
Bert.
Amigo, thank you very much for this help and the additional details. As soon as I have some time I'll give it a whirl.
Bert.
I have always used (or gone back to) SUPER.
The download link is hidden on the worst designed website in the world, the interface is a inconsistent clunky nightmare, it is a resource hog and seems to bare a grudge if you don't keep up with the very newest version available.
However... :-)
As far as I can tell, the number of formats it can convert to, and degree to which you can tweak the output is unmatched. It also seems relatively reliable (most of the other options seemed to crash and burn alarmingly regularly) and doesn't seem to want to sell you anything (not insistently anyway).
I'd love there to be a better choice, but I haven't found it yet. If I was doing anything important, I'd probably pay ( :-0 ) for something.
+1 with all above sentiments regarding SUPER
Normally I'm able to find SOMETHING in your suggestions to bail me out of situations where I don't seem to have what I need to do a task - but THIS time I'm getting perturbed at how much TIME I'm wasting due to your suggestions: 0 for 2 so far! XMedia Recode has more than a language problem - it lacks a very key piece in order to actually do ANY REAL work! Although I can go through the process of selecting input files and NUMEROUS parameters in the APPARENT direction of converting some MP3 audio files to iPod-ese, there seems to be NOTHING under the SUN to enable the key button or menu choice to actually "ENCODE!" Pure waste of time. Same should be said for ANYTHING from AVS4YOU (ie MediaCoder) has NO business on YOUR list of FREEWARE, as they are clearly FRACTURED TRIALWARE, trying to take advantage of your site for free advertising.
ALL that I want to do is find SOME way of converting "normal" audio files to crApple iPod format WITHOUT having to load iTunes on my PC. I hate to admit that there's an Apple device in my HOUSE, but it was a gift to a daughter. Grrrrrr - like everything else in my experience w/ Apple Anything - nothing but ANNOYING!
Hostile in Houston
Why did you not try the Top Pick?
C'mon are you serious, you just have to:
1. Options-Language-English
2. Choose your files, set parameters and press "ADD JOB" button which is next to "Encode" button.
I believe iPod can play MP3 files quite nicely. Then why do you want to convert them in the first place?
The videos have to be converted to MP4, because thats the format iPods play, but I don't think you need to convert MP3, because iPod can play MP3 very well.
Anupam Shriwatri
There is a Portable version of Format Factory 2.0 (the latest version) available from LiberKey - http://www.liberkey.com/appinfo/formatfactory-formatfactorylkl.en
I don't quite understand LiberKey, but launching a LiberKey portable app requires LiberKey (which doesn't count for this page). Am I correct?
Thanks for the tip, in any case.
Arithmomaniac
That's true yes, I thought LiberKey extensions where like paf extensions in that they could be used regardless of what launcher you use them with, but I couldn't figure out how to do so.
I'm just guessing that since LiberKey appear to be the only portable app/suite site that offer a portable version of FF, it's functionality might be impaired somehow as a portable app, or that maybe it doesn't really qualify as one because it writes to the registry, or something?
I've been using Handbreak for a long time now, under Windows and OS X. Before, it only supported a DVD (from disk or from ripped VOB's on hard drive) as input, but now that it supports multiple video formats as input, I've been using it even more often. It is not perfect, but it pretty good. For DVD format input, it is excellent (probably since it's been initially designed for that, so many bugs have been fixed) and have not given me any problems. For video format inputs, that's where I've occasionally had problems. For example, I was trying to convert an AVI to iPhone/iPod Touch format, and for some reason, there is no audio in the resulting file. I tried different options, but it never worked. Mind you, this is the first time I got this particular problem when converting from AVI... I also have converted from MKV to M4V for my iPod Touch (smaller res), or to "Apple TV" (higher res) without any problems.
I'm using it under Windows 7, 64bit version.
MrBabou
Thank you for putting out HandBrake's universal input. I'll try to review it soon.
Arithmomaniac
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