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Best Free Audio-Video Format Conversion Program
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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) are only compatible with a few specific formats. An AVI or WMV movie will not play on an iPod, for example, without being converted into an MP4 file first. There are quite a few programs that will do this for free, with more popping up all the time. They tend to fall into a few general categories:
While some are better than others overall, which one is best for you will depend on what sort of program you need. Note: If you want to rip video directly from a DVD, click here to view the Best Free DVD Ripper page.. |
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Discussion
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Device-Specific PicksPazera Video Converters Suite
Also recommended:
General Converter Picks
What I do find frustrating, however, is that the developer has now added OpenCandy to their installer. For more information about this bundled software, I recommend you read this article. Please see the last paragraph of this review for information on how you can opt out of this. Now, back to the awesome stuff. With Freemake, you can convert most any format of video or audio with this handy piece of freeware, along with DVD's, photos, and even web embedded media from sites like YouTube, Google, and Vimeo. There are lots of presets and quite a few options, giving the software best-in-class capabilities. The visual cues are easy to follow, pretty much guiding you from start to finish on any conversion task and providing a more user-friendly experience than most other software. This software can make use of DXVA and CUDA (two methods of hardware accelerated encoding) to boost speeds. I was only able to use DXVA on my test computer, so you may get faster encodes with your machine. On my laptop, I had an NVidia card, and Freemake actually displayed a message recommending that I update my video card drivers to make use of CUDA acceleration. Freemake took 39 minutes to produce its output using an Auto Bitrate setting, with a two-pass encode. It took under 15 minutes to do a one-pass encode. Handbrake took 33 minutes using a Constant Quality RF:20 setting. The quality of all three test encodes was excellent, with no apparent difference from the original. You won't find advanced encoding settings anywhere in this interface, so if you're looking to fine-tune your output, I recommend moving on to something like Handbrake, Format Factory, or FFCoder. I would have loved to give this software 10/10 stars, however there was one negative aspect to Freemake Video Converter: the bundled Freemake Toolbar and OpenCandy softwares. The toolbar is set to install by default unless you choose otherwise on the first page of the install wizard. To their credit, the Privacy Policies and/or EULA's are easily available for all bundled software. OpenCandy, on the other hand, does not have a checkbox to toggle its install. Instead, you'll have to roll up your sleeves and install from the command-line if you want to opt out of it. Here's how: Hit Start, then 'Run' the install file with the /nocandy switch. It will still show you the EULA for it, however there will be an option at the very end of the install to 'not install' the software OpenCandy recommends for you. Even without the /nocandy switch, you can still uncheck the box, but for some reason the switch will trade in the check-box for 2 separate radio button choices (Yes or No). It's a lot to worry about and go through, but this software really is top-notch in most other ways. Although their website defaults to an "online installer", they do host offline installers, available here.
NOTE: When installing Format Factory, watch out for the bundled toolbar. It is installed by default if you don't uncheck the box on the first screen of the installer package. A portable version of this software is also available at LiberKey, which is a superb portable application manager.
Also recommended:
Custom-Oriented PicksIf you need to make complex, custom jobs, FFCoder is the standout choice for its coherence. Like most programs in this review, it has an excellent device preset list, the ability to convert multiple files at once, and a simple, sleek interface. Where FFCoder stands out is its support of highly advanced configuration for each of the dozens of video formats and codecs, down to lighting and rendering settings. Despite a few dependencies (listed below) and a steep learning curve for any tweaks past the presets, this is the best converter for almost any power user, device owner or not. One of my favorite FFCoder features is the Directory Watch. You can setup FFCoder so that it monitors a folder for files matching a filename pattern, which will be automatically converted using the selected settings. It can be a bit confusing to set up, however I found I got the best results when setting the wildcard filename pattern to something other than *.* (such as *.avi). There were two things I didn't like about FFCoder. The first is that is always creates Start Menu entries in the Administrator account, regardless of which non-admin account is being used to install it. This is fairly minor though, contrasted with all the powerful features. The second drawback is that it seems to be less stable on 64-bit Windows systems every now and again. I ran into .DLL errors and missing presets, which strangely were intermittent problems. I've spoken with the author and it looks like many of these bugs will be worked out in the next release. Also recommended:
Audio-Only PicksPazera Free Audio Extractor is the audio-only program in the above-mentioned Pazera Video Converters Suite. It supports both video and audio input and output to many formats, and is slightly simpler than some of its sibling programs. Otherwise, it is perfectly identical.
Online Conversion WebsitesVideo to Mp3 I was asked to checkout a web site converter for Youtube and Dailymotion videos. This site is set up to convert video to four set formats Mp3(128 kbt/s & 256 kbit/s ), flv, mp4 and 3gp. This is a wonderful idea, but does it work lets see.... I started the test with an Mp3 convert and WOW finished in a matter of seconds and my result was ready to download. Ok lets check out some of these other bad boy options. Next I selected the Mp4 option and clicked the convert button and nothing. EMMM I thought well it is a video conversion so it will take more time. I waited until the next day nothing. After a full 24 hours still nothing. I reloaded the page and recopied the URL started a new convert. After 6 hours nothing and then my browser crashed ooops. I started a third again after 24 hours nothing. I am not saying it wont work for you as different configurations of bandwidth, browsers etc may be different but don't get your hopes up. Next up the flv now I was thinking that a lot of Youtube video is in format flv so this should be quick but again after 3 days and 3 tests I had 0 results. At least this time my browser did not crash lol. So without much Enthusiasm I tried the 3gp option and hey what you know it worked first time and quite quickly about 30 minutes. Having said all this if anyone wants a Youtube video in basic no frills mp3 audio from a Youtube video then this is a viable option and simple to use just copy and paste a Youtube URL into box, choice format and click convert and when it is ready download finished product, easy.
Zamzar is an excellent website when you're on the run. It doesn't allow you to customize the encoding settings, however it makes up for that somewhat with its portability and flexibility. If you have a browser with internet access, you have Zamzar. If you have any file, you can convert it to any other type of file in the same class. For example, you can convert video files, audio files, photos (ex: .JPG to .PNG), archives (ex: .RAR to .ZIP), documents (ex: .PDF to .DOC), and eBooks (ex: .LIT to .EPUB). You can even paste a URL (ex: YouTube) and it'll download the embedded video for you and convert it. Once the conversion is done, they email you a link to download the finished product. This email-based file retrieval can be either a pro or a con depending on how you look at it. It's more fuss than there really needs to be in the process, however it gives you the flexibility of converting a Youtube video from a computer where you can't download the content, such as when at work behind a proxy or at a public library. When you get home, you can then download the finished conversion immediately using the email link. I first used Zamzar over a year ago, and to this day I have never received unsolicited email from them. There is a 100MB file limit for free use, but you can upgrade that to 200MB and get about 5GB of online storage if you want to pay their fairly steep monthly prices. For most users, the free services are more than adequate.
Tested and not recommended:
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is really a package of several separate device converters with a common launcher. Each converter is powerful, with several presets for device, custom tweaking/profiles, multiple-file support, all in a simple text-based interface. If you don't mind the launcher, you could effectively use it as a hybrid converter.
To Be Reviewed:
- Avanti
- DVDVideoSoft (re-review)
- Miksoft Mobile Media Converter
- Mediacoder
- Motion Man by Blink Solution
- MeGUI
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Related Products and Links
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You might want to check out these articles too: |
Portable version available here.
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Editor
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor tpg. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here. |
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Tags
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| free audio converter, free video converter, best audio video converter, top audio video conversion program, free av converter, free av conversion. |
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Comments
For me DVDVideoSoft apps are the best. This developer provides its users with really good, free, very easy to use applications. To my mind its Free Studio contains all programs that one may need for simple video and audio editing.
A video converter that could be a real contender to the top picks here could be Softpedia Editor's pick XviD4PSP.....
It has a cool interface, not to mention Full HD conversions too...
Thank you SO MUCH for this post, you don't know how much it is a relief it is to find something like this. I became very close to resorting to [something not entirely in my moral values] after hours of searching. I swear I'd would pay to see detailed info like this.
And "your welcome !!" I fell in love w/ gizmo many years ago and use it all the time. Just recently I needed an SSH client and again, gizmo came through.
cheers
tpg
Just updated Freemake to 4.0.0.1. I didn't see any OpenCandy stuff bundled with it. However, they have now disabled drag & drop from the initial screen and instead have replaced it with a big button to get you to install Gold Pack by either donating or changing your Home Page/Search options in your browser. After doing a conversion, you can drag & drop (as long as you don't close the converted files info, in which case the screen reverts back to the Gold Pack install button.)
Quick followup. Looks like the main screen gets rotated a bit; sometimes it's a bit annoying, but I guess the authors have to monetize it somehow. Overall I'm quick happy with this options & the ease of use for this program. For a more sophisticated converter, folks should try MediaCoder. The number of conversion options can be daunting, but there is a large support community,
Thanks for a terrific article. I am transferring 5 to 15 year old analog 8mm home videos, the sample tapes I viewed still look good, into my computer. I am linking my old 8mm Sony to a recently purchased used Sony digital camcorder to my computor, I have all the connecting cables. The Sony camcorder will do the analog to digital conversion. I am looking to store my digital videos onto a large external harddrive and also burn DVDs for each of my kids. I figure that I may only have one good play with some of these old tapes, so I am trying to troubleshoot every step before I start. I am just confirming that in your opinion is the FREEMAKE program a good choice for me to build files that I will be able to edit and update in new formats later? Thanks for your kind input.
Dear "Tape Guy"; as the new moderator for this forum, let me welcome you. I've been re-writing this article only because I wanted to add a few new programs. While I do like FREEMAKE and find it a good fit for what you want to do, when it comes to creating the DVD, I find it lacking in two areas. First, the level of menu options is low, but more importantly, it won't actually burn your DVD ... it just makes an ISO ... and frankly, I don't want the hassle of sitting around waiting for the formatting to finish, and then starting the burn process. To me, they should all be integrated (and YES, I acknowledge that it's a personal preference). Thus, for DVD's I like DVD Styler
http://www.dvdstyler.org/en/
I find it handles all the formats I've thrown at it, and it burns the DVD when done. I'll be including it in the new re-write that is in work now.
cheers ... and thanks for using Gizmo.
tpg
Just want to say that I picked up the Babylon browser hijacker program while installing Pazera Video Converters Suite from the recommendation above. I got rid of it but thought others should know about this. My security software tried to warn me but since I read about it here I didn't listen. Won't do that again!
We try our best to inform the users of toolbars, or any other bundled extras with the programs. But, because of the way things change, or, when a category has not been taken by an editor, or taken up recently, and the new editor has not yet reviewed the software(like with this one), then the reviews might not be up to date. So, users have to use their own discretion too, and have to be careful while performing installations on their systems. Our reviews are just a guide, the main decision making has to be done by the users themselves.
From what I've been reading elsewhere online, "variable bit rate" (VBR) is preferred to "constant bit rate" (CBR) for audio conversion to MP3 file. I've downloaded a few converters including Pazera and Freemake but they don't seem to offer VBR. I'm now downloading Format Factory to see if it has VBR as an option.
I would have thought it would be mentioned in the review whether or not VBR is an option.
Cheers,
PS. I found a program on Softpedia called "Weeny Free Audio Converter" which mentions VBR but, during installation, Malwarebytes blocked an attempt to open a suspicius website. Also, the installer started to download an Install Manager, so I cancelled out of that and regard "Weeny..." as a program to be avoided.
Some mp3 players (especially car mp3 players) do not work well with VBR, that's why a lot of mp3 files (especially those you download from torrent sites) are encoded in CBR,because its widely playable,if hard drive space isnt a problem then I always encode at 320 CBR,although if it's just for a mp3/ipod player with headphones then 192kbps is considered ample,to the human hear its widely debated that the differences aren't noticeable although some people 'reckon' they can.
I wrote this comment earlier in the day, when I was just looking at the programs, and had not actually used them yet. This night, I started to use the programs, and had to change my opinion about the couple of them that I suggested as options. So, I will now edit my original post, and update it accordingly. Will be a major edit actually.
I recently had to convert wma files to mp3, and so I was looking around at the converters I had in my collection, and I now see what you meant. Here is my experience with the different converters I had in my collection, which I tried.
Freemake Audio Converter does not have the option of VBR. So, it's now out of my list.
Any Audio Converter : http://www.any-audio-converter.com/any-audio-converter.php
It seemed like this one had the option of VBR, since I could access it in the settings, but when I converted the files, they were of CBR. Seems like those settings did not have any effect. The settings which had effect are on the RHS of the software, and they just provide CBR settings. Disappointed. Also contains bundled extras.
AudioCoder : http://www.mediacoderhq.com/audio/
In terms of settings control, this program looked like the one. But, I was pretty disappointed when I tried to convert files. I can't make it to work. It's quite quirky with the settings and all. Did the job too fast, and gave no output files. I think I am not able to set it up properly perhaps. But it's really quite strange.
Contains bundled extras.
Helium Audio Converter : http://www.imploded.com/products/helium-audio-converter.aspx
While it does have the option of VBR, but the settings are not good. Only bitrate control is provided, and that too, in weird sets. If you want extreme simplicity, then you can go for this.
DVD VideoSoft Audio Converter : http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-Audio-Converter.htm
It has the option of VBR, but not much control is provided over settings. The options in VBR are Economy, Standard, and Extreme. For simple purposes, and for general users, these settings will work just fine.
Be careful of bundled extras.
LameXP : http://mulder.brhack.net/#lamexp
Is basically a LAME front end, and we know LAME is the best encoder for mp3. Provides great options. For control over the settings, this program can be used.
Fre:ac : http://www.freac.org/
Earlier known as BonkEnc, and was basically a CD ripper... now it also comes with an audio converter. Like LameXP, it too provides great control over the settings. Recommended.
Hope this helps.
I think you are looking for a CD ripper to rip the songs on CD to mp3? That's where VBR and CBR come into play. Look here for ripper software :
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-cd-ripper.htm
Also, VBR vs CBR is an often debated topic. Search for VBR vs CBR on Google, and you will find some links to read about this.
Actually, I'm converting some wav files that I created when capturing the audio from some old record albums. And I see what you mean about 'often debated topic'. Never-ending by the looks of it.
I've managed to use Foobar2000 to convert to vbr and Format Factory to cbr. At around 250 KB/s bitrate there was only a 5 Mb difference in size but I'm guessing the vbr might be better quality. Though I doubt I can tell the difference even it they were around 192 KB/s.
I copied both to a USB stick and tested it in my micro hi-fi and both worked fine.
Thanks.
Oh OK, you were trying to convert wav files. Yep, then vbr and cbr will come into play.
Well, at 192kb/s you might see the difference, but I think at 320kb/s, the difference might be less.
From what I have read and understood about vbr vs cbr... for voice only audio, 128kb/s will work fine. With music having loads of different things, and various stuff, cbr at 320kb/s will give good quality, if you want to go for cbr. Whereas if you want to go for vbr, then make the range 0-320 kb/s, and keep quality high or close to high.
Thanks for the heads up regarding Weeny Free Audio Converter. Amongst other things, the program installs Babylon so yes, definitely to be avoided.
In general, anything to do with media converters, players or YouTube is 95% likely to be bundled with something users will wish to avoid.
The free version of WinPatrol is a great app for avoiding these, even if you miss the options to do so (if present) during the install process. Another is ToolWiz Time Freeze which offers the chance to try out new software without it actually installing or affecting your system. MC - Site Manager.
http://www.winpatrol.com/
http://www.toolwiz.com/products/toolwiz-time-freeze/
Yep, already have WinPatrol installed as well as Malwarebytes.
And use ZSoft Uninstaller as well.
Thanks.
here I am banging about DVDsoft again ha ha, I've tried most of the software on this page and just to add it's all really great but I find myself always going back to DVDsoft if they got rid of the nagging pop-up asking you to download their toolbar it would great.
quality quality quality ! The bar is being constantly raised in terms of the richness of content - we need a new term like "dense video content". When converting your Blu-ray Disc set to mp4 or mkv worse yet, and you want it to play @ 1080p on whatever device can handle it, is the result good? Freemake and Handbrake, both easy to use [so easy you don't bother with settings] will render some of these well and others not so well. I don't know why because I have not yet scaled the learning curve. on playback the MP4, especially of course in scenes with fast moving action, you get stuttering or laggy movement. I know I'm asking the impossible here but can any of these do a check on the source file/s, then suggest settings for optimal balance of portability vs. playback quality?
Freemore Audio Video Suite
# Audio converters to convert audio files;
# Video converters to make your videos portable;
# Audio recording/editing software for easy audio creation;
# CD/DVD/ISO tools for sharing & backup your work;
# YouTube software to enjoy YouTube on Any Devices;
# PDF & OCR tools to easily convert, copy & send your documents;
# Online radio & TV players to enjoy online media resources;
# Image tools to create slideshow & animated GIF;
http://www.freemoresoft.com/
I will suggest this freeware:
http://freemediaconverter.org/
this is a great freeware that convert, rip, download, record video.. with a wide range of format supporting and editing abilities..
BEWARE! Like much of the software in this category, Free Media Converter is bundled with unwanted components and will attempt to change your system settings. Users are advised to take great care during the install process. You can also install the free version of WinPatrol that will help to block these items should you miss these options during the install process. MC - Site Manager.
http://www.winpatrol.com/
Thank u for the warning, and as we all know; most of the freeware are bundled with unwanted components and try to change settings, and I really want u to add this freeware to this list of competition because I thing it is great and I want to now your opinion.. thank u again
Any suggestions for Win 8?
FreeMake Video Converter does provide a useful service by compressing and converting videos to a multitude of file types and compressions with ease, even allowing you to specify the size limit you would like your converted video to fit into. The problem is, it comes with a malware search bar that installs and binds itself to EVERY web browser on the host system, even when you explicitly specify NOT to install such a search bar. It also changes your default search engine and home page to the questionable search portal (possibly changes more, haven't found what other badness this malicious software does). Disabling or uninstalling the search bar does not function (it just comes back as if it was never disabled), and furthermore, the data files for the search bar program do not allow you to delete them manually (giving an error when attempting to do so). Finally, this program not only forced a restart of the computer after being installed (got to get that cash cow search bar installed ASAP, to hell with asking permission to reboot) but also slowed down a Core i5 computer to MOLASSES for no apparent reason whatsoever (aside perhaps from probably enforcing the search bar system service binding that prevents the search bar from ever being removed.) I highly recommend you turn to open source softwares like VLC or VirtualDub to compress/convert video and STAY AWAY from ANY software that claims to be free yet has no apparent advertising or sales model on their host website (they have to make money with this program somehow, and this crooked search bar is exactly how they do just this.)
hi, I have heard a couple of people complain about this issue ( toolbars being installed without the users permission) when I installed it a couple of months ago ( freemake) I had no such issues. When installing freemake i was super super careful because it really does try to install unwanted toolbars/ software on your computer, when installing you have to make sure you check EVERY box I DO NOT ACCEPT apart from the box for actually accepting for the freemake software itself. The installer will try to offer you quite alot of other offers/ software ( around 3 if i remember correctly) but as long as you are very careful when installing and only check the accept box for freemake itself and check the I DO NOT ACCEPT for everything else you will be OK . The problem is with alot of freeware has to be paid for somehow and having all this extra software available to download in the installer is one way of funding development i suppose. I managed to install it without all the rubbish and it is a great little bit of software i used it ( and videopad) to make aload of photo slide shows DVDs for my family and they loved them.
Ace Video Converter : http://www.acevideoconverter.com/
TEncoder - Multithreaded Video Converter :
https://sourceforge.net/projects/tencoder/
hello and good day to you . 'DVDVideoSoft Free: Pazera without custom tweaks; has neat tricks like Youtube downloading and video tweaking. This product is bundled with OpenCandy. See this article for more information. It will also attempt to install a toolbar which you may not want.'
DVD does now have a you tube downloader that downloads video or mp3 and it works because I use it BUT as you said the program really does nag you to download that toolbar after every conversion it pops up asking you to download the toolbar, it doesn't really bother me I just click it off but I see how this would be a drawback to other users.