@portezbie: The interface is a bit cluttered, but honestly—it really makes converting media easy, especially for people who aren't keen on the specifics of device-supported formats.

Adam Pash

This is kinda crappy. I hate the interface.

portezbie

It doesn't take much to make me happy, cup of tea usually does the trick, but you have made me happy today. Having struggled to get VOB's to play nicely on my PS3 ( I know . . . change the suffix to MPG and you'll be fine - well tell my PS3 that, he doesn't agree) I'm looking forward to home movies on my gargatuan 60 gig disk. And if you are making a cup I'll have half a sugar in mine.

jfh

Where did you guys get Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog?

APer3Caper

Slick - I've been looking for a reliable, all-in-one media converter for a while now, and I'm a little tired of websites that are sometimes up and sometimes bogged down or desktop apps that look kinda shady. It's worth a shot! :)

phoenix

Interesting that this was created. FFMpeg tries to fly below the radar by remaining on the more-difficult-for-laymen-to-use side, due to its royalty-free use of certain non-free formats, like Flash (it was kicked off SourceForge for that reason).

equazcion

I use this a lot. Love this!

bluetail

"Are you saying we should download it before it's gone?"
@jupiterthunder: Exactly what I was thinking.

LubsyB

@equazcion:

Are you saying we should download it before it's gone?

jupiterthunder

I could download and test, but it's probably easier to just ask: will this convert to or from Matroska (.mkv)? The last one of these that I downloaded (something on Download Squad sometime in July, probably WinFF), didn't touch on that.

Of course knocking things from that format into one that my computer doesn't choke on as often -- yes, even with MPC or VLC running -- is the single thing I really want to do with a converter like this. Therefore, there seems to be some kind of universal law that it will be the one file format not included.... ;)

Miranda

I smell a Hive Five...

joelena

any chance that this adds subtitles?

leomrlima

wow that's incredibly ugly.

...and i thought VisualHub was a little janky.

like i said before, why do people seem to think function and design are mutually exclusive?

thirdopticaltool

@Miranda: I'm not sure which graphical frontends support matroska, however FFmpeg itself, which is the command line program this GUI runs, does at least support converting FROM matroska to other formats.

You can get the command line program from this address (for Windows): [www.worldtv.com] The commands are pretty simple if you just want to convert between formats.

ie, to make an AVI, try:

ffmpeg -i input_filename.mkv output_filename.avi

@jupiterthunder: I was expressing a concern more that these easy-to-use GUIs will cause some bad attention for the underlying FFmpeg software which is of questionable legality. Those developers are very hidey. They don't even offer the compiled software at their website (though other third-party sites do).

equazcion

@jupiterthunder: I don't think you have to worry. Look at all the projects that use FFMpeg: [ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu]

According to the developers, commercial projects that include FFMpeg are more likely to be hassled.

joelena

Can anyone compare this to MediaCoder or SUPER? I had used both of them (currently MediaCoder), but neither of them have great UIs either.

earlthegoat

At least this UI isn't as ugly as Super, which is hideously dense: [www.flickr.com]

But still, yeah, this looks relatively inelegant, and unless it has compellingly superior encode quality presets, I'm going to keep hoping for ffmpegX for Windows.

Really simple, high-quality video encoding is a big market void. I've seen tools that are polarized towards one or the other, but aren't strong at both.

Torley

From their (buried) info page:
Audio Conversion Formats supported
WAV MP3 WMA AMR

I wouldn't exactly describe that as 'virtually any format.' Seems to have a good range of video conversions however, though admittedly I don't do much in that vein.

TechTalk WRLR 98.3FM

I've had absolutely MISERABLE luck with Media Coder ([mediacoder.sourceforge.net]) and have really wanted something that worked.

I'm no genius, but I really can't figure out why everything I throw at it, audio and video, comes out with Chipmunks-grade audio (no, it's not a sample rate issue... I checked that out.)

Can't wait to take this latest all-in-one for a spin.

sixpantsmaloney

I'd love to find something that will change .wav or .mp3 to midi.

infmom

Well, it's probably only me, but trying to run this program gave me a blue screen on Vista, so I don't think I'll be using this very much. -_-

topspinserve

let's see if this can convert a widescreen video to a PSP and keep the sound in synch
i've yet to find a piece of software that can do that successfully, and since all of them are FFMpeg driven, i doubt this will do the trick

Pasha

@Pasha: Total Video Converter, it's not free, but it works for me

SEEN

@infmom: That won't work unless you were somehow able to get a hold of the master tracks, and even then, you're better off converting a guitar tab to midi.

I love this thing, this is the first program (granted I haven't looked that much) that I've found that is compatible with Vista 64, and can convert from mp3 to amr.

asabru88

(Since this has become a bit of a MediaCoder compaint thread...)

I had good luck with MediaCoder until recently, it apparently gives up after a dozen seconds of encoding or so when a video is accompanied by ogg audio.

Hopefully this or WinFF will make a good replacement.

Johnny Pneumatic

another one, that i have heard a lot about, recently, but have not use yet, because I am perfectly happy with any dvd converter:

FormatFactory:
[formatoz.com]

iheart

I have tried to use BOTH Media Coder and SUPER, but both are probably not for beginners like me, who like an easy and pretty Interface.

but I found a fantastic freeware (not open source) converter, that has a easy GUI, and was able to convert MOST important to me RM and RMVB to avi. and I have tested sucessfully also to convert MKV to avi files, to burn on DVD, to watch on my divx DVD player:

[www.any-video-converter.com]
[www.any-dvd-converter.com]
[www.any-dvd-converter.com]
you need to scroll down to the bottom to find the freeware version

Any Video Converter Free Version
Any Video Converter = MPEG Converter + AVI Converter + FLV Converter + YouTube Video Converter + MP4 Converter

Finally we get one free video converter. Any Video Converter is a professional video converter which can convert video files from various formats with fast converting speed and excellent video quality . It can convert almost all video formats including DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV, AVI to MPEG-I, MPEG-I, DVD NTSC , DVD PAL, Flash for Video (FLV) ,AVI Video and Customized WMV movie formats. It also supports any user defined video file formats as the output. It has an unmatchable speed and high quality.
There is open source software to perform almost every task for video conversion. But if you are one of these windows users who are looking for an All-in-One video converting tool with easy-to-use graphical interface, Any Video Converter provides just that, allowing you to effortlessly convert video files between every format, for FREE!
Any Video Converter Free Version can convert avi, asf, mov, rm, rmvb, flv, mkv, mpg, 3gp, m4v, and vob to avi, wmv, mp4, 3gp, mpg (PAL or NTSC), MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, wmv and flv.
Any Video Converter makes batch file conversion simple. Create a batch list of any different formats and convert them all to a single selected format. The converted files will be saved to a pre-selected directory folder and the original files will remain untouched.

Whether you are looking for free PSP video converter, free 3GP video converter, free FLV video converter, free MP4 converter, or free YouTube converter, Any Video Converter Free Version is the right application for you. Download the free video converter now to convert videos and experience better digital life.
Any Video Converter Free Version can also download and convert YouTube videos and Google videos.

Input formats:
avi, asf, mov, rm, rmvb, flv, mkv, mpg, 3gp, m4v, and vob

Output formats:
avi, wmv, mp4, 3gp, flv, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, mpg (PAL or NTSC)

iheart

@iheart: It's really annoying when people use the comments section to post commercials. Can we do anything about that?

equazcion

@equazcion: That's exactly what I want to do -- perfect! Thanks.

Miranda

@equazcion: i am neither an employee nor do i get money from any of those two software companies.
I was just reposting their text, because I thought, others might find it easier to see on first scrolling through what it is about.
if its against the posting site rules of lifehacker, I apologize.
both are completely freeware, so I dont understand the use of the word "commercial".

iheart

mhh... the code is blocked in the comments??!

So take it here :

[dl.free.fr]

angang

Mediacoder is really the perfect solution.

The xml file allow it to be portable.

You can have video embedded :
-in mp4 with the best encoder NERO AAC in the best ratio quality/size (heaac v2) (30/40 kbps for a great quality).
...And the so perfect X264.
-in mkv with the same settings or with audio in ogg (q0 is really impressive).

Best of all, mediacoder works great on
linux+wine or leopard+crossover
(but the missing drag&drop support in wine between the finder/nautilus and the "virtualized apps is not really great"!!

Here is my xml settings just copy my code and replace your code in your prefs.xml.

angang

Why can't I find a free pogram that will convert to and from both FLV and SWF and then also convert to and from WMA?

HFC

For those of you who need to convert your files from practically anything to avi (divx/xvid/mpeg), I strongly recommend AllToAVI - the interface is excellent and it lets you choose a custom audio/video bitrate, audio/subtitle track choice, dimensions, and more. Also does great batch conversions, given that the files all have the same extension.

Give it a try, it hasn't let me down yet =P
[alltoavi.sourceforge.net]

PBHuss

Thanks PGHuss. Could of used it yesterday.

orlo

Ditto on the Blue Screen of death with Vista. That has never happened yet with Vista before so I would stay away with Vista

DimitroffVodka

Does anyone besides me care about converting .dvr-ms files from Windows Media Center? Yes, Windows Movie Maker converts dvr-ms to some formats, but it would be nice to have some non-MS alternatives.

dchall8

It works okay so far, im just looking for a converter to dvd, for my boss.

Syliss

DVD Shrink + SUPER does any video conversion job I throw at them. I especially love DVD Shrink's frame-by-frame backup feature to extract the exact segment. Now, I realize SUPER has an ugly interface (skins anyone???) and is a bit slow, but what more can you complain when it does universal conversion so perfect?

capintro

Good stuff! I had to install it, uninstall and then reinstall...it wouldn't run the first time. There's still a little French involved, even if you pick the English option. It does a sweet job though, and no watermark like you get with so many other converters. I'm down.

DrScottyB

@PBHuss: I agree, I use AlltoAVI all the time, and except for some silly spelling mistakes (recommanded?) it does a pretty solid job. It's really just a GUI for the mencoder.exe command line converter.

Some people will be put off by it's silly anime-oriented presentation though.

And yeah, does this Quick media converter hard encode subtitles? It'd be nice to have a backup program to try to convert things in to see if AlltoAVI/mencoder is the problem or it's a screwed up video file or wrongly timed subtitle file when I can't get something to convert.

Enochrewt

This works very well, but the interface is terrible and badly cluttered. Although, who makes perfect software?
- Kyle

kylemayne

Yep sounds like a guy who wants to promote his software ...

Not very fair it should be banned from comments

baloubel

Yes there are more audio formats just go in their expert mode and there are plenty of them . Easy mode is for unexperienced users and obviously mostly used formats.

baloubel

You may also try TuneCab Ultra - professional and versatile conversion tool which can convert between all popular audio and video formats. It supports converting AVI, WMV, MPEG, MP4, ASF, VOB, 3GP, iPhone, MOV, FLV to all other popular video formats including AVI, MP4, WMV, DVD, 3GP, iPod, iPhone, Zune, Xbox, PMP, PSP, Apple TV, Pocket PC, FLV, SWF, MOV.[www.tunecab.com]

FairyTeller

I just downloaded it. it worked perfectly fine for converting some videos. but i always have purchased music from itunes to be converted to mp3 for my Zen. This freeware doesn't do the trick. i still have to use TuneClone Audio Converter([www.tuneclone.com] ) to remove the protection.

dudude

Yep tunecab as some of the above talked about applications above are free trials or limited versions and not real freewares don't waste your time with them. Tunecab and Any Video converter are some of those hidden commercials taking advantage of this opportunity to get you to buy there stuff. The full version of tunecab.com is 39.99 $ and the basic 19.99$ anyone interested?

Quick Media Converter is a real freeware as super and media coder!

baloubel

//Any Video converter are some of those hidden commercials //
after already being accused of working for them, or being a spambot, i am not sure, if i even can post here anymore, but right now, I keep on wondering, has gizmo's website being acquired or being bought by that company behind "any video converter" , if its also featuring his site:
Best Free Audio / Video Format Conversion Program

or here at lifehacker (maybe they also got paid for making ads for them):
Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters
or here
Download of the Day: Any Video Converter (Windows)

iheart

Sounds interesting.. but it looks awful. yeah i think that the gui design is an very important thing :) When a programmer don't put down the time to make it look professional you just get skeptic if it really is good.

Thermoptic

I shall have to check this out, it looks very simple to use and effective as well.

ste-knows-best

Just a quick note. I have not tried this conversion software but I use another one that converts just about anything and works very well called "GOMEncoder" [www.gomlab.com]

These guys have also made a media player that works better than VLC. Plays anything. I love it. even plays real media files which is great if you hate RMPlayer as much as I do.
GOM Player [www.gomlab.com]

Best

powel212

powel212