Free offer - Video Size / Format Converter

I don't know this site and I am not associated with it. A Windows-using friend just told me about it. They had no problem with it in XP.

You do need to get a key and use it within the shown time-limit.

It converts many formats, with selectable audio conversion. It seems to work very well with H264/MOV as generated by Canon cameras.

I did an install and test in XP-Pro running in Virtual-Box in Linux. Then installed in Wine in Linux (PCLinuxOS) - to see if it works in Linux - it does, very well.

It converted an MP4 file TO the MOV type easily. I then tried a format / size conversion - HD 1920 x 1080 to Xvid 720 x 404 - converting PCM stereo to MP3 stereo. This it did well, with audio in sync. There's also settings for converting MOV HD to MPEG2.

As I don't know the site, and I'm not using Windows with an AV program - Windows users might just be a bit wary, and check the downloads with an AV program before executing, though an XP user here said 'no problems', as mentioned.

As such it's a nice Seasonal offer - and well worth a look...

Ref: http://www.winxdvd.com​/giveaway/

Regards, Dave.

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Handbrake and ffmpegx are probably the best free converters out there.

MaxxuM - Yes, and you can use Kdenlive as a converter, too. Handbrake also works as a Ripper - and perhaps such things aren't suggested on polite Forums....

There are a heck of a lot of 'free' things that I'd like to suggest to the Windows using majority - but they don't (or not yet) - run in Windows. I suspect that Windows versions of Cinelerra, Kdenlive, LiVES, Openshot, FotoFilmStrip, Pitivi, Imagination, and a lot more, would be very welcome on Windows side...

I open Synaptic installer and see over 230 video programs - plus dozens of plugins and extras for Gstreamer and others, all free to click-install in seconds... From a dedicated Repository via secure connection. We get things very easy, these days, in Linux... Sometimes, things aren't as easy in Windows (I had Microsoft products from 1983 on, and was a 7-cert Windows tech for 11 years - Win-3.x to XP - 1992-2003) - so I do know a little about the Redmond products. Anything on Windows side that that can make things easier for kids - or adults new to some aspects - should be a help.

However - as I sometimes see proprietary ("Pay For") - video converters 'featured' on the Forum, for Windows - I thought the chance of a free one would be welcome.

The idea of the one shown wasn't to have a "best" video app for Windows - Premiere Pro would have to score in there somewhere - but it's hardly a point'n'click program - it has quite a steep learning-curve.

The program shown has a lot of video and audio options - all at a select-click mode level - as the friend who told me about it explained - it works easily and well for kids with H264/MOV producing cameras - and for newer adult users - perhaps those who received their first HD-video producing camera this holiday-season.

Not everyone is able to use high-end or mid-range video programs from the first day they get their H264/MOV or other HD-Video capable camera - and I guess they'd like to be able to convert their new videos and watch them, too....

Regards, Dave.

The problem with most free coverters is they use automatc or really bumbed down settings. You end up getting crappy compressions, wrongcontainers for the intended purpose or rates that wont work on some devices. Ive used hundreds of these free programs and dont have much good to say about them. For example, the Kindle Fire reads Mp4 so i started looking for a program. There were plenty of free programs but they all sucked for Windows. So i just renamed my M4v files and dealt withe the downsides.

MaxxuM - Sure, you're quite right about that.... Of course having a lot of adjustable parameters, controls, filters, scriptables, so on, will give far better results - the comparison is almost like comparing JPEG "camera's auto-choice conversion from internal RAW" - with processing an actual saved RAW data file.

Particularly when you want to demux the audio - process the audio, maybe add an underlay of background music to the ambient sounds, and remux the combo to the video...

Or use denoise, colour, contrast, saturation, brightness, so on, filters on the video. Or convert the 16:9 H264/MOV from your Canon-etc - to "letterboxed" with black borders - so you can make fully-compliant "Standard" DVDs to play on PAL (or NTSC) 4:3 AR TVs - not everyone has big Widescreen TVs, yet...

Or you might need to convert your camera video into a version that suits your video-editor. Sure - you can throw 1920 x 1080 H264/MOV into Kdenlive video-editor in Linux (Sony Vegas equiv, just doesn't cost the AUD$600.00+ Windows friends paid fot it here in Sydney) - and it will output/render it to many other formats (including Matroska) - as well as make a Std compliant DVD-fileset - PAL or NTSC - of it...

You can't do that with all video-editors - in Windows or Linux... The Mac folk have an advantage with H264/MOV - it for some strange reason uses Apple's proprietary MOV container - and Macs have the equipment to digest Quicktime very well.

But - Kdenlive, Cinelerra, Vegas Pro, Premiere Pro, etc - the user does have to know how to use them - and they might not at first have the time to do so when they get a new camera.

Kids are pretty good with computers - but the younger ones might have problems with the more "full-on" programs. They might not be wanting to create "hours-long movies" - just convert their camera clips to shareable versions. Or to YouTube compatible for sharing.

Some very low-cost cameras now do lower-level HD video - the Canon A1200 my teenage godson uses as a "pocket everywhere" device (also has a Fuji bridge-zoom I gave him the previous Christmas) - does 1280 x 720 H264/MOV - and cost a whole $95.00! (It also has a viewfinder and runs on AAs, he uses Eneloops.)

He converts his clips for sharing with Windows Avidemux, on his own PC - and to do videos, uses Vegas on the Family PC.

But there's certainly a place for a point'n'click converter - particularly one newer users or kids can do quick conversions to MPEG4 or Xvid - or for YouTube and iPod / Playstation, so on. They can do that with a Copy of the original clip - and do some better, that takes more time, later.

You commented, "....There were plenty of free programs but they all sucked for Windows..." - and I'm sure you're indeed right about most of them.... Not "all" of the 13,000+ Programs, Tools, Utilities, etc, in our Distro's Linux Repository, to just click-in and try, are "ideal", either.....!

However - Windows (and Macs, of course) - runs Avidemux.... If your version of Windows can run the QT4 version, it's rather better than the GTK2 version. You can convert most video formats** to most others with it. Including your PC-recorded HD-TV MPEG2-TS files. Resizing and filtering, adding black borders, denoising, slow-motion, reversing, appending (joining) clips, so on, is all there. It can demux and remux , remove, add, etc, audio.

The youngies here download music videos from those 'share' sites - and use Avidemux to "save-out" the AC3, AAC, etc audio-tracks - then convert those to MP3 for their mobile devices.... I don't know how "legal" that is - folk should check for their region's rules before trying that...

However - there is at least one "good" free video program for Windows - and Mac, Linux - Avidemux. It's a lot better and far more functional than it looks at first glance.

And if folk "do" want an "auto-converter" to do their clips for portable devices - Avidemux has that too - drop-down the 'Auto' Menu - and it has several resolutions and ARs for both iPod and Playstation...

** Yes, mate - I "do know" - but most folk these days do say "formats"...

Regards, Dave.