Video Converters (Looking for your opinions)

Hi there

I'm in matric and I’m doing a project where I need to evaluate software solutions for a specific task (like web browsing, playing media, etc). I have chosen to look at video converters. For this project I need to conduct a survey. I was hoping that you guys could help me conduct my research by taking a little bit of time to answer these questions. I really would appreciate your assistance.

1) What program, if any, do you use to convert your videos? Why?

2) When looking for a video converter, what supported codecs (input and output) do you look for in the converter?

3) Do you like having control over every aspect of the conversion or do you prefer to just use presets? Why?

4) Do you think video converters that also convert audio are a good idea? Why or why not?

5) Some video converters give you the option to use them at varying levels of control (like beginner and advanced levels). Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

6) Do you find the help features of video converters to be adequate or do you think they are lacking? Why?

7) What issues, in general, do you think need to be addressed in video converters?

To anyone who does reply, I really do appreciate you assisting me in completing my research.

1) I use the built-in feature for Windows 7 to automatically ask me if I want to convert a video file if I copy it to a portable media player. I use it because it's just so much easier to use instead of using a third party program.

2) When looking for a video converter to do other tasks (such as DVD to AVI), I look for one which is codec-rich and can possibly provide me with further usage beyond only performing the task I have downloaded or purchased it for.

3) In some cases, yes. Sometimes I will need to convert a video for editing and need specifics. Other than that, no.

4) Yes I think this is great. Having an all-in-one application for conversion would help a lot as I often also need to convert audio files.

5) I think it is a good idea because it links up with 3) in having basic things, like leaving everything automated and then another section for advanced users to fiddle.

6) I've never actually used the help features of any video converter.

7) Some converters don't come with codecs and assume you will load them yourself, or come with buggy and/or old versions of codecs. Some converters put massive watermarks on your videos or only convert 2 minutes which is ridiculous. Yes, I know the best software is software which you pay for and I do pay, but for someone who just wants a simple conversion it's not fun.

1) Any Video Converter, it's simple and easy to use and gets the job done.

2) AVI, MKV

3) A little of both, I like to set some things while I prefer not to set others.

4) Yes cause they allow you the ability to strip the audio out of videos and you can also convert your music which is convenient.

5) Yes I think it's a good idea cause it appeals to more that one kind of person, if helps people who are new to it all and people who know what they are doing.

6) It depends on which Video converter, some of them are very helpful whereas others are very unhelpful.

7) I'm not really sure how to answer this cause I only really use one, but I think they could be improved even further by being more user friendly.

1. ffmpeg: free, updated often, support for a huge number of formats
2. Needs to support just about every input, from uncompressed avi and raw DV, to any compressed format. Output: flv, h264, mpeg, mpeg2, wmv, xvid
3. Mostly use presets, don't have time to test the tons of settings available to see what difference they will make to particular clips
4. Yes, though it needs to have the same functionality as the video conversion side of it (presets and support for multiple formats), otherwise a dedicated program would be better
5. Yeah, there are so many different codecs and containers out there that sometimes you need to get stuck into the advanced settings to get it to work. Programs that say 'Not possible / Incompatible etc' with no further options get uninstalled really quickly
6. I view google as the help feature of all converters; maybe because I mostly use FOSS so the documentation tends to be non-existent / outdated / in a foreign language
7. I'd love to see more GPU encoding support. Otherwise most issues I have is with the need to use converters; the limited support for different video formats in other programs, the lack of a standardized web video format, and the fragmented development in the field make it pretty frustrating to have to work with.

There are some interesting responses here!

1) MediaCoder - well maintained, extensive format support

2) divx, mkv, h264

3) file/scenario dependant. if i'm converting mobile phone formats i'll need more control over settings

4) irrelevant. if they do a good job at converting, then nothing else matters.

5) Good idea. more options are always better than less.

6) I find them lacking. possibly because help manuals are an afterthought.

7) user interfaces should be made a tad easier to navigate.

1) MediCoder. It is free!

2) Must support mkv.

3) Presets. Quick & easy.

4) No. Don't like bloated software.

5) No. Makes it more complicated to use.

6) Do not know. Never used it...

7) The faster the better.