Video converters are computer programs that can change the storage format of digital video. They may recompress the video to another format in a process called transcoding, or may simply change the container format without changing the video format. The disadvantages of transcoding are that there is quality loss when transcoding between lossy compression formats, and that the process is highly CPU-intensive.
This article compares video converters that have their own articles on Wikipedia.
Overview
| Video converter | Developer | License | Supported platform | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | |||
| Any Video Converter | Anvsoft Inc. | Freeware | Yes | Yes | No |
| Avidemux | Mean, Gruntster, Fahr | GPL-2.0-or-later | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dr. DivX | DivX, Inc. | Adware bundled 15-day trial | Yes | Yes | No |
| DVDVideoSoft Free Studio | DVDVideoSoft | Shareware (requires paid membership for basic operation) | Yes | No | No |
| FFmpeg | FFmpeg project | LGPL-2.1-or-later and GPL-2.0-or-later | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FormatFactory | Chen Jun Hao | Freeware (ad supported) | Yes | No | No |
| Freemake Video Converter | Freemake | Freeware (ad supported, requires payment to remove watermark) | Yes | No | No |
| HandBrake | Handbrake Project | GPL-2.0-only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MediaCoder | Stanley Huang | Freeware (ad supported) | Yes | No | No |
| MEncoder | The MPlayer Project | GPL-2.0-or-later | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OggConvert | Tristan Brindle | LGPL-2.1-or-later | Experimental | No | Yes |
| SUPER | eRightSoft | Freeware (ad supported) | Yes | No | No |
| VirtualDub | Avery Lee | GPL-2.0-or-later | Yes | No | No |
Input
| Video converter | 3GP | AVI | Blu-ray video | DVD video | FLV | Matroska | MP4 | MPEG-PS | Ogg | QuickTime | SVCD | TS | TOD | VCD | WMV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Video Converter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avidemux | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FFmpeg | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Freemake Video Converter | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FormatFactory | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DVDVideoSoft Free Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HandBrake | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Prism Video Converter | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| SUPER[1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Output
| Video converter | 3GP | AVI | Blu-ray video | DVD video | FLV | Matroska | MP4 | MPEG-PS | Ogg | QuickTime | Super Video CD | TS | TOD | Video CD | Webm | WMV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Video Converter | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes |
| Avidemux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | No |
| FFmpeg | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FormatFactory | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| DVDVideoSoft Free Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Freemake Video Converter[2] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | Yes |
| HandBrake | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No |
| Prism Video Converter | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SUPER | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video converter | Apple-TV | iPad | iPhone | iPod | Android | PSP | PS3 | Xbox | HTC | Nokia mobile phones | BlackBerry | Zune | Nintendo DS | Samsung mobile phones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Video Converter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avidemux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FFmpeg | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FormatFactory[3] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| DVDVideoSoft Free Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Freemake Video Converter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes[4] |
| HandBrake | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| SUPER | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Features
| Video converter | Converts without transcoding | Batch convert | Join files | Converts audio files | Converts photos | Extract audio | Preview | Include effects | Editing tools | DVD burning | Blu-ray burning | Menu templates | Splitting into chapters | Converts online videos | Subtitles support | Upload to YouTube | Variable frame rate inputs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Video Converter | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Avidemux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| FFmpeg | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| FormatFactory | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
| DVDVideoSoft Free Studio | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? |
| Freemake Video Converter | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HandBrake[5] | Partial | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| SUPER | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
Help and support
| Video converter | By telephone | By email | By live chat | By forum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Video Converter | No | Yes | No | ? |
| Avidemux | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| DVDVideoSoft Free Studio | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FFmpeg | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
| HandBrake[6] | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Freemake Video Converter | No | Yes | No | ? |
| SUPER | No | No | No | ? |
| FormatFactory | No | Yes | No | ? |
See also
- Container format
- Comparison of video container formats
- Comparison of video editing software
- WikiCommons' Theora video conversion help page
- Comparison of DVD ripper software
References
- ^ "Super 2011: Update des beliebten Gratis-Converters". Chip (in German). 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ Ilascu, Ionut (27 February 2011). "CUDA and Blu-ray Support in Free Video Converter". Softpedia.
- ^ Mathews, Lee (5 July 2008). "FormatFactory Kicks Media Conversion Ass and Takes Names". Downloadsquad. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ "Freemake Video Converter Version History". 29 November 2011.
- ^ "HandBrake". Handbrake.fr. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "HandBrake". Chip (in German).
