conversion posts

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Beta Beat

Evom beta takes up iSquint's mantle, effortlessly converts video formats

by Robert Palmer (RSS feed) on Jun 1st, 2009

While still in beta, Evom (from The Little App Factory, makers of iPodRip) looks ready to pick up where iSquint left off. It easily and quickly converts videos to formats compatible with iTunes, YouTube, your iPod, and Apple TV.

It couldn't be a simpler drag-and-drop operation: drop the video on the Evom window, and select a destination. After that, Evom does the heavy lifting and (optionally) adds the finished video to iTunes. The output quality is good -- it uses the same technical foundation as ffmpegX. You get the same high quality without all the fiddly controls of ffmpegX.

Evom also includes a bookmarklet that lets you save off YouTube videos to your computer with a single click. The quality of the output there mostly depends on how good the source video is, but it couldn't be easier.

iSquint, my favorite "as if by magic" video conversion tool, was discontinued after Techspansion (also the makers of iSquint's bigger brother VisualHub) shut their doors last October. The VisualHub codebase is still being developed, however, in a new project called Video Monkey that Aron covered in March, which is also well worth a look.

Evom is in beta, but unlike iSquint, it appears like it may cost something when the final version is released. It also appears limited to converting 60 items until it's registered, and trying to register the app leads to a non-existent shopping cart area. Even so, the simple interface and easy installation will be worth a few bucks to me.

[Via Daring Fireball.]

Tags: appletv, beta, conversion, evom, ffmpeg, ipodrip, isquint, techspansion, video, youtube

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look

First Look: Convertbot

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Mar 26th, 2009

Last October, we posted about another iPhone app -- Weightbot -- written by Mark Jardine and Paul Haddad at Tapbots. Now the company has shipped their second app, an iPhone conversion calculator called Convertbot (iTunes link).

Like Weightbot, Convertbot is a classy-looking and extremely functional iPhone app. Every detail of the user interface shows obvious thought, resulting in an app that is easy to use and look at. As with Weightbot, Convertbot also features sound effects that provide an extra level of fun.

What can you convert with Convertbot? Temperature, time, volume, work, angles, area, currency, length, mass, power, pressure and speed. How do you do it? There's a rotating selector wheel on the Convertbot screen to choose the type of conversion (temperature, for example), and a button to select the units (degrees Fahrenheit, for instance). To enter the known unit, you tap the converter display to bring up a keypad for tapping in numbers. As you tap in the numbers, Convertbot is busily converting the units.

If you're an aspiring developer and want to see a well-designed app, or if you're an iPhone or iPod touch owner who just likes cool apps, check out this US$0.99 app. There are tons of conversion apps in the App Store, but Convertbot is just too nice to pass up.

See the gallery below for screenshots.

Gallery: Convertbot

I hear you knockin', but you can't come in...

Tags: app store, AppStore, conversion, convertbot, first look, FirstLook, iphone, software, tapbots

Filed under: Software, Video, iPhone

Handbrake 0.9 released with speed, quality enhancements and more

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Aug 19th, 2007

Handbrake, the reigning king of effortless DVD conversion software, has received a major update to v0.9.0. New in this version is a "re-envisioned" interface for the Mac OS X version (as well as a completely rebuilt UI for Windows), and picture quality has been improved quite a bit through new effects, filters and deinterlacing techniques. Overall speed has also been boosted, and you no longer have to customize your encoding settings for the iPhone, thanks to new presets that simplify the process.

Altogether, nearly 300 changes were made for this new version, so head on over and give it a spin.

Thanks Jim

Tags: conversion, converting, DVD, encoding, Handbrake, ripping

Filed under: iPod Family, Software, Video, iTunes, iPhone, Apple TV

Roxio to announce Crunch, a new video conversion app

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on May 4th, 2007

Looks like VisualHub and iSquint are going to have some competition on their hands, as Roxio on Monday will announce Crunch, their own entry into the software video conversion market. With computer-based video leaving the nest for devices like the Apple TV, the iPod and soon the iPhone, tools that can easily convert video from a plethora of sources and formats are becoming ever the more useful. Roxio looks to make a decent splash in the market with Crunch, as it features their typical UI (which, personally, I detest) and a nice array of features, including batch encoding of multiple files, conversion of DVDs created with Toast, iMovie, and other video editing apps (in other words: it won't rip and encode commercial DVDs), support for a very wide array of video formats including the elusive MPEG-1, presets for specific devices and one killer and rare feature you don't see in many (if any) other apps: encoding from VIDEO_TS files that are ripped straight from a DVD.

Still, all this comes at a price: Crunch will cost $50, whereas similar solutions ~~that don't do DVD or VIDEO_TS conversion~~, like VisualHub, can be had for half that. Still, we'll have to reserve a final judgment until we can get our hands on a copy. Until then, check out our gallery of Crunch screenshots to get a better perspective on whether you should try out a demo.
[Correction: VisualHub does convert VIDEO_TS folders as of version 1.1; our apologies.]

Gallery: Crunch - Roxio's video conversion utility

Tags: batch, conversion, convert, crunch, isquint, roxio, video, visualhub

Filed under: Software, Video, Cool tools, Productivity

VisualHub - The universal video converter

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jun 7th, 2006

VisualHub is a feature-packed and 'universal' video converter for Mac OS X from the maker of iSquint. From its website: "VisualHub bridges the gap between numerous complicated video formatting standards, and people that just want to get the job done - just what you would expect from the Mac." It boasts fast conversion from nearly every video format to iPod, PSP, DV, DVD, AVI, MP4, WMV, MPEG and Flash (what: no animated GIF?), and brags about ts three-step conversion process: click, drag, click.

Fortunately, VisualHub also offers advanced features like bitrate control, frame cropping and audio quality. Xgrid is supported for those with multiple Macs on a network and CPU cycles to spare, while QuickTime Pro and other plugins need not apply.

VisualHub's long list of features don't stop there, however, so check out Techspansion's product page for the full feature list and samples of its work. A demo is available, while a full license will cost you a mere $23.32 USD.

[thanks Khaled!]

Tags: conversion, convert, DivX, dls, DVD, format, iPod, m4a, pro, PSP, quicktime, video, visualhub, xvid

Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPod Family, Video

Rename Podner

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Feb 22nd, 2006

You may remember Apple legal telling the folks who made iPodderX to change their application's name (specifically, to remove the word "iPod") and the resulting contest that produced the new moniker, "Transistr." Well, Apple is at it again.

They've told the folks at Splasm Software to rename Podner, which is an application that converts your video files for iPod use quickly and easily (we took a look at Podner last October). They're currently holding a contest to find a new name, and the winner will be rewarded with a free registration code (2nd, 3rd and 4th place will get a free code, too). Good luck!

[Via Macworld]

Tags: conversion, ipod, ipodderx, podner, transistr, video

Filed under: iTunes, Software Update

iTunes 6.0.2 does automatic video conversion without Quicktime Pro

by Fabienne Serriere (RSS feed) on Jan 11th, 2006

Even more newness in that almost 19MB update to iTunes 6.0.2 this week: automatic conversion of your videos to play on your iPod. Now you don't need any third party machinations or a license for Quicktime Pro to convert media for your happy little video playing iPod!

The conversion is fairly slow (about the same rate as Quicktime Pro) but is really quite handy. Simply open up the Videos section in iTunes, right click on the video you want to convert in your video playlist, and choose "Convert Selection for iPod". If the video is already compatible with your iPod, iTunes will tell you that it doesn't need to be converted.

Now if only I could do direct DVD to iPod inside iTunes. A girl can dream right?

Tags: 6.0.2, conversion, itunes, pro, quicktime, video

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