OT - Excellent video file (avi mpeg etc) conversion utility

My antiquated old Pentium PC can't play some of the modern video file formats like H264 because the processor is too slow. In the past I've tried to convert those to Xvid with various programs but without much success. I recently came across a free universal video format converter which does everything perfectly.

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Just load a video file of almost any format, specify Xvid or whatever you want to convert it to, keep the frame size the same, enter a video bitrate from the list or type in a custom one, 975 works well for a 350mb rip for a

45 minute program, framerate can stay as original and mp3 audio at 128 bitrate and 44100 sample rate will do nicely. Press convert and off it goes. Perfectly synced sound and video, no codecs to load, everything's built in. I've run 30 or more files through it and they all came out perfect. There's a professional version you can pay for but god knows what else you'd need it to do. The free one rocks.

Just thought I'd pass it on.

Reply to
Dave Baker
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You perhaps need VLC, the best free media player, plays anything you throw at it.

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out the features link for everything it plays.

Reply to
mick

In article , Dave Baker writes

Thanks for the tip, a universal converter is the holy grail. I have downloaded it but there are some worrying aspects to the product, the organisation and website:

No version numbers available for any of the on-site software

Identity hidden behind GoDaddy, eventually resolving to DNS in China

No information provided about who is behind the organisation

It may be a gem but use with caution.

Reply to
fred

In article , mick writes

Will it run on my DVD player or hard drive media player?

Reply to
fred

I do use VLC and have done for many years but a 733 mHz Pentium won't play anything as modern as H264 or X264 because it's too fricking slow. It will play it but it's jerky and the video cuts out to the point it's unwatchable. You fancy rich guys with your 3000mHz AMD's won't be bothered by this but us paupers can only play Xvids and Mpegs properly.

The converter solves this.

Reply to
Dave Baker

No caution required. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Try it and then come back to us.

Reply to
Dave Baker

But the converter will trade off a slow CPU for a (temporary) chunk of disk space, and the time taken to do the conversion.

Reply to
Andy Burns

There is another free one here

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Reply to
mick

OK, I understand, have you checked your lottery numbers yet, there is a few quillian quid going spare from last night, enough to buy you a new 'puter and treat us all in here. :-)

Reply to
mick

In article , Dave Baker writes

I didn't say it didn't work, I said it's sensible to be cautious of an anonymous Chinese outfit that's cagey about origins and code.

Reply to
fred

As does a video card with hardware assistance, i.e. almost anything new. Some will even run video conversion on the graphics units to speed up slow PCs.

Reply to
dennis

I hate to say this, but that reply suggests you are easy virus fodder. Your man there has given you very, very good advice. Take it.

The fact that it does what is says it does, does NOT mean it is not happily raiding your personal data and sending back to, well, any one. This is precicely how people have their identity stolen.

Reply to
AC

FWIW, CNET didn't find a spyware in it:

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The Home Theater PC where I might try this type of downloaded program is normally off line and has the C: drive in a removeable cartridge, with a couple of spares to safely test new programs, and reloadable backups of the C: disk images made with the free Seagate or Western Digital versions of Acronis TrueImage. The backup files can be virus- checked and since they are simply data rather than the active OS they shouldn't be capable of disabling antivirus software.

I built two HTPCs from cheap second-hand office PCs with low end Radeon 9250 PCI and 4350 PCI-E video cards which are adequate to drive US HDTVs. An older single-core 3GHz P4 CPU has had plenty of power so far. A 2.2GHz was marginal.

jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I think the issue is what it might be doing that it DOESN'T say on the tin.

Reply to
Gib Bogle

A serious concern. I thoroughly investigate the source of unexpected Internet access requests when the line is disconnected.

jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

a better graphics car would probably make more difference than a better CPU.

Playing a linux game, I went from 3 FPS to 60 FPS for the cost of a 30 quid Nvidia card.

Actually one of the best motherboards around in terms of bang for the buck is Intels ATOM based one. I reckon it pays for itself in a couple of years on electricity savings,..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Baker" saying something like:

SUPER is good, too.

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Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

An open source GUI for open source codecs:-

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It wants an open port to phone home, and needs a cookie to install. Cookie and open port can be deleted and closed with impunity once it's been installed. I just block it from the network totally using firewall settings.

Very versatile and easy to use.

Reply to
John Williamson

Seconded, but be aware it needs a cookie to install, which can be deleted afterwards. It's also a good idea to block it from your network using your firwall, as it likes to phone home just to check that it can. Blocking it has no effect on function that I've noticed. It's also totally open source, being a script based GUI which accesses an open source codec pack.

Reply to
John Williamson

In article , John Williamson writes

The last version I used (02/05/10) placed it's own 'advert'[1] in the user data section of the created output file which I wasn't too keen on. That may bother some but not others.

[1] This file created by SUPER(c) - or something similar.
Reply to
fred

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