Getting the Most out of Your Video Gadget Storage - Software Solutions
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Just as any engineer needs tools to accomplish tasks, we need our software too. Keep in mind that the scope of this article isn't to provide a comprehensive review of different applications; rather, we'll just name a few possible choices and then it is up to you to pick which one you are going to use (or choose another by searching Google).
One of the most outstanding freeware creations in the multimedia software field is the so-called SUPER utility. The name comes from the following abbreviation, which also sums up its objective: Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer. The beauty of this utility is that it relies on its own codecs. It has an extensive list of features and functions, and a really long list of supported codecs, formats, and standards.
The one and only drawback that I could think of is perhaps its non-intuitive GUI. It sports a different graphical user interface from what most people are accustomed to, but this isn't necessarily a con. Due to literally hundreds of different options, the UI can look crowded, and playing around with settings can be a bit hard. Anyway, it's an amazing state-of-the-art application that is also freeware, so check it out!
(SUPER - Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer)
In short, SUPER is a front end for dozens of command-line encoders, decoders, and other utilities that offer rendering, playback, filtering, and so forth. Furthermore, it supports every possible format and standard that you can think of, and trust me, more than you ever heard of until now. It has different ready-to-run profiles for some of the most popular media players, cell phones, and gadgets, such as the iPod and Zune.
The next application that I'm going to recommend is the APEX Free 3GP Video Converter. It is freeware, but it is limited to converting from ANY media file to only 3GP formats. For our purposes, we need 3GP, so it fits our needs quite well.
(APEX Free 3GP Video Converter)
It supports batch conversions, so converting multiple files won't be a pain. The user interface is very straightforward, intuitive, and even aesthetic. It won't look crowded, despite the fact that you can create custom profiles where you specify the settings to be used for transcoding. It has a little built-in preview screen, too. The conversion speed is fast.
Another freeware application is the Freez 3GP Video Converter. This utility was especially designed for mobile phone users (converts anything to 3GP). The audio codecs include AAC-LC and AMR-NB. The video codecs are XVID, MPEG4, and H263. The encoding process goes smoothly and is quite fast. It requires registration after a few runs, but registering the product is free. It supports zooming as well.
(Freez 3GP Video Converter)
Now let's present some commercial alternatives for those that don't mind paying for utilities as long as they satisfy their picky requirements. First, there is the ImTOO 3GP Video Converter. Check out its list of features at the official site. It does nothing different compared to the earlier products, but you may find something new.
(ImTOO 3GP Video Converter)
Here's another commercial software suggestion: Xilisoft 3GP Video Converter. Interestingly enough, it sports the exact same features and graphical user interface (with a little color change and different icons) as the ImTOO one. Now the question is, which one inspired the other? It's not our task to decide.
(Xilisoft 3GP Video Converter)
Check it out because it seems like a decent application. It has a free trial, so you can try it out without paying a cent. It supports conversion from and to any of the popular media formats, not just 3GP. Isn't it surprising that ImTOO supports these, too?
And finally, our last recommendation goes to the Ultra Mobile 3GP Video Converter. This application certainly has a simplistic UI. It has some predefined profiles, so it may meet the requirements of some users right out of the box. Regardless, you can specify and create custom profiles. It supports both AAC and AMR for audio codecs and the most popular video codecs too, like MPEG4, 3GP, etc.
(Ultra Mobile 3GP Video Converter)
The trial has a five-minute conversion limitation. Try it out... and let's move on!
Next: Let's Encode! >>
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