Wouldn't it be neat to be able to convert any kind of video files to a format you can use on your PSP, iPod or mobile phone? "Super" (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) is a free utility that allows you to do pretty much all of these things and more.
The ready availability of audio and video material in digital format has allowed all of us to have access to a huge range of content with an ease and accessibility never before possible. This wonderful blessing has, however, been tarnished by the proliferation of different audio and digital media formats. The existence of so many formats has meant that seemingly simple tasks, such as transferring a YouTube video to your iPod or making an MP3 file from a DVD soundtrack, can end up being complex tasks; so complex that they become nearly impossible for non-technical users.
In response to this situation we have seen the market flooded by expensive commercial media conversion programs which can cost up to $199. The good news is that there are many free media conversion programs available that will do the job just as well as their commercial cousins.
The long-time favorite has been "Super" [1], even though it's really no more than a user friendly interface for a variety of command line conversion programs.
It has two great strengths: first, it's reasonably easy to use, and secondly, it handles a large number of different file formats.
For example, with video files it handles 3gp/3g2 (Nokia, Siemens, Sony, Ericsson), asf, avi (DivX, H263, H263+, H264, Xvid, MPEG4, MSmpeg4, etc), dat, fli, flc, flv (used in Flash), mkv, mpg (Mpeg I, Mpeg II), mov (H263, H263+, H264, MPEG4, etc), mp4 (H263, H263+, H264, MPEG4), ogg, qt, rm, ram, rmvb, str (Play Station), swf (Flash), ts (HDTV), viv, vob, and wmv. It also handles audio file format conversion including ac3, amr, mp2, mp3, mp4, ogg, ra, wav, and wma.
The download link for Super is quite hard to find so I've listed an alternative download site [2].
An alternative to Super is MediaCoder [3]. It has the advantage of being open source and, arguably, is even easier to use. It doesn't handle some of the formats handled by Super but is being continuously expanded by its authors. iPod and PSP owners will appreciate the special features for these devices that make usage particularly straight-forward.
If you are mainly interested in just video conversion, check out "Any Video Converter" [4]. It has a better interface than either Super or MediaCoder and is very fast as well. Input formats include DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV and AVI. Its set up to make MP4 conversion as simple as possible, but it can handle other output formats if you are prepared to delve into the options.
[1] Super (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer)
Website: http://www.erightsoft.net
Download link: http://www.erightsoft.net/S6Kg1.html
Author: eRightSoft
Current version: v2008.build.24
Version date: January 18, 2008
License: Freeware
Download File size: 26.1MB
Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
Additional Software Required: None
64 Bit Capable: Yes
Portable Version Available: No
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevant information: None
[2] Super - alternate download link:
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_encoders/super.cfm
[3] MediaCoder
Website: http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/
Download link: http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/download.htm
Author: Yi-Chun Huang
Current version: 0.6.1.4031
Version date: January 18, 2008
License: Freeware
Download File size: 17.7MB
Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
Additional Software Required: None
64 Bit Capable: Yes
Portable Version Available: No
Non-English languages supported: Yes
Other relevant information: None
[4] Any Video Converter
Website: http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/
Download link:http://www.download.com/Any-Video-Converter/3000-2194_4-10661456.html?tag=lst-1
Author: Any-Video-Converter.com
Current version: 2.5.3
Version date: January 9, 2008
License: Freeware
Download File size: 13.7MB
Operating Systems Supported: 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
Additional Software Required: None
64 Bit Capable: Yes
Portable Version Available: No
Non-English languages supported: NA
Other relevant information: None