SMConverter

When going on vacation you tend to take music or videos with you to enjoy. Keep an eye on the file format, because your device might not be able to play it. Luckily, specialized applications such as SMConverter give you the possibility to leave worries aside by changing the format of most known media file formats to the same number of output types.

Running the application brings up a pretty compact interface that manages to display all available features. A list acts like a drop box for desired items you can simply drag over the main window, or load using a dedicated function.

You are able to load some of the most commonly used formats, both for audio and video files. A destination folder can be set, as well as output type, which can range from FLV, AVI to MP3, WMV or FLAC.

One of the biggest disappointments is that there are no available predefined profiles to choose from, nor can you save custom configurations for later use. In order for the conversion to be properly done, you need to manually specify a handful of details, such as audio and video quality, encoder, bitrate and a few others.

Moreover, the output path also includes a destination file which prevents you from converting more files after the first session, unless the name is changed. An integrated feature lets you limit size to fit on a CD or DVD, but no option to set a custom value.

SMConverter promises to help you easily convert media files, but tends to get stuck along the way. The amount of supported input and output formats is impressive. However, the overall poor design leaves a little something to be desired and inexperienced users might find it a little difficult to handle.