THandBrake (formerly Smallx264)

THandBrake is developed as an application that can batch encode various video formats to MKV and MP4 format using the Handbreak encoder engine.

Essentially this is a GUI for Handbreak and is designed to be intuitive and simple to use. All the functions and settings are displayed in the main window so you don’t have to search for them in menus and submenus.

You select the input files, choose the destination folder and after clicking “Start”, the application will encode the files using the default settings.

On the other hand, if you want more control over the quality of the output file the application offers you a variety of encoding options and filters. For example you can choose to trade compression efficiency for encoding speed by changing the video preset.

You can also optimize the video by selecting from various tune profiles such as film, animation, grain, fastdecode and others. Besides these, you can also choose the encoding method, bitrate, FPS and video size.

You have additional control over the audio settings as well, being able to choose the encoding codec, bitrate and channels.

As far as filters go, you can apply “Deblock”, “Detelecine”, “Deinterlace “, “Decomb” and “Denoise” to the converted video file, each of them playing a well defined role in the output quality.

To extend the usability of the exported files, THandBrake enables you to convert the videos with web optimization and support for 5th generation iPod devices.

A big plus for this program is that you won’t be subjected to trial and error to obtain the desired result. You can preview the video with all the applied settings and filters before you actually encode it.

Another important and useful feature in this utility is that once you obtain the optimal combination of settings and effects for a certain type of video file, you can save those adjustments as a custom profile for later use.

With all of the above in mind, it’s easy to see why THandBrake is a very practical solution for those who are looking to convert video files to MKV and MP4 without compromising quality.