Encode360

Encode360 is a practical application designed to help you convert video files in order to play them on a Xbox 360 or a Zune media player. You can use it to convert your favorite movies to the WMV format that is supported by the device.

The program supports all the popular movie formats such as AVI, MPG, MP4, DIVX or MKV. It uses the Windows Media Encoder for the conversion and enables you to customize the output settings in order to suit your device. The installer also includes the K-Lite codec pack that facilitates opening the source video files.

This encoding tool is capable of batch converting by adding multiple files to the list and clicking the start button. The basic program settings allow you to adjust the video size and the overall quality of the image in order to optimize the file size.

The bitrate of the movie can be optimized automatically for watching it over a wireless connection or a standard LAN. While most users can simply select the codec and the bitrate preset, the expert users can play around with the conversion mode and adjust the bitrate manually for the best result.

The conversion speed is decent since it converted a 5 minute music video in less than a minute by using the default settings. The required resources were insignificant and there was no impact on the computer performance.

In all the tests, the conversion stalled at about 99 percent mark and forced us to cancel the operation only to discover that the video file was successfully converted. The problem seemed to be caused by using the Windows Media Encoder on Windows 7 and was fixed by installing the hotfix.

Overall, Encode360 is an easy to use tool that can come in handy when you want to convert video files to the WMV format.