Video Conversion to MP4

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Fully compatible with new iPod, iPhone, Apple-TV, iPod touch video formats.
  • (5 more, see all...)

Apple took over the world and revolutionized it with the release of its iPod series and later on with the launch of the hype-inducing iPhone. Soon after that, software products ready to benefit from the success of the mac-producing company began to pop up. Converters needed to add yet another parameter to their menus in order to adapt to market needs.

But those days are gone and, at this moment, there are plenty of programs capable of helping the user ready video for the Apple devices. They will have more trouble making a choice as to the software to be employed for the task rather than with the actual conversion.

WinX Free iPhone Video Converter is absolutely free of charge (as the name clearly says) and is designed to convert a wide range of video formats into the iPhone/iPod MP4 container. Besides readying your video for the aforementioned devices, the application can also prepare them for viewing on Apple TV and even extract only the audio track out.

The set of movie formats it can convert from is quite extensive, ranging from the extremely popular AVI, MPEG-1/2, WMV, DivX, XviD and FLV to less employed ones such as ASF, 3GP and 3G2. With WinX Free iPhone Video Converter, the video in this format can also be cooked up for Apple TV, as well as stripped from the audio track and saved as MP3.

The interface offers easy navigation and the uncomplicated procedure to the start of the actual conversion process is presented right from the beginning. It's a three-step operation that practically requires adding the video files you want to convert, selecting the part of the video, selecting the desired parameters and starting the conversion process.

At the parameters is where you're going to hang for a while at the beginning in order to make the fittest choice for the device you will play the movies on. But, considering that the application throws in a set of predefined profiles, there won't be too much trouble.

WinX Free iPhone Video Converter uses two codecs to transform the data, MPEG-4 and H-264. For each of them, there are various resolutions available (this depends on the device the conversion is for). Depending on these and the codec used, you can choose between three levels of quality (for iPhone there are “normal,” “good,” and “excellent;” for other devices the terms are a tad different). This is practically all you have to remember, as all the other parameters are specifically adapted for the selected level of quality.

However, a “straight-up” configuration of the parameters may not suit all the users, so the application leaves a door open and allows customizing audio/video quality and video framerate from a bunch of available presets. As the program is not at all intended for experienced users, but rather for novices and those looking for a fast and effortless way to convert data so that it runs properly on Apple devices, all the predefined values are extremely helpful.

The configuration options for WinX Free iPhone Video Converter fit the entire format of the program, i.e. simple and easy to make your way through. They give you the possibility to rename any of the preset profiles, as well as combine parameters to create your own.

Ripping the audio track from a video file and saving it to MP3 format is yet another function of the application. For this, only the audio quality parameter can be modified and the volume (I'd leave it to the default value, though).

The actual conversion process should not take too long, but that depends entirely on how powerful your computer is. Unfortunately, there is no time estimation for completing the job and all you get is the percentage bar that shows the progress of the operation and the name of the video that is currently processed.

The quality of the resulting video is not at all shabby, especially if the resolution needs to be downsized in order to fit the Apple device display. In this case, the quality will be preserved. Of course, if the original video is of poor quality, do not expect the application to improve it.

WinX Free iPhone Video Converter is very easy to use, as it is designed with the beginner user in mind. Although the presets do not leave them too much room for customization, all parameters have been combined in a way as to result a good quality conversion with little input from the user.


The Good

It is free of charge, easy to handle, friendly looking and requires little, if any, effort from the user. The main application window displays the three easy-to-follow steps required to start video conversion.

The application supports the most popular video formats on the market and converts them into iPhone-, iPod- (iTouch-) and Apple TV-ready video. It can also extract the audio track out of them and turn it into MP3.

The Bad There is no time estimation for finishing the conversion job. Automatically adding the converted video to the device it has been processed for would be a nice touch to the application.

The Truth

WinX Free iPhone Video Converter is free of charge and does exactly what it is supposed to do, nothing more and nothing less. It has been created for newbies, so everything is predefined for the best quality, leaving the user with no hard or complicated choices. The times for converting the data to MP4 are not too shabby, but in the end it all comes down to the power of one’s computer.

NOTE: This application is no longer free of charge and changed the name to WinX iPhone Video Converter

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 5
features 5
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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