14 DAY TRIAL // Need a Converter?
It's a rarity when I come across a little program that actually does what it says it can do. I bumped across Video to Flash Converter. This is a little tool that is ultra simple, ultra small and ultra effective. But does it really cost this much?
If you've ran into trouble putting material on a Web site you've been working on, or have had trouble loading some clips, maybe you should give this little guy a try. It takes your .AVI files and converts them to a .SWF format you can use.
So easy to use
I think we need to sit back and bless simplicity for a second because it's truly a wonderful thing. The beauty of this program is that you really don't need to worry about doing something wrong because it's really nicely laid out. In fact, the interface consists of one main window. With some audio and video options on the top, there really isn't more to the program aside from loading and encoding files into .SWF formats.
You have the ability to choose between two different flash file types (SWF & FLV). You can also choose whether or not you want your .SWF file type compressed or not. When it comes to the audio/video options, you aren't really given too much to play with. You get to tweak some quality, framerate and keyframe features with the video settings (you also get to set the pixel resolution). You're also able to set the duration of time you want to have the movie play, yet this option lacks the ability to choose which part of your movie you want played). With the audio, you are able to control the compression and the quality of what you've converted.
After a little use and more thought, I was beginning to think that my so called perfect little tool had some deficiencies. Yes, it does what it claims it can do, but? Where's the beef? I was able to compress some .AVI files and .MPEG files, but I couldn't really touch the .MOV files.
I was seriously looking at the price tag for this little program and I think that it finally hit me, $60 for a program that only converts .AVI file types? Come on people, there has to be a little more. I just can't fathom the idea of spending sixty dollars on a piece of software that does so little.
The Good
I can't get mad at Video to Flash Converter because it never falsely advertises. You know what to expect right from the start and it really does deliver. It's simple to use and doesn't take too long when it converts your files.
The Bad
Sometimes, too simple implies lack of effort and this is how I feel about Video to Flash Converter. I think that it's asking for quite a lot of reimbursement for a program that in reality does so little. Maybe try expanding to some other file types.
The Truth
So let's recap what this little tool does for you. It keeps everything simple and has one main scope in mind, that's to convert your .AVI files to Flash format. But is this worth the $60? Ultimately, it will be the users who pay for software, but I have to say that there are definitely other products out there for much less of a price (and those other products even offer more functionality). The other side of it is that it converted everything properly, the quality was fine and it was really easy to do. Weigh the benefits and drawbacks for yourself and test it out.
Check out the pictures below.
