Overall, HandBrake is an excellent choice for Mac. With this platform, you get complete control over video file conversions. It allows you to set several parameters for the output file, and the. Best HandBrake Alternative - Leawo DVD Ripper. There are quite a lot of wonderful and powerful Handbrake alternatives for handling DVD content. Among all those Handbrake DVD ripping program alternatives, Leawo DVD Ripper is the best Handbrake alternative. Download HandBrake for free. A tool to convert video from nearly any format to modern codecs. HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.
ISkysoft iMedia Converter Deluxe for Mac provides all features of Handbrake video converter and works just as well as Handbrake on Mac. With a broad formats support, this DVD Converter for Mac (Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks included) enables you to convert homemade DVDs on Mac OS X, 10.6, 10.7 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and 10.9 (Mavericks). Part 1: How to Encode H.265/HEVC with Handbrake Best Settings. Note: To ensure a sound H.265/x265 video encoding on Handbrake, free download Handbrake 1.0.0 or later version on your PC as it added full support for 4K codecs H265 and VP9. Then follow the Handbrake guide to create high-quality and small H.265/HEVC for 4K UHD or Full HD videos.
There might be different purposes we need a video converter software:
- Transcode videos for playing on iPhone, TVs, PS4, Xbox One, Mac, Windows 10, and any other devices.
- Turn the media to another video format so it can be handled by a specific video editor or media player.
- Convert your DVDs (include the encrypted 99-title Disney DVDs) with favored chapters, subtitles, and languages.
- Directly convert videos from UGC sites like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Given the fact that hundreds of video converters out there claim themselves to be compatible, fast, and easy to master while giving no compromise to quality, choosing the best video converter software becomes one of the most frustrating roadblocks you may encounter. Lucky you are here. We have carefully selected and assembled a list of the best video converter software you can get right now. Most of them are open-source, meaning they are completely free programs for Windows 10/8/7, MacOS, Linux and web.
Quick Navigation:
- 3 Best video converter software for Windows and Mac:
- VideoProc (for everybody) 👍 | Adobe Media Encoder (for pro-users) | Prism Video Converter
- 5 Best free video converter software for Windows and Mac:
- HandBrake | VLC media player | FFmpeg | MPEG streamclip | Shutter Encoder
- 4 Best video converter software for Windows only
- Freemake Video Converter | WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe | Xmedia RecodeVidcoder
- 2 Best video converter software for Mac only
- MacX Video Converter | FFworks
- 2 Best online video converter app
- Freeconvert | Clip Convert
3 Best Professional Video Converters for Windows and Mac
# VideoProc
- Operating system: Windows and macOS.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: MOV, MP4, MPE, MPEG2, MPEG4, VOB, VP8, VP9, Xvid, YUV411, 3D, 360° VR video, and more.
- Output formats: DV-NTSC/PAL, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP8, VP9, DivX, WMV2, ProRes, and more.
VideoProc is the best video converter software for Windows 10/8/7 and all recent versions of macOS computers. It can convert any of around 370+ media formats to your choices of around 420 output formats. Namely, you can use it to convert MKV to MP4, MOV to MP4/MPEG, YouTube to WAV, MP4 to MP3, MP4 to AVI/WMV, H264 to H265, and even DVDs to digital in just one click.
Thanks to the support of level-3 GPU acceleration, hyper-threading, and AMD '3DNow' tech, and the capability to intelligently switch between All-I (intra-frame) and IPB (inter-frame) compression while conversion, VideoProc is the epitome of fast.
We had repeatedly tested VideoProc video converter and was surprised to find it can convert videos at speed up to 47x times faster than the real-time playback while keeping the CPU usage at around 0.5%. During the transcoding process, we had no problem to write emails, watch movies, and run other programs.
No worry about quality loss if you are using VideoProc video converter. It applies the latest x265 high entropy codec that enables you to retain 99% of the original picture quality while shrinking 90% of the size. Thus, people who want to convert video for freeing up space will also benefit a lot from this awesome video converter.
Pros:
- Feed in, (batch) convert, and export to almost any formats you can imagine.
- Automate the conversion process with presets for YouTube, iPhone, Apple TV, Sony PS3/PS4, Xbox, NTSC/PAL DVD…
- Never give up video quality: support video remux, 2-pass encoding, and x265 high entropy codec.
- Allow you to select the needed chapters, language tracks, and subtitles when converting DVDs.
- Up to 47x faster conversion speed while not slowing down your computer.
- Not just the best video converter, but also the best video downloader, UHD video compressor, and easy video editor.
Cons:
- It is a flawless video converter that has nothing we dislike.
This fancy video converter software kept the CPU usage at 0.1% 👍 when we converted the iPhone HEVC 4K recordings to a 1080P H.264 MP4 file. After the conversion, the file size dropped to 10.6MB without any visible downgrading in video quality.
# Adobe Media Encoder
- Operating system: Windows and macOS.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐
- Input formats: 3GP, AAF, AVC-Intra LT, AVC Long GOP, Cinema DNG, RMF, DV Stream, DNxHD Op1a, and more.
- Output formats: uncompressed UYVY, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP8, VP9, and more.
Adobe Media Encoder is a top-notch paid video converter. It's capable of converting almost all the existing video codecs, so there is no worry about codec things when applying this serious video converter to transcode or remux video files. Besides, it enables the dynamic link with Adobe series products. This brings much convenience for video editing experts who need to polish a large amount of videos that come in different codecs.
Handbrake Download For Mac 10.12.3
People who have worked with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Photoshop, or other tools from the big Adobe family should have no problem mastering Adobe Media Encoder. However, it's very possibly a long process with trial and error to learn all its bells and wrestles for beginners. They hey have to dive their headfirst into the obscure codec terminologies before successfully converting the first video clip. Adobe Media Encoder is not for armatures. It acquires large memory and CPU for the entire decoding and encoding process. Thus, if you don't have a well build machine, this daunting video converter can leave your other processes paralyzed.
Pros:
- Allow videos in a wide range of formats, resolutions, and aspect ratios.
Cons:
- Not for converting DVD or Blu-ray discs.
- Not natively support the output of MKV, VP9 WEBM, H.264 AVI…
- A bit on the pricey side: 29.99USD per month.
- Lack of options to control the audio stream.
In the output-format setting tab of Adobe Media Encoder, you're going to see a great number of lossless formats options. This making Adobe Media Encoder the best video converter software for people whose target is getting some lossless video files. The conversion speed of Adobe Media Encoder is overall slow. For instance, it took 4 minutes and 24 seconds to transcode the iPhone 4K clip to 1080P video using the Facebook 1080P HD preset.
To avoid unfairly tied the hands of this heavy video converter, we tested over 20 times with different clips with different settings on target bitrate and codecs. However, we got a similar slow conversion process. Besides, on average, it set up the CPU usage to 95% and took a large memory space of about 2800MB.
# Prism Video Converter
- Operating system: Windows and macOS.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: all common and rare media formats.
- Output formats: all common and rare media formats.
Unlike VideoPad Video Editor, offered by NCH software that allows you to edit videos without paying, Prism Video Converter is a paid video converter developed by NCH that lets it's user convert videos for personal use. It runs on all recent Mac and Windows(64 bit). With it, you can easily convert video from or to MP4, AVI, MOV, VOB, ASF, and tons of other formats regardless of the contained codecs.
Prism Video Converter also enables to rip DVD and Blu-ray discs, and it even allows you to choose the preferred language for the digital copy. It doesn't prepare many presets for TVs but offers rich options for iPhone, iPad, and game consoles (Xbox, PS3, PS4, PSP, Nintendo 3DS, and many more). Thus, it's definitely one of the best free video converters for quick video conversion. However, I'd have to admit, it still has many limitations in terms of the adjustments on video properties. For example, it doesn't allow you to set up a specific video bitrate, audio sample rate, and the resolution you can convert to is constrained to 2K.
Pros:
- A raft of editing options: watermark, text overlay, color correction, etc.
- Convert all video files even when your machine lacks the related codecs.
Cons:
- Not flexible enough to convert videos.
- Might add black bars to your video as it doesn't support aspect ratio like 9:16 and 1:1.
Prism Video Converter has better performance than a lot of high-cost video converter in terms of CPU and memory usage. Whether we turned the high-compressed HEVC 4K video to 720P MPEG-2 clips or transcoded the large ISO video file to H.264 MPEG, the CPU usage rate didn't surpass 32%, and the memory usage didn't go larger than 300MB. This free video converter software loses in the conversion speed. Averagely, it took 7 times longer than VideoProc needs to convert the same video with nearly the same target bitrate and compression codec.
5 Best Free Video Converters for Windows and Mac
# HandBrake
- Operating system: Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐
- Input formats: VIDEO_TS, BDMV, VOB, EVO, MTS, M2TS, DNxHD, ProRes, XAVC, XDCAM, and more.
- Output formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, Theora, VP9, and VP8.
One of the best free video converter currently available has to be HandBrake. This is a professional video converter program that can output videos from multiple video formats (MP4, MKV, AVI, TS, M2TS), as well as digitize Blu-ray and DVDs to MKV, MP4, and WEBM formats. It provides beginners with presets for quick conversion but still comes with tons of options for advanced users to customize the video bitrate, frame rate, resolution, and other properties.
The support of modern GPU encoding is a big plus as it can accelerate the whole conversion process at the speed 2X to 3X faster than the real-time playback. And the adopted x265 encoding enables HandBrake to generate high-quality videos without taking up large storage space. It's a cross-platform and open-source video converter which means you can utilize HandBrake on Windows, Mac, and Lux and get access to all incredible features without having to pay a dime.
Pros:
- A heaps of input video formats.
- Basic editing toolkits including cut, crop, subtitle, filter…
- Completely free with GPU acceleration supported now.
- Flexible video parameter settings, even in command lines.
Cons:
- Unstable with errors, despite being constantly updated.
- Won't convert encrypted DVDs.
- Good for experienced users, but not friendly enough for beginners.
- Few output formats. 3 containers (MKV, MP4, WEBM) are available only.
- Over 90% consumption in CPU resources is commonly seen while the conversion.
HandBrake can work fast when you define a faster encoding. For instance, HandBrake took over 90 seconds to convert the 4K HEVC video to 1080P H.264 video when we selected Fast 1080P 30P. The conversion speed was shortened to 36 seconds when we switched to Very Fast 1080P.
HandBrake took 2.8 hours to convert an ISO file in our test. What is worth to notice is this free video converter failed to scan some titles of the imported ISO files for the first few times.
# VLC media player
- Operating system: Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐
- Input format: MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4 ASP, XviD, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, Theora, Dirac/VC-2, MJPEG (A/B), DV, and more.
- Output format: ASF, AVI, Fraps, MPJPEG, MPEG-2 (ES, MP3), Ogg, PSTS, WAV, WEBM, and more.
Did you know that you might already have a great free video converter installed on your computer? And its name is VLC media player. Most of us know this amazing program as a free media player developed by VideoLan that can play a variety of media including some videos that are unrecognizable on other players. But few know VLC is a versatile video converter that can batch convert videos in HEVC, VC-D, VP3/VP5/VP6/VP8, WMV, DVD, MPEG-1/2, and tons of codecs, on regardless of the container formats.
Since VLC is mainly a media player software that moonlights as a workable video converter, in comparison with those professional converters, VLC has a limited output format support and presets. It does not output VP9, ProRes, ProRes 422HQ, ProRes 422, and ProRes 422LT, etc. However, professional video converters, such as VideoProc, support almost all of the said formats. The availability of 10+ options for tweaking the output file parameters perhaps is not for the faint of heart.
Pros:
- Support H.265 codec, and can convert audio/DVD.
- It is completely free to use.
- The batch video conversion is supported.
Cons:
- Lack the support of AV1 and VP9 codec.
- No output presets for specific devices or social media.
- Unable to convert multiple videos files simultaneously to different formats.
The conversion speed of the VLC media player surpassed our expectations. It took about 40 seconds to encode the HEVC iPhone recordings from 4K to 1080P while keeping 40% of the CPU usage rate and 300MB of memory usage. We also checked up the transcode from AVI to MP4, MKV to WEBM, and a few more, all got a fast response from the VLC media player.
What we want to complain about is, VLC media player often stopped the process automatically and gave us an unknown file with 0 bytes content when we applied it to convert DVD files.
# FFmpeg
- Operating system: Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- Ease of use: ⭐
- Input formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HEVC/H.265, Motion JPEG, IEC DV video, CD+G, and more.
- Output formats: same as the above compatible input formats.
The fact is the majority of the open source and commercial video converters in the market are taking FFmpeg behind the scenes. Therefore, we are very satisfied with what this amazing video converter can do in terms of conversion capabilities. It essentially can change video formats of all sorts, the supported input video codecs range from ISO disc images, MP4 (H.261/H.262, MPEG 4 Part 2, etc.), AMD/ATI (ATI VCR1/VCR2) to MOV (Cinepak, ProRes, QuickTime Animatio, QuickTime Graphics, etc.), Avid, ASV… However, just because it is capable of doing everything doesn't mean everyone can benefit from this powerful video converter.
FFmpeg is the best free video converter software for advanced users or engineers who know a command-line environment. It doesn't come with the GUI. So you can't convert videos by simple clicks as what you're doing with VideoProc or other video converters. FFmpeg video converter works according to what it translates from the input command lines. A small difference in the command lines will bring up totally different conversion performances and results.
Pros:
- Give you the complete freedom to convert video and audio.
- Free to use on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Cons:
- Steep learning curve.
# MPEG Streamclip
- Operating system: Windows and macOS.
- Ease of use:⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: IMA 4:1, MPEG-4, AMR Narrow, MPEG Layer 2, MPEG Layer 3, and etc.
- Output formats: AV1/DivX, MPEG-4.
MPEG Streamclip is one of the oldest video converters which you can tell from its 80-s style of interface, few output options, and the limited editing capabilities. It supports to rip and convert DVD. The most used formats, as like, MOV and MP4 are supported by this free video converter. However, to speak of the output format, QuickTime MOV, DV, AV1/DivX and MPEG-4 videos are the only few options that you can choose. In addition, you cannot convert your videos to HEVC, AV1, VP8, or other high compression codecs.
Another downside of MPEG Streamclip converter is it only exports video is in 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio. Users who want to convert video for posting on social media like Facebook and Instagram are advised to choose another video converter software as these platforms favor the 1:1 square videos.
Pros:
- Lightweight and free to use.
Cons:
- Not support to preview the edits that are applied to the working videos.
- It was discontinued years ago.
Handbrake Software For Mac
MPEG Streamclip doesn't read HEVC, VP8, and various of prevalent codecs. Thus we tested this free video converter program with some H.264 and MPEG-4 clips. We found it was quite slow. For instance, we spent a total of 18 minutes to transcode 40 seconds of H.264 1080P to MPEG-4 MOV.
# Shutter Encoder
- Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux, Utunbu.
- Ease of use:⭐⭐
- Input formats: all popular video, audio and picture formats.
- Output formats: VP9, HEVC, AV1, DNxHD, DNxHR, Apple ProRes, QT Animation, GoPro CineForm, and JPEG, etc.
If you are looking for a free video converter software with useful video editing capabilities, then you'd love Shutter Encoder. It is chock full of integrated features, allowing you to convert video codec from one to another, burn subtitles to your videos, trim/crop footages, download web videos/music, record your screens, and more.
Shutter Encoder packs all necessary conversion options that can satisfy a seasoned user's demand. Thanks to the well-categorized codec list and the simplified interface, it doesn't require newbies much effort to utilize the full potential of Shutter Encoder to convert videos for editing, broadcasting, or other purposes. Many paid video converters support only Windows and Mac. Open-source video converter freeware are very compatible but usually come with a bit of out-of-date features and UI design. This made the cross-platform Shutter Encoder a perfect option for Linux and Ubuntu users.
Pros:
- Transcode, remux, compress, edit, download, and share videos/audio/pictures.
- Shutter Encoder has a very active support team on Reddit
Cons:
- Lack of easy to follow tutorials for newbies to dive deep.
- Features like screen capture and online video download are deep buried in the function menu.
The GPU acceleration feature only works while decoding. Therefore, it falls behind the level-3 GPU accelerated VideoProc in terms of conversion speed and overall performance. There are also many users encountering crash issues when enabling the GPU acceleration feature. Despite the flaws, Shutter Encoder is the ideal choice for users who aren't willing to make a serious hole in their pockets.
4 Best Video Converters for Windows Only
# Freemake Video Converter
- Operating system: Windows.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: AMV FLH, OGM, AVCHD, FLI, OGV, AVS, FLM, PVA, H.263, H.264, MJ2, MJPG, VC1, and more.
- Output formats: H.264, XVID, VC1, MPEG2/4, H.263, FLV, WMV3, VP8, DVD, Blu-ray, MP3, 3GP, AAC, and OGG.
Freemake Video Converter is a beginner-friendly video transcoder program that runs on Windows. It has a well-optimized interface that makes all necessary conversion features are visible to its users. With Freemake Video Converter, you can copy DVD to MP4, turn videos from 40+ different codecs to another format to let it go compatible with iPod, iPad, Nokia, BlackBerry, Xbox, Sony, etc. And the whole process can be extremely easy to make with the ready-made device presets.
There are few things with Freemake Video Converter that I don't like. Firstly, it doesn't support 4K UHD videos which are now everywhere. If you intend to convert a 4K video to another format via Freemake Video Converter, then you have to trade-off with big sacrifice in resolutions as the largest video Freemake Video Converter can export is 2160P X 2160P.
Pros:
- Easy to use with a straightforward interface.
- A free converter for video, audio, DVD, and photo.
Cons:
- Lack of the support for advanced formats including HEVC and VP9.
- The presets are for 2017 devices as it didn't receive an update since then.
- Windows only. It's not compatible with macOS.
- Payment is required to remove the watermark.
Everytime we added a video encoded by lossy formats, just like VP8 WEBM, MPEG-2 MP4, the convert process bar was stuck at 60% ~ 90% after running the transcode command. Thankfully, it successfully transcoded some lossless videos, though in slow speed.
To give an example, it took 12 seconds to convert a 28 seconds HD ProRes MOV file to 1080P H.264 MP4 video with the default settings. Under the same cases, VideoProc took just about 12 seconds.
# WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe
- Operating system: Windows and macOS.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: ASF, AVI, DAT, DAV, DivX, DV, F4V, FLV, G2M4, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HEVC/H.265, QT, JPEG, and more.
- Output formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HEVC/H.265, AV1, and more.
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe, developed by Digiarty, is a GPU-accelerated HD and 4K Video Converter. It is user friendly and has a simple layout. As a multiple media converter, it can transcode a variety of videos including 60FPS/120FPS 4K UHD videos and Facebook videos to more compatible or higher compressed files.
You can enjoy a fast conversion speed even when using it on a relatively old computer thanks to the applied of the said hardware acceleration technology. The weakness of this Mac and Windows video converter is it doesn't read DVD, CD, or Blue-ray discs. Basic editing utilities are included, however, still a bit of limited.
Pros:
- Response fast with each your click.
- Also a decent YouTube/Facebook/Instagram converter.
Cons:
- The interface is intuitive but out-of-date.
- Lack of support for converting DVD and Blu-ray discs.
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe goes really fast. We spent around 30 seconds to convert the 4K footages captured by iPhone to VP8 WEBM while keeping the same resolution and picture crispy.
# Xmedia Recode
- Operating system: Windows.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: AVISynth, DVD, H.264/MPEG-4 AVI, H.265/HEVC, MMF, MPEG-1, and more.
- Output formats: AVI, DNxHD, GXF, H.261/3/4, HEVC/H.265, 3GPP2, AAC, AC3, ADX, AIFF, AMR, ASF, and more.
Xmedia Recode, comes with 16.6MB of installer file, is absolutely a lightweight video converter. The supporting list of input and output video codecs of Xmedia Recode is totally the same as HandBrake. But, it is widely regarded as the 'HandBrake +' solution on Windows. Why? This compact video converter software can export 30+ video and audio formats including AVI, OGG, MOV, and many other files that's not supported by HandBrake.
It comes with many options that allow to fine-tune video and audio encoder parameters. The build-in bitrate calculator helps you to avoid the whopping large output that is frequently seen when using HandBrake. In addition, it has more useful presets for TVs and smartphones (iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, etc.) than HandBrake does.
Pros:
- A lot of options for output video and audio.
- You can convert videos with or without changing its codecs and parameters.
- Support edit chapters.
- The built-in bitrate calculator helps users convert video to the desired size.
Cons:
- Not support to read ISO files.
- Won't generate UHD HDR video.
- The interface is not user friendly enough.
Xmedia Recode and Handbrake are using the same encoder and decoder. Both are good showcases of the fast and best video converter software, but the exact conversion speed is largely determined by your settings. To convert the test DVD disk to MPEG-2 MP4, this free video converter took over an hour. Be aware, Xmedia Recode, in some cases, might eat up your memory, e.g., it took up to 2500MB of memory to convert our HEVC video to a VP8 file.
# Vidcoder
- Operating system: Windows.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐
- Input format: VOB, EVO, VIDEO_TS, BDMV, DNxHD, ProRes, XAVC, and more.
- Output format: H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VP8, Theora video.
Vidcoder is a free and open-source DVD and Blu-ray ripper as well as a capable video transcoder that works on Windows. Taking HandBrake as the encoding engine, Vidcoder has similar features with HandBrake. They boast the same input and output videos codecs and formats, presets, and the options for adjusting video parameters, and the capability to convert videos from/to discs.
What Vidcoder superiors to HandBrake is it's a bit more easy to learn. However, new hands may still feel overwhelmed by a large number of video codecs jargon shown up on this multiple video converter.
Pros:
- Easier to apply than HandBrake.
Cons:
- Ask for a large amount of CPU and GPU resources.
- Not allow people to convert videos to AVI, MOV, and many popular formats.
The encoding speed of Vidcoder is quite slow from our test. When working with the preset Very Fast 1080P, Vidcoder took over 2 minutes to transcoded our 43 seconds 4K iPhone recording. It took up 70% of our CPU resource and 1600MB of the system memory while the conversion. After we changed the import video file to a 7.26GB of ISO file, the disk usage value suddenly jumped to 99%, and worse more, it stopped the transcode in seconds and left us with a blank file.
2 Best Video Converter Software for Mac Only
# MacX Video Converter Pro
- Operating system: macOS.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HEVC/H.265, QT, VP8, VP9, JPEG, and more.
- Output formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HEVC/H.265, AV1, VP8, and more.
MacX Video Converter Pro is the go-to toolkit for a lot of macOS users to convert and download videos. It is well accepted for being professional in dealing with hundreds of media formats and for amazing fast speed with hardware acceleration support. With this handy video converter for Mac, you can remux or re-encode video files to solve codec format incompatible issues whether you run into the problem during video playback or when importing video for post-production, in iMovie for example.
With the build-in downloader and compression engine, MacX Video Converter Pro makes it possible to convert online videos for watching later and shrink the size of HD or UHD videos. However, it might not be the best video converter for you. It won't convert DVD videos or any types of audios. The integrated editing toolset needs some improvements as it doesn't enable you to apply subtitles, special effects, or many other edits.
Pros:
- Also a reliable online video downloader.
- Easy to navigate layout.
Cons:
- No access to convert audios, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs.
- Not allow to add or edit subtitles.
MacX Video Converter Pro is a very fast video converter software on Mac. We tested it with many videos recorded by iPhone and DJI drones, it averagely can fulfillment the conversion at the speed 5X faster than the real-time playback, and all the exported files are in nice quality.
# FFworks
- Operating system: macOS.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐
- Input formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, PRORES, DNxHD, DV Video, MPEG TS, MPEG PS, VP8, and more.
- Output formats: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP9, PRORES, DNxHD, MPEG TS, MPEG PS, XAVS, and more.
Geared toward Mac users, FFworks is an easy-to-use video converter software that supports 4K HEVC, H.264, AV1, and other 20+ common media formats. More than 300 advanced options are given by FFworks which allow users to have full control over the output video properties. Newbies? No worry, FFworks provides you with dozens of presets for generating videos that can play smoothly on different brands and modes of smartphones, TVs, Game Consoles as well as the various social media.
In its recent version, FFworks video converter optimizes the feature of GPU accelerated encoding with VideoToolBox which decreases some extend of reliance on CPU resource while the conversion. Better yet, the support of chapter edits allows you to add chapters information for MP4, MOV, and MKV videos with great ease.
Pros:
- Rich features in editing videos (filter, watermark, cut, subtitle, etc.)
Cons:
- The ability to convert video from/to DVD or Blue-ray disk is absent.
If you compare FFworks with the professional HD/UHD video converter, as like VideoProc and WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe, this lightweight tool will very possibly disappoint you. However, it works faster than the said Prism Video Converter and most video encoder freeware. To give an example, the time is 3 minutes for FFworks converting the 27.2MB 1080P MP4 file with a length of 40 seconds to 33MB 720P AVI video.
2 Best Online Video Converter Apps
# Freeconvert
- Operating system: browser-based.
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Most web-based video converters constrain you to convert videos to MP4 formats. In Freeconvert, you can choose the format for the exported video from 8 different options. Not sure which video format you need to get? It prepares a few devices presets for iPhone, iPad, Kindle, and Xbox, etc. To speak of the size limit, Freeconvert is far more generous than its competitors are. The max file size for a free account is up to 1GB.
As a browser video converter app, after all, it's far away from being perfect. The high reliance on your network environment, the lack of options to make precise settings of your conversion, and the absence of support to convert DVD discs are all big issues.
Pros:
- Cut, Flip, and subtitle your videos.
- Allow to custom video resolution, aspect ratio, and frame rate.
Cons:
- No access to improve the bitrate.
- Slow conversion process under bad network environment.
As said, the conversion speed of the online tool was heavily influenced by the network condition. Thus, both Freeconvert and the Clip Converter that we are going to introduce later are the underdogs on our list. From we imported the MP4 video (with the length of 40 seconds) to we saved the MOV exported video on our disk, Freeconvert took over 23 minutes, and Clip Converter cost 36 minutes.
# Clip Converter
- Operating system: browser-based
- Ease of use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clip Converter is an online, free video converter that lets you convert your source video into the output format you want. In this post, we will walk you through how to convert a video to another format, namely YouTube to MP4 step by step. You just need to copy & paste a URL or upload your video to this online application, and then you can convert your video to the format you desire. Currently, it supports various media formats as follows: audio formats like MP3, M4A, AAC, and video formats such as MP4, 3GP, AVI, MOV, MKV.
Sadly, from our test and what we've got from its users, online Clip Converter has far more cons than pros of its degree, which demonstrates that it is not a perfect online vidoe converter.
Pros:
- An online video converter software with free service.
- You can specify the start and end time of your video to be converted.
- Popular media formats partially supported.
Cons:
- Video URL you copy & paste is malfunctioning - you may be navigated to the fraud sites.
- Default option built-in, unavailable to customize parameters.
- Unavailable to batch processing conversion file.
- IE6 browser fails to support YouTube video conversion.
- An online tool, security untestified and data leak risk unknown.
Best Video Converter Software: What to Consider?
1. Supported File Formats
Many of you want a video converter with the aim to overcome the device compatibility issues for freely playing any videos on smartphones, music players, computers, TVs, game consoles, DVD players, etc. Therefore, a good video converter should have the capability to read and write a plenty of different formats.
Take this criteria, the best video converters are VideoProc, FFmpeg, Prsim Video Converter, and Shutter Encoder.
2. Picture Quality
Though quality always rolls downhill every time you make the video conversion, an excellent video converter can retain most of the data from the original files. In this way, the slight loss in video quality happened while the video conversion process won't be noticed by human eyes.
Take this criteria, the best video converters are VideoProc, Adobe Media Encoder, and FFmpeg.
3. Conversion Speed
We see too many people complain about the video converter they use to convert Blue-ray discs and TV shows responses ridiculously slow. That's true. Many video transcoder software take several hours to successfully convert a short video that is in minutes long. Luckily, you don't have to tolerate that sort of plain craps anymore as we have excluded that terribly slow video transcoder software for you.
Take this criteria, the best video converters are VideoProc and MacX Video Converter Pro.
To pick up the fastest video converter software, we made speed tests for each tool with at least 3 videos (Surely we used many more videos). Below is the detailed information.
Clip 1 - recorded by iPhone - 99.6MB, 46S 51MS, 18.1 Mb/S, 3840 X 2160P, HEVC, MP4
Clip 2 - grabed from YouTube - 27.3MB, 40S 43MS, 5718 Kb/s, 1920 x 1080P, H.264, MP4
Clip 3 - The ISO file of FROZEN with the total file size of 7.26G
Note: The test was made when all unnecessary background processes were closed.
4. GPU Acceleration
We don't want to see our CPU usage rate blasts up to 80% or even higher. A video converter that supports the GPU acceleration tech can speed up the conversion process while easing up the CPU's burden. Thus, the video converter that enables GPU acceleration always prevails over those who don't in overall speed.
So far, 65% of the video converter software makes use of GPU acceleration for video encoding only, 24% of them utilized GPU acceleration for both decoding and encoding videos. VideoProc is the sole video converter that enables full utilization of the hardware acceleration during the video encoding, video decoding, and UHD video processing.
5. Low Investment
Generally speaking, there are 3 factors you should consider: the cost of the video converter software, the supplement investments in hardware, and the associated costs of the learning courses.
That is to say, the best video converter software itself should be free or low cost. It doesn't require too much computer resources as well. Thus you don't need to update your PC built for running it smoothly. The sleek and straightforward layout is also necessary for you to easily apply it without having to follow any training courses.
Take this criteria, the best video converters are: WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe, and VideoProc.
Handbrake subtitles issue: I want to rip The Avengers DVD into my USB and add subtitles in it with Handbrake. Soft subtitle is my preference but hard one is also good. But when I playback the ripped DVD, the subtitles won't show up on my TV. Is there any proper solution or can you tell me the best Handbrake settings?
Movies come from all over the world and such flicks are usually accompanied by their original language. For instance, a movie from French naturally goes with French subtitles while an anime is often embedded with subtitles in Japanese. So for exotic people who are unable to make out what the character says, watching those movies becomes intolerable. In this case, people would turn to add subtitle they prefer to the movie so as to have a better understanding of it. Actually, Handbrake DVD ripping issue is more familiar to us so that some people don't know how to download Handbrake to add subtitle to movie files. Surprisingly, the following contents will show you the detailed guide to add subtitles to movie in both hard and soft ways.
Note: Handbrake add subtitles to movie file in two approaches including hard burn and soft subtitle. The former indicates that subtitles are written on top of the image permanently and cannot be turned on or off like on the DVD while the later means subtitles can be added as a part of the movie and can be enabled or disabled as you want.
How to Watch Movies with Multiple Subtitle Tracks
5-star solution: MacX DVD Ripper Pro. Handbrake can't rip DVD with multiple subtitle tracks, but its top alternative MacX can! It lets you rip any (protected) DVD with multiple tracks, or add SRT subs to DVDs while ripping DVD to MP4 AVI MKV MOV iPhone iPad Android, PS4, Xbox!