"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." Mark Twain
Lets look at Format Factory.
Format Factory is a free tool that can convert image, video or audio files from one format to another. It easily converts WMV, AVI, MPG, MP3, WMA, AAC, JPG, PNG, GIF, and many more as well as supporting media formats used by most major portable devices, including PSP and iPhone.
This alone gives this package great appeal for everyone from the novice hobby person to expert video producer. While there are several free file converters on the market what sets Format Factory apart is its ability to convert images as well as video and audio. While the user interface is not very intuitive and it lacks presets that could be helpful, I still recommend using this software. What can you expect, it’s free after all. Some of the other outstanding features of this software are:
1. It supports converting all popular video, audio and image formats to others types of files.
2. It can repair damaged video and audio file. Very helpful in certain “o crap” moments.
3. Format Factory can reduce multimedia file size. This can really save your beacon by making video easier to play within PowerPoint or other graphic presentation software programs.
4. It supports iPhone and iPod multimedia file formats. For those using iPods for instruction this can be a real lifesaver.
5. Picture converting supports Zoom, Rotate/Flip and tags. This can really help if you’ve taken pictures using both landscape and portrait orientation and need to use both in your presentation. You also can zoom in on the portion of the image you really want and get that embarrassing face Uncle Otto is making out of the shot.
6. Audio Joiner allows you to bring two audio clips together or join them....get it, then convert them to another type of audio file.
7. It has the ability to be a DVD Ripper. For school produced videos this can be very helpful if you want to post it to an iPod or other mobile device.
A couple of caveats, first the interface is a bit confusing leading to high frustration level if you’re not familiar with other software packages that convert files. Being patient is the key here. Don’t start converting when you’re on a deadline, do it when you have time to experiment and try different settings to get the output that looks and works best for you. One thing I didn’t like was that the software tries to install a couple of tool bars and shortcuts on your computer, make sure you look at the installation screens before clicking next and uncheck those squares if you don’t want them. Also be sure your firewall allows the full installation of the program or you may get problems with your conversions. Also this is only for Windows based computers. Follow the link below to download your copy.
No comments:
Post a Comment