Good freeware (or cheap) video converting program??

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Duo_Maxwell

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I need something that will convert various video files (avi, divx, XivD, mpeg4, Media Center files, etc.) to other files types on the cheap. I've tried some trials of products from download.com, but most can't seem to recongize the DVR-MS files created by MC. I also need it to be as easy as possible (I won't be the only guy using it), and have a way of decoding/encoding to mpeg-2 so I can burn it to a DVD in something like Sonic (or use an internal burning engine). Any suggestions?

Also for anyone who uses Sonic MyDVD, it came preloaded on my computer but is there some kind of plug-in or something I can download to get it to recongize files like avi, divx, etc, etc.?
 
Unless you're going to get it illegally, I don't think there is a "cheap" solution to your problems.

Actually, let's start there: what is your budget / define "cheap."
 
VirtualDub, specifically VDubMod should probably be able to do most of what you need, but I doubt you'll find any freeware programs to convert files created by Media Center, as I imagine it's a proprietary format so Microsoft can rake in more money on licensing.

AutoGK might be better for converting your DivX/XviD, as I don't know if VirtualDub can be called anything resembling user friendly.

www.videohelp.com and www.doom9.org would be two good sites to check out for almost anything you need regarding video encoding.
 
[quote name='Genocidal']VirtualDub, specifically VDubMod should probably be able to do most of what you need, but I doubt you'll find any freeware programs to convert files created by Media Center, as I imagine it's a proprietary format so Microsoft can rake in more money on licensing.

AutoGK might be better for converting your DivX/XviD, as I don't know if VirtualDub can be called anything resembling user friendly.

www.videohelp.com and www.doom9.org would be two good sites to check out for almost anything you need regarding video encoding.[/QUOTE]

I'll try out VirtualDub tonite. Does it convert DivX/XviD to other formats or just the other way around? Also, do you know if you have to download extra codecs or anything?

As for the DVR-MS files, it's kinda disappointing, the only thing I've come across so far that seems to support them is TMPGEnc Xpress which costs $60, plus I think it's a pain in the ass to use. The DVR like function of Media Center seems only half as fun if I can't put it on a mobile device to watch on the like my PSP, b. ut I can't seem fo find something that will simply convert it to Mpeg4. Also, thanks for the links, I'll poke around those sites tonite to try and dig up something as well.


[quote name='MarioColbert']Unless you're going to get it illegally, I don't think there is a "cheap" solution to your problems.

Actually, let's start there: what is your budget / define "cheap."[/QUOTE]

I don't wanna rip off anything, that's why I' looking for some decent freeware programs (if there are any), but at this point I'll settle for anything that works well, handles all kinds of video files, and is stable for under $20.
 
Provided you have the codecs, VDub can handle any Video for Windows decoding and will encode to anything you've got the codec for (for example, with my codec setup I can encode to x264 but can't re-open it in VDub). Instead of going for an all-in-one codec pack, however, I'd recommend only downloading the codecs you need and getting them from their respective homepages so you know you've got the latest and greatest with the least amount of conflicts between them.

The biggest problem you'll have with converting from DivX/XviD to any other format is if the audio was encoded as a VBR or ABR mp3. While VBR can usually be ripped from the stream and re-encoded at a constant bit rate to sync it up with the video, I've never been able to get an ABR stream to sync up. Could just be bad luck on my end, though.
 
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