AVS Video Converter 9.5.1.600

With an excellent support for all the most popular standard and High Definition video formats, AVS Video Converter offers an intuitive tool to transcode your video file collection into codecs that your portable devices can deal with. It also comes with specific profiles for the most widely used social networks, as well as with basic editing features and a disc authoring utility.

“Output versatility” is probably the best way of expressing what makes AVS Video Converter different from many of its competitors. Actually, its main interface is nothing but a catalog of output formats, profiles, and settings, all gathered in the top-most area of its main window. Here you’ll find specific tabs for Formats, Devices, and Web-based profiles. Despite its batch conversion capabilities, you will need to design as many conversion lists as output formats you require, as multiple-output batch conversions are not an option. You will find presets for the most common video formats (AVI, MP4, MPEG, WMV, FLV, or WebM) in all possible variants, from small standard-quality files to Full HD video profiles. All top manufacturers are generously represented in the Devices tab – Apple, Samsung, Sony, as well as some generic presets for Android devices, Players, Consoles, or Mobiles in general. If you click on the Advanced button, you will see the main interface tripling its size to accommodate a wide range of conversion options, aspect correction settings, and even a Flash player for FLV files. The Conversion Options will let you design your own output profile taking the selected one as a basis. You can then save your custom profile for future conversion processes.

The conversion process itself is fairly slow. The large real-time preview that appears as soon as you start the conversion surely slows it down considerably, though I wouldn’t put all the blame on it. However, I ignore if the conversion algorithms implemented have also something to do with it, but my guess is that they might. If only “slowness” were synonym for “great output quality”, it would be worth the wait, but regrettably, the resulting video (even when using the highest quality settings) looks like it has lost some of its original quality in the process.

AVS Video Converter is not famous for its many extra functions or features (no YouTube download or advanced video editing features), but it now incorporates a neat disc authoring tool to help you design and burn your best videos and images to disc, complete with menus and background music. Personally, I believe that fixing the conversion speed and delivering a better output quality should be its number one priority – a significant improvement in the duration of the conversion process or an output quality that is proportional to the time invested are worth a dozen new extra features.

F

Francisco Martínez

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