With Flash video still the most popular format available on the Net, Softonic has loads of programs designed to help users download and convert FLV and SWF movies to a more usable format (such as AVI). Freez Flv to AVI/MPEG/WMV Converter tackles the conversion side of this operation, but unfortunately, it leaves a lot to be desired.

While the program is technically free, it constantly prompts and pesters users into visiting the developer's website, for no reason. The irritating 'There may be an update on our website' dialog box actually means nothing because this program isn't equipped with an update-checking service. For this reason, I've classified the software as 'Adware': true freeware doesn't pester the user like this.

The functionality of Freez Flv to AVI/MPEG/WMV Converter is limited to say the least. It allows you to convert any .FLV file to AVI, MPG or WMV and gives you some control over video encoding settings like frame rate and bit rate. Unfortunately, we found that choosing the wrong settings will result in not only a failure to convert the file correctly, but also Windows Explorer will crash: a pretty serious failing.

When we did manage to convert a file successfully, the end result was perfectly satisfactory. But given that we had the Explorer Shell (including the Start Menu and Task Bar) crash on us four times during testing, we cannot recommend use of this application. The program also doesn't include standard window menus or buttons, an irritating design choice.

Freez Flv to AVI/MPEG/WMV Converter is a poorly designed tool for converting popular video formats. When it works, it works well. But most of the time, it's liable to causing major system processes to crash. Not recommended.

Download Freez Flv to AVI/MPEG/WMV Converter 1.5 in Softonic

Have you ever wanted to search for and download your favourite videos without using your browser? Free FLV Converter lets you automatically access sites such as YouTube, DailyMotion, Google and Metacafé without opening anything else.

You can search by keyword and preview each video found in the rather basic interface and also download them in FLV format. After that, you can convert the files to AVI, IPod, IPhone, 3GP or PSP format. It also works vice versa and if the files in question are already in FLV format, it can convert to DivX, Xvid, MPEG, DVD and AVI with automatic HTML embed links. This means you can paste them into your website or blog to share instantly with the world. If you don't require these functions, the program interface still provides a convenient search platform because you can browse and watch videos at the same time. With just one click, you can download the video you are previewing. For ease of use, it allows you to create a download list of videos you want to save. Once it's complete, you can just leave the program to download the videos whilst you get on with something else although unfortunately, it still doesn't support batch downloading.

A very useful application for those who are not content with only having videos on the Internet but also want them on their hard drive but don't want to visit each video content site seperately.

Download Free FLV Converter 5.5 in Softonic

Avi2Dvd is an All In One tool in order to convert with just few clicks an Avi/Ogm/Mkv/Wmv/Dvd to Dvd/Svcd/Vcd. Supports multiple audiostreams and up to three subtitles. From the version 0.3.4 and later can support DV-AVI videos, so it can handle captured avi's from digital videocameras. Avi2dvd can also produce semi professional dvd menus with chapter/audio/subtitles buttons with extreme facility!

Download Avi2Dvd 0.4.5 Beta in Softonic

Videora Converter claims to convert all your videos to play on your iPod without requiring any “technical know-how” on your part. The program’s process in itself is simple: search and select the desired file, click ’Convert’ and there you have it, ready to play on your iPod.

Despite its simplicity, Videora Converter suffers from a number of shortcomings. For one, the interface, particularly the main window, is riddled with horrible flashing pop-up ads. This makes using the wizard a fairly tedious process and one that you should skip altogether. We were also surprised by the very haphazard video settings. For the video format, you have a choice between “old” or “new”; for the video size “ipod” or “tv”, with no explanation as to what Videora considers the “tv” size to be. Setting quality levels for audio and video continues in the same foggy way: basic, medium, high or best are the only choices you're offered.

The quickest way to convert is under the Current Conversion tab. This interface is probably easier to use than the wizard. Select your file, the device you wish to convert it for and the profile you want to use. Videora has more than two-dozen preset encoded video formats to choose from. While you should find what you want in that list, it would have been good to let users tweak the settings according to their requirements. In terms of your video file library, Videora keeps your created output files in folders, divided according to the devices and video formats. You can also automatically add the converted files to iTunes.

If not for the bewildering interface and extremely vague video settings, Videora Converter could actually have been a very simple iPod converter. In the future, let’s hope Videora makes the wizard actually user friendly and gets rid of all the pop-ups.

Download Videora iPod Converter 3.06 in Softonic

The evolution of computers reveals a trend towards multimedia centres where users can listen to music, watch videos, surf the net, work and view photo albums. If you’ve gotten your hands on media files, you’ve probably been in the situation at least once where you had to convert the files to transfer them on a different device (such as a phone or an iPod) or in order to play it in another application. SUPER makes audio and video conversion a breeze thanks to a well presented interface and a slew of options.

SUPER’s single window interface is divided into audio and video and the selection of output options is done via the three drop down menus at the top. We appreciated the number of formats available. SUPER allows you to convert movies and music to play on recent devices such as Apple iPod, Sony PSP and 3gp for use on Sony Ericsson and Nokia mobile phones. The huge bit rate menu, from 64 to 9792 Kbps, means you can truly optimize and quicken the conversion process. We were disappointed however that SUPER only offered 2 video codec outputs (H263 and MPEG-4) and 3 audio codecs (AAC, AMR wideband and narrowband).

On the audio side, SUPER allows you to select your language from individual tracks, but audio is limited to one channel and one sampling frequency (8000). It seems the program is more suited to video conversion. Luckily the program includes recognized encoders such as ff mpeg or mencoder, ensuring a decent conversion process for both audio and video.

Use the buttons at the bottom of the interface to play files and check their quality after having converted them. The ’Player Options’ button gives you the chance to tweak video features such as aspect, saturation, hue, brightness and contrast. All files converted or waiting to be converted are visible in a list and you can verify the streaming link and the output status.

In SUPER, we found a very open media converter that even the klutziest of users will get to grips with. If you watch a lot of videos and movie clips and would like to be able to enjoy them anywhere and on any device, SUPER is a program you’ll need to get your hands on.

Download SUPER 2008.30 in Softonic

This video converter looks pretty basic, but despite its simple interface it really works very well. Digital Video Converter supports the most popular formats and converts videos in just two clicks, that is, as long as you have the necessary codecs installed on your computer.

Simply select the video you want to convert and its target format. You'll also be able to tweak some settings such as width, height and frame rate. The result can then be played on your favorite video player.

Convert any videos to popular formats very easily.

Download Digital Video Converter 1.2.0.16 in Softonic

Looking forward to watching movies on your iPod? If they're not in the MPEG4 format or have the correct resolution then you won't be able to. MoviePod converts a number of video formats to make them iPod ready in seconds.

Just select your video, by either pressing the 'Add Movie' button in the menu bar or dragging the file onto the program's interface. MoviePod will automatically convert them to iPod ready MPEG4. You can preview them to see if you're satisfied with the quality and save them in an iTunes playlist.

MoviePod handles the most common video formats, including MOV, AVI and WMV. You'll be able to choose from four different screen resolutions. Thanks to two menu bars, you can adjust audio and video quality settings, however, we didn't find these particularly precise. The quality of the videos is always up to par to, so you'll have to make a number of tests before you fully satisfied. Also, since the program automatically converts videos we weren't sure when the preferences we set affected all videos or just the ones selected.

Although limited in terms of quality, MoviePod manages to convert many video files to iPod-ready format in one go.

Download MoviePod 0.92 in Softonic

It's great to have a portable multimedia device such as a PSP, an iPod or a Zune to watch movies on the go. The problem comes when you need to convert those videos from the PC to a suitable format so that you can watch those videos while commuting or traveling.

Koyote Free Video Converter can help you handle this issue in a very simple way. Far from complicated, bloated converting tools, this easy app lets you convert videos in a snap. You can choose between a wide range of formats, including those which are used in all popular portable devices. Available formats are presented as profiles with set preferences, but you can easily tweak them to suit your preferences.

Koyote Free Video Converter includes a small video window, but sadly it's only intended to watch video frames as the conversion process is working. It would have been nice to be able to use it also as video player to preview the contents of the movie before converting it.

With Koyote Free Video Converter you can easily convert videos to a variety of formats, including those suitable for portable devices.

Download Koyote Free Video Converter 1.2 in Softonic

Free 3GP Video Converter changes the format of mobile video files to something that can be played in MP4 or WAV format - the most widely used formats in modern computers and DVD players. It also performs the process in reverse. This application has an advantage over other similar programs in that you can select a particular portion of the video that you want to extract and convert.

This bonus significantly shortens processing time plus the interface is very simple and self explanatory. There is a field for an input file or a YouTube URL and field for an output path, and lists with preconfigured profiles. The best option, as already mentioned, is that you can trim the video with a simple button along the foot of the interface which then opens in a new window. Simply use the navigation line and special buttons to set start and end the selection markers position. Finally, click "Apply & Close" to switch back to the main program window.

In summary, this is a reliable converter and the fact that you can trim 3GP video files is particularly useful for long edits.

Download Free 3GP Video Converter 2.4 in Softonic

Converting video to DVD format is obviously essential if you want to watch any of your favourite films or clips stored on your hard drive on your DVD player.

The likelihood is, most of your videos are in various formats so you'll need someway of converting them all without requiring a different program for each different format. Sothink Movie DVD Maker is designed for those that want maximum flexibility in this regard allowing you to burn to DVD format files from a wide variety of sources including AVI, MPEG, internet clips and those recorded by DVC or webcam plus virtually any other format you can imagine. When adding clips to the GUI, you can play your source clips to check that it's the right video you were looking for. Conversions can be cancelled at any time so if it's taking too long, there's no problem but it would have been much better if the developers had allowed us to pause conversion for completion at a later stage. However, they have added an option to extract video files to a DVD folder so that you can burn your films to DVD at any other time.

With the ability to add subtitles as well, you can create some surprisingly professional results with Sothink DVD Maker and it supports just about any format out there.

Download Sothink DVD Movie Maker 1.0.70424 in Softonic

With the expansion in capacity and range of mobile devices, users are increasingly demanding to be able to watch their favourite visual content on the move.

Acala 3GP Movies Free is a professional program for converting Avi, DivX, Xvid, Mpeg, Vob and several other formats to work on mobile devices. The interface is very professional yet easy to use and conversions are usually excellent quality and lightning fast.

The developer claims times of just 10 minutes to convert a two hour movie to 3GP and while this may be a little overstretching it, it certainly works quicker than any other 3GP converter I can remember. The good thing is that the program works in a similar way to a video editor - you can mark the in and out points of your film so you can cut out annoying titles at the beginning and end if you don't want them.

If you've got a lot of files to convert, it also supports batch conversions. You can easily split and preview films as they are converting to see whether the quality is to your liking.

All-in-all, this is an excellent 3GP conversion tool, especially if you need to cut and splice files and are in a hurry.

Download Acala 3GP Movies Free 3.7.5 in Softonic

With Koyote iPod Video Converter you can directly convert all your videos to the Ipod video compliant format. It supports the most popular video formats, including FLV from YouTube videos.

In fact, Koyote iPod Video Converter can automatically download videos from Youtube and convert them on the fly so that you can store them right away in your iPod.

The program features configuration options to adjust audio and video settings, in case you want to customize iPod's standard video format. Koyote iPod Video Converter can also process batch files, shutting itself down once the process is done.

Download Koyote iPod Video Converter 1.0 in Softonic

This application server a very clear purpose: convert Youtube videos to formats compatible with mobile devices like an iPod or a mobile phone. It's really easy to use and requires no technical knowlede: just copy and paste the video URL into its interface and click on the "Download and Convert" button.

You have several presets from which to choose the target device and the desired quality level for the converted file, but no possibility to tweak these options manually. The program works well and is completely free, although in exchange for that you're obliged to see a pop-up every time you open it or complete a conversion.

Download Free YouTube to iPod Converter 2.8.2.1 in Softonic

Free Movies To DVD converts video files to DVD format in three easy steps. if you've ever needed to convert files to watch on your DVD player instead of your PC, then this program will help you do so in relatively few steps.

The first step is to choose between NTSC format (720x480) or PAL (720x576). next you have to choose the sampling frequency and appearance (16:9 or 4:3). In the file browser, you can navigate to the video files you require to convert for the DVD and finally choose the destination i.e. a DVD disc, an ISO image or simply compile files with DVD IFO, VOB, etc. The burner is simple although you might find it better to save the file on your PC and use an alternative program to burn it because it doesn't offer many advanced features.

In short, Free Movies To DVD provides a simple way to enjoy films in DVD format in just a few clicks.

Download Free Movies To DVD 1.0 in Softonic

Free iPod Video Converter provides an easy and completed way to convert all popular video formats to iPod video. You can enjoy DVD/VCD and AVI, MPEG, WMV, RM, RMVB, DivX, ASF, VOB video files in your iPod with few clicks. The program is a freeware and does not contain any form of malware, including but not limited to: spyware, viruses, trojans and backdoors.

Download Free iPod Video Converter 1.32 in Softonic

Freez iPod Video Converter is a video conversion program that can convert batches of video files to MP4 video files to be played on your iPod.

Freez iPod Video Converter supports most popular video formats that can be converted into iPod video. These include AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, MOV, RM, RMVB, DivX, Flv, SWF, VOB, 3GP etc. You can choose the output iPod MP4 video's video encoder (MPEG-4/H.264), video size, video bitrate, audio bitrate, audio channel, volumn etc.

Freez iPod Video Converter has easy-to-use interface and can convert video files at high speed. Have fun with it!

Download Freez iPod Video Converter 1.5 in Softonic

This software is a great tool for anyone who wants to create a DVD or VCD with their movies. It is easy to use and has some very useful features.

Features:

• Easy to use, wizard-like user friendly interface
• Simple AVI, MP4 to (S)VCD & DVD conversion
• Full information about AVI, MP4 file
• Automatic splitting of the movie
• Automatic muxing of files
• Automatic bitrate calculation or manual bitrate setting
• NTSC to PAL conversion
• PAL to NTSC conversion
• Aspect ratio selection
• Audio downsampling and bitrate selection
• The possibility to edit the Avisynth script as first step of the conversion process
• Permanent and selectable (only DVD) multiple subtitles support
• Automatic merging of subtitle files
• Automatic chapter and menu (only DVD) creation
• Detailed logging
• A ready to use bin\cue CD image is created after conversion for (S)VCD
• Immediate burning of DVD when doing AVI to DVD conversion
• Automatic program shutdown

Download The FilmMachine 1.6.0.6 in Softonic

Sometimes you'd like to watch a short video on your phone to have some fun while commuting to work or waiting for the usual latecomer. But do you know how to convert them to the right format?

ABC 3GP Converter now makes it easier for you. This tool allows you to convert your favorite videos to the 3GP video format that most mobile phones can play nowadays. You only need to load the source video on the program's interface, adjust conversion settings to your needs and then start converting. The program only converts to 3GP but supports a variety of video sizes, frame rates and bitrates, though only as presets that can't be changed or customized in any way.

The conversion process is surprisingly fast and produces high quality videos. Also, if you'd like to cut some scenes out of the video before converting it, ABC 3GP Converter includes a handy trimming tool for the same price – that is, free.

ABC 3GP Converter enables you to enjoy your favorite videos on your mobile phone by converting them to 3GP in a fast, easy process.

Download ABC 3GP Converter 2.1 in Softonic

Many portable devices feature video capabilities, but not everyone takes advantage of them as you usually need to convert video files to another format and there's no easy way to do it.

XviD4PSP solves this problem by providing you with an intuitive, easy-to use tool that lets you convert almost any kind of video file to a wide range of formats, including those that most portable video devices (iPod, iPhone, PSP) work with. The program features a highly detailed settings window where you'll be able to configure every single detail about the video conversion. In fact, it's such a complete configuration menu that it'll take you some time to tweak it properly.

XviD4PSP includes an embedded video player where you can preview the video file before applying any change to it. Note that the program requires some extra tools to work but they come bundled with the installation file. And in case you get any warning messages about missing components, you'll probably do fine by just installing a coded pack.

The program features a nicely designed interface, but if there's something I especially enjoyed about XviD4PSP is the huge array of supported video formats. It works with pretty much anything you can play as a video!

In all, XviD4PSP is a powerful tool that comes in very handy for those of you who like to watch movies on the move and therefore need to convert video files very often.

Download XviD4PSP 5.0.30 in Softonic

Free Video to Flash Converter has this very specific purpose: converting video files to Flash SWF or FLV video formats. It supports the most popular formats (AVI, MPEG, WMV, MOV, etc) and works really fast.

The program's interface is pretty straightforward. Simply select the source video, the target format and location and you're done. What's more, if you select SWF the program will also generate all the necessary HTML code and documents. Another feature we liked was the embedded trimming tool: if you don't want to convert the whole video you can use it to select the fragment you're interested in.

On the downside, the program displays some simple ads for other tools created by the same developer every time you open or close it. But I think it's a good deal if that allows you to use the program for free.

Download Free Video to Flash Converter 3.1.2.1 in Softonic