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Video conversion is a topic that makes many of us cringe. It sounds hard!
HELP!
But it’s not really.
Video conversion is fairly easy if you have the right software. This post will tell you about two different software packages that you can download for free over the internet.
WHAT IS VIDEO CONVERSION SOFTWARE?
There are thousands of different video file formats. Incompatible files are indeed a royal pain in the wazoo. It’s the reason why that Flash video won’t play on your iPad. It’s also the reason that video disc burned by your friend won’t play on your DVD player.
Just like an 8-track audio tape won’t play in an audio cassette player, a .wmv video file won’t play on the DVD player designed for MPEG2 video files.
But lucky us, video conversion software will chew on that video file and pop out a brand new file in the format of your choice!
Although there are plenty of paid choices with video conversion software, there are also some good free ones and they might be all you need.
FREE!!!
One freebie that I use all the time is MPEG Streamclip by Squared 5. It comes in versions for both Windows and Mac. It functions with all formats that are Quick Time compatible.
By using any Quick-Time compatible codec, MPEG Streamclip can convert from:
- MOV, DV, MP4, AVI, DIVX, MPG, MPEG, VOB, PS, MOD, M2P, VRO, TS, DAT, M2T, MMV, REC, VID, AVR, M2V
to
For full compatibility with MPEG2, (the format used in home DVD players and the main format of commercial DVDs) Mac users need to buy an MPEG playback component from Apple and PC users need to install the Quick-Time Alternative.
SQUARED 5 is a small group out of Italy who are generous enough to keep MPEG Streamclip as a freebie! I use it all the time.
OPEN SOURCE CONVERSION SOFTWARE
Another, even more versatile choice is HandBrake. HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed (General Public License), multi-platform, multi-threaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.
Supported Sources for HandBrake:
- Most common multimedia files that libavformat and libavcodec support. This is a huge list of formats.
- Any DVD or Bluray-like source which is NOT copy-protected. (removal of copy protection is not supported)
Outputs in HandBrake:
- File format: MP4(M4V) and MKV
- Video: MPEG-4(ffmpeg), H.264(x264), or Theora(libtheora)
- Audio: AAC, CoreAudio AAC (OS X Only), MP3, or Vorbis. AC-3 pass-through, DTS pass-thorugh (MKV only)
Between these two free choices, you can probably do just about all the video file converting you’d ever need to!
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips!
Lorraine Grula
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- Video Editing Software: Free Trial Versions
- Video Editing Software: The Eight Best Free Programs
- iMovie, Apple’s free video editing software…
professional wedding video kildare
straining the limits of your wedding budget? Are you worried about the results you?ll get if you use a friend or relative?or a cheap wedding videographer? Your wedding is the event of a lifetime. Families come together to witness the public expression of your love and commitment amidst the beauty and pageantry of your carefully planned ceremony. And you know that planning this ?event of a lifetime? is no small task. You only get one chance to get it right and you?ve spent months going over every tiny detail. You?ve struggled with the guest list; trying to book just the right date; ordering wedding invitations; selecting your bridesmaids and groomsmen?and the list goes on and on. Just choosing a wedding dress was a monumental task, but it was worth it because you?ve found a gown that surpasses all your dreams. The stress can be overwhelming but you don?t mind because you want your big day to be perfect! But making all these arrangements is very expensive. And if you?re on a budget, like many couples today are, you may find yourself coming up short for some things you were counting on having?such as a professional wedding video. With professional wedding video services costing anywhere from ?1500 ? ?2500+, some couples are just throwing up their hands and saying ?forget it? and resigning themselves to being happy with what friends or relatives shoot with their personal video cameras. Well, we?re here to tell you that you don?t have to say ?forget it.? You can have that professional wedding video, stay within your budget and maybe even have money left over to put toward things that will get your new life together off to a good start?like your honeymoon, or your new home. With just a little planning and some very important, but easy to use insider tips and resources, you can do it yourself and have a wedding video that looks as professional as the professionals?, at about 1/3 ? 1/2 the cost. So bookmark this page because Wedding Video Secrets is going to provide you with all the information you need to produce your own professional-looking wedding video.
Advertising , Marketing and Promotion
video production Dublin
While advertisers are becoming more selective in how they chose to spend their promotional dollars with broadcast television, other venues for commercials such as online video pre-roll, online sponsorships, in-game advertising, event sponsorships and in-theatre advertising are starting to take the place of broadcast / cable commercials. A proliferation of video screens cropping up on every building, device and structure will create an even more diverse set of advertising opportunities. The challenge will be to create specialized content targeted to ever- shrinking niche audiences.
Viral Video for website Dublin
A video is viral if it is so compelling that people want to share it. (Calling a video ‘Viral’ doesn’t make it so). Viral videos have to be extremely engaging, entertaining, shocking or meaningful to be successful. Unfortunately some of the most successful viral videos have little connection (and therefore value) to any brand. Everyone references ‘Will it Blend’ but very few viral videos are remotely this successful in actually driving sales. Viral video is very difficult to do well.
Email Video
Testing has shown that open rates can double if you include video in your email marketing activities. To be effective the video should be purpose-built to elicit a specific conversion activity such as requesting a demo, more info, etc. E-mail is seeing a resurgence with marketers and embedded video in emails (like gmail supports) or links to video in email is becoming very popular.
Infomercials
Infomercials have been around forever. While they continue to be the primary focus of web-based parody videos they have remained remarkably resilient over time. The shopping channel is, in effect, a 24 hour infomercial. If done well, Infomercials can be very effective at selling certain consumer products.
Content Marketing video in Dublin
This is a broad category that will become very important over the next months and years. Much of the content (video or otherwise) being created today by companies is focused on selling and focused on the brand. Focusing on solving your customers problems first and then associating your brand with those solutions will be increasingly more important and effective. What knowledge do you have that can help your customers and prospects. People don’t go to your website to see your sales pitch. They go to see if you can solve their problem.
Landing pages and micro sites
Video is beginning to replace or supplement text and graphics as a content element on many corporate websites. Landing pages can offer a more compelling call to action with video. Some micro sites on larger web properties are self contained, purpose-built conversion machines that have the singular purpose of generating a conversion activity (sign-up for more info, attend event, order something etc.). Video is becoming an important part of the conversion process.
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