Nowadays, we have lots of gadgets such as mobile phones, games consoles, ipod, iphone, dvd players, cd players, mp3 players, tv, satellite recorders, etc... All have videos or music as one of the main functions and the problem is they all use different video and audio formats.

Many of us get lost when we have to deal with video and audio conversion because most of the software available are either too complicated or they cost money. After all, what we need is a simple video and audio converter with standard settings that gives pretty good video and audio output quality, and is totally free. And the good news is that there is such an application: Quick Media Converter (QMC).

Introduced in December 2007, QMC is a universal video converter that converts virtually most video formats to other video formats using an open source code from a software engine called FFMPEG along with its codec library and Player. It is totally free, versatile, fast and most of all very user friendly. QMC has been voted as one of the 12 best free Windows applications of 2008 by Lifehacker.com

Some of the video and audio formats include:

• Quicktime
• Flash movies
• Apple Ipod
• Avi Divx
• Window Media
• DVD
• VCD
• Audio - MP3 (audio only), M4a (audio only), Wma, Zune Audio, Wav, and Ogg
• Moble Phones- 3GP, 3G2 (3GPP) settings
• Iphone
• Xvid
• Satellite and Numerical.TS recorders
• Video Games Consoles: Microsft - XBox & XBox360; Sony - PSP & PS3
• Nintendo - Wii & DS

QMC is available in several languages:

• English,
• French,
• Spanish,
• Brazilian (Portuguese),
• Dutch, and
• Chinese (available soon).

QMC is a free download at:

http://www.cocoonsoftware.com

A new version 3.6.5 of Quick Media Converter was released recently. It is now more streamlined and the graphics is great. Check it out. 

You can:

• convert most video files from one format to another.
• convert audio files from one format to another.
• extract and convert audio files from video or audio media.
• extract and convert video without sound.
• preview and/or listen to video and audio files with FFPLAY Multi format player (Fabrice Bellard).
• do batch conversion of multiple files,
• convert files by just drag and drop the files in the active worksheet.
• experiment with video and audio conversion with the Expert mode section.
• capture a movie or picture directly from your webcam or DV Cam; just click on the webcam button and start capturing in raw flux or avi divx , after this is done the software will offer you to convert your file to other formats.
• make a tutorial or capture your latest performance in your favorite video game; just click on Camstudio (open source) and start recording and add comments on your avi divx movie output, and
• access QMC support forum directly to get help.

The Quick Media Converter is suitable for all users. It has two operating modes:  Standard or Easy Mode  for all users and Expert Mode for the experienced users.

Standard or Easy Mode contains most of the usual video and audio conversion formats and works on the basis of default parameters, making it very easy and intuitive to use. You can also use the windows drag and drop feature to place your files in the active work sheet. Batch conversion is available for all the selected files in the active worksheet.

Expert Mode is for the experienced users who have more specific needs and want to experiment with video and audio conversion. It contains more features and allows you to use more technical and unusual specifications. Some possible modifications include codec, size, frame rate, formats 4/3 16/9 aspect ratios, bitrates, audio codec, mono, stereo, frequency rate, cropping etc ... You can also capture webcam /DV cam flux in avi and then convert to any output format.