What's video converters are available for Ubuntu?

Question

I need a good video converter application that can convert from/to many video formats. On Windows I found Format Factory to be good. I would like its equivalent or something better on Ubuntu.

Solution 1

There are at least four video converters you can try:

1. arista | [Install arista]
2. transmageddon | [Install transmageddon]
3. ConvertMe!
4. Handbrake

Arista is a basic converter which you can add new conversion types to through there web site which will give you a new script which you can install adding the new conversion type.

Transmageddon is the development version of arista which gives you the option to choose your specific encoding preferences in the program interface.

ConvertMe! is a very user friendly new frontend for FFmpeg. It comes with widly used presets and gives you a preview of the conversation progress. ConvertMe, intergrates with your Nautilus file manager allowing you to rightclick on an any video file and convert it instantly. View screenshot

Handbrake has a limited number of output formats including mp4 and mkv but there are many more options available and a good description of what these options will do however handbrake is not in the software centre and you will need to add it by adding a PPA* which can be found at launchpad.

The ppa can be added through the software sources dialogue described here

ppa:stebbins/handbrake-snapshots

Solution 2

Transmageddon

Transmageddon supports almost any format as its input and can generate a very large host of output files. The goal of the application was to help people to create the files they need to be able to play on their mobile devices and for people not hugely experienced with multimedia to generate a multimedia file without having to resort to command line tools with ungainly syntaxes.

The currently supported codecs are:

Containers:

• Ogg

• Matroska

• AVI

• MPEG TS

• flv

• QuickTime

• MPEG4

• 3GPP

• MXT

Audio encoders:

• Vorbis

• FLAC

• MP3

• AAC

• AC3

• Speex

• Celt

Video encoders:

• Theora

• Dirac

• H264

• MPEG2

• MPEG4/DivX5

• xvid

• DNxHD

It also provide the support for the GStreamer's plugins auto-search.

Winff

WinFF is a graphical user interface for FFmpeg. It will convert almost any video file that FFmpeg will convert. WinFF does multiple files in multiple formats at one time. You can, for example, convert mpeg's, flv's, and mov's into avi's (or DVD/VCD format or MPEG or 3gp etc.) all at once.

This package provides a variety of preset conversion settings for common formats and devices. These presets are intended to hit the "sweet spot" for each individual codec. They have been written with a tip of the balance to quality.

Arista

Arista is a simple multimedia transcoder, it focuses on being easy to use by making complex task of encoding for various devices simple.

Users should pick an input and a target device, choose a file to save to and go. Features:

Presets for iPod, computer, DVD player, PSP, Playstation 3, and more.
Live preview to see encoded quality.
Automatically discover available DVD media and Video 4 Linux (v4l) devices.
Rip straight from DVD media easily (requires libdvdcss).
Rip straight from v4l devices.
Simple terminal client for scripting.
Automatic preset updating.

Solution 3

I suggest you to give a try to both FFmpeg and/or Mencoder.

They are very powerful in the sense that you may be able to convert any format in any other format. You can also very extensively fine tune the settings for your codec.

They seem to be mostly suited to run through command-line, but :

1) Ready-to-use scripts can easily be found on the web

2) Some GUI exists to make their use easier. (I know WINFF for FFmpeg and Handbrake, as mentionned by Allan, is also a GUI for FFmpeg)

3) You may find interesting and funny to learn their specific languages and moreover, if you encounter troubles in adjusting some settings with the more user-friendly one, they might be the one which will work for you due the huge variety of their settings.

Solution 4

Convert Audio, Video Files With FF Multi Converter

FF Multi Converter supports the following formats:

audio/video: aac, ac3, afc, aiff, amr, asf, au, avi, dvd, flac, flv, mka, mkv, mmf, mov, mp3, mp4, mpg, ogg, ogv, psp, rm, spx, vob, wav, webm, wma, wmv;

Install FF Multi Converter in Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ffmulticonverter/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ffmulticonverter

Webupd8

Solution 5

Proabably the easiest to use is avidemux. It has an intuitive graphical interface and can do lots of simple tasks, like convert, cut scenes etc.

View more solutions

Comments

[RobotHumans]

I found that question by dropping: convert video [software-recommendation] in the search bar. the brackets say search for things tagged as. the others are keywords

[Naveen]

Everybody likes ConvertMe! gnome-look.org/content/show.php/ConvertMe!?content=153277

[Admin]

I have found that Format Factory works well in WINE. I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 with WINE 1.4, so I don't know how well FF would run in a different environment. The only problem with it is that it will crash after every conversion you make, but all your files will be in the output folder and you can just start it right back up to do another conversion if you need to.

[Admin]

some solutions here are a bit outdated

[Admin]

I found this resource to be helpful. real.com/resources/video-converter-software With so much software available, it helped answer some of my questions as to not only what to be looking for in a video converter but also what to be looking for to suite my individual needs.

[Geppettvs D'Constanzo]

Even when I also suggest Mobile Media Converter, it won't work in a 64 bit system. They haven't dropped a 64 bit version of this excellent software. However, I upvoted you Chandan.

[codenut]

It works just fine on 64 bit systems (ia32-libs).

[Sri]

I agree. After running around in circles, dabbling with avconv, and even trying online converters, I finally was able to convert FLV to MP4 using VLC and the system is so user-friendly, just like Ubuntu is.

[Allan]

As far as I know what were you thinking of converting?

[Sai Manoj Kumar Yadlapati]

Where is the option to convert to 3gp in WinFF? When I select Mobile Phones, it is only converting to audio. The preset has only audio.

[FvD]

Handbrake is in the ubuntu software center now (14.04).

[mdalacu]

Don't forget about dmMediaConverter which is a ffMpeg GUI. dmsimpleapps.blogspot.ro/2014/04/dmmediaconverter.html

[Tachyons]

Images are gone

[Дмитрий Кулешов]

one of the actual options for 20.04