VideoConversion
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Miro 4 bumps up media management & Android sync
The Mac media management application formerly known as Democracy Player has been around for a good while; since 2007, it's been called Miro and has offered solid podcatching, BitTorrent and video viewing features in a convenient open-source application. The current version of the app, 4.0.1, rolls the media library features of iTunes, the codec support of VLC and conversion capabilites of Handbrake into a single application. Miro can import your iTunes library automatically and lets you convert downloaded media into an MP4 or H.264 format compatible with your iOS device. You can also use Miro to download media directly from YouTube, a podcast feed, Amazon, BitTorrent and more. Mac users with an Android handset can sync to Miro and make purchases from the Android Market and the Amazon AppStore for Android. Miro is open source, free and available for OS X, Windows, and Linux. An iPad version is in the works and should be available soon. [hat tip 9to5Mac]
MacX Video Converter Pro available free until November 15
There is no shortage of video source material available both on and off-line these days, but not all of it is playable or editable on every platform. Free tools like Handbrake (here's our look at Handbrake 0.9.4) are great for ripping content from DVDs but the number of available output formats are limited. Back in the day, VisualHub was the ultimate tool for converting pretty much any video codec into another. Plus, it allowed you crop, resize, adjust video quality and even stitch files together. Unfortunately, it's no longer available. There's also good news. Digiarty is currently making its MacX Video Converter Pro software available for free until November 15. Video Converter Pro offers what is probably the widest codec support we've seen in a while including output to FLV, WMV, MPEG4, H264 and more. There are dozens of pre-defined profiles for portable devices like phones, the Sony PSP and even DVD VOB files. It lacks some of the capabilities of Visual Hub, like cropping and ability to define a maximum size for the output video and let it pick the encoding settings. However, if you have Final Cut (express or pro) you can convert odd-ball formats into files that can be edited and then crop and set export settings. MacX Video Converter Pro is available for free until November 15, 2010.
Elgato ships 1080p-friendly Turbo.264 HD video conversion dongle
Remember that brilliant Turbo.264 video conversion dongle that shipped like, two whole years ago? Yeah, it's successor has just hit the streets, and it's as ready as ever for 1080p content. The predictably titled Elgato Turbo.264 HD plugs directly into one's Mac and converts files up to 1080p (from camcorders, digital cameras, etc.) into files that are perfectly formatted for iPods, PSPs or other media players. The bundled software also lets users preview and trim video clips before converting, and it saves folks the time and hassle of importing into iMovie, learning commands, rendering and exporting. Reportedly, a video that would take an hour to convert to an iPod-friendly file takes just 15 minutes with this here dongle, and if that's worth $149.95 to you, you're one click away from brightening your own day.[Via Electricpig]
A PSP video solution
Sister, brother or father site Engadget (I never really looked at the family tree) has reported about a hardware solution to help PSP owners convert videos for their system of choice. The ADS Tech Instant Video To-Go is a USB stick format device that has a "hardware accelerator" enabling gamers to convert videos "up to five times faster than real time." The device supports the following file types: MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, RM, JPG, TIFF and MTP. ADS Tech also claims the device can reduce a 100 minute MPEG2/VOB into a 320x240 H.264 file in about twenty minutes. The Instant Video To-Go retails for $79.95 and may be a great solution for PSP video buffs looking for a quicker solution for format conversion.
Joystiq Review: PSP Media Manager 1.0
This review was intended to be a DVD-to-PSP how-to guide. Unfortunately, the Media Manager software does not offer a simple solution for porting your DVD stockpile to the PSP. And why should it? Sony wants you to support the UMD format.So what does Media Manager have to offer PSP owners?
