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Sothink HD Video Converter Giveaway
$39.95
EXPIRED

Giveaway of the day — Sothink HD Video Converter

Sothink HD Video Converter - all-in-one HD converter.
$39.95 EXPIRED
User rating: 250 24 comments

Sothink HD Video Converter was available as a giveaway on April 14, 2010!

Today Giveaway of the Day
$29.99
free today
A light professional non-linear video editing suite.

Sothink HD Video Converter, an all-in-one HD converter, helps you to convert HD videos with high quality from PC and HD Camcorder to PS3, Xbox 360 and Apple TV. It will impress you with super fast HD converting speed, excellent export quality, and easy-to-use interface.

With HD Video Converter you can effortlessly convert any popular HD video formats, such as MKV, H.264/AVC, AVCHD (MTS, M2TS), AVI, DivX, HD WMV, MPEG, MP4, QuickTime (MOV), etc.

System Requirements:

Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows Server 2003/2007/2008; 1GHz Intel/AMD processor or above; 256MB RAM (512MB or above recommended)

Publisher:

SothinkMedia

Homepage:

http://www.sothinkmedia.com/hd-video-converter/index.htm

File Size:

17.8 MB

Price:

$39.95

GIVEAWAY download basket

Developed by MPCSTAR
Developed by VSO Software
Store, manage and open media content from the cloud.
Developed by Online Media Technologies Ltd.

Comments on Sothink HD Video Converter

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#24

Thank you GOTD, successfully installed and registered on Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64 within 10-15 minutes of the giveaway ending for the day. I don't like to call it that closely! I haven't had an opportunity to try out the new software, sorry I can't offer a review.

Reply   |   Comment by Alan  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#23

I'm almost positive Nero Lite doesn't do video conversion, so this whole Nero discussion is now off topic from today's giveaway.

Reply   |   Comment by Loda  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#22

Do not see any Tech support for this software on the Creators webpage, But This is a good program. Now as far as adding Subtitles I did find a way to do it you just add the .srt in the same directory as the video your adding and it adds the subtitles for you. Great Program as said and Thanks for the Makers allowing us GOTD users a chance to use this.

Reply   |   Comment by Keymaster  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#21

Here's a few more things that people may like to know about this software:

Good:
* You can re-encode audio to a lower bitrate
* You can keep 5.1 audio or reduce down to stereo or mono
* Supports batch processing for converting multiple files in a row

Bad:
* Bitrate is the only way to control the final file size. I prefer to be able to tell the program to output the video to 4.35 GB so it will fit on a blank DVD. Having to go by bitrate, you are just guessing what the final size will be.

Reply   |   Comment by Josh  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#20

#18-20

From here ...

http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads-nero9-free.php

it says ...

This version of Nero 9 contains simply data burning and disc copying features for CDs and DVDs. Additional features and functionality are available with an upgrade to Nero 9 full version.

So no file conversion ?

Reply   |   Comment by Rayok  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#19

Just a reminder...
Nero DVD software is a commercial product, but if you assemble your own PC, some hardware manufacturers bundle OEM programs with their PC components. It's common knowledge and perfectly legal to receive an application like Nero Express with the purchase of an internal DVD-Recorder.
Moreover, A Lite version of Nero 9.0 can be downloaded for free from the official website.

Reply   |   Comment by Julius  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+11)
#18

@17 Norman
Please look A bit around before accusing people like @5.
"Nero light" is free an does the job perfectly.

herkato

Reply   |   Comment by herkato  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#17

Nero Lite is free!! But it is Lite!

Reply   |   Comment by jake fraser  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)
#16

#5, Nero, is free when pirated, and we don't do that here.

Go find some other website to spam.

This software isn't to bad either, installed great on Windows7 32bit, 2GB ram, 250HDD, and no user account control.

Norman

Reply   |   Comment by Norman  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+5)
#15

I always try to do 2 things: 1) add my own 2 cents worth when there's a video related app on GOTD (I've been interested in & have worked with video for years), & 2) try hard to look for good things to say about that day's software [they are being nice after all giving it away], while still being as objective as possible. When it comes to that 2nd part, unfortunately the only positive thing I can find to say about Sothink HD Video Converter is that the program's window's re-sizable. :-(

Sothink HD Video Converter is in a word, Slow. It's slower than any of the 1 dozen + alternatives I've tried that use the same ffmpeg encoder, not even coming close to the 2 dozen or so encoders I've timed. AND, Sothink HD Video Converter has a very high impact on your Windows install...

To explain that last comment, all video related software needs & uses filters to open different formats of audio/video. Some video software provides it's own, built-in filters [e.g. the VLAN player], while some rely completely or in part on what you've installed that's made available to everything in Windows. Some, like Sothink HD Video Converter [and I should mention Format Factory] install audio/video filters in Windows for you [ones that *all* software is supposed to use], assuming you want/need them. This bad habit can break video apps you've already installed, &/or Windows' audio/video handling itself. The 2 worst offenders it includes are ffdshow tryout & the Matroska Splitter -- both are highly configurable [read complicated setup] & meant to take over several audio/video functions from other software, & indeed Windows itself.

[It's my opinion that the *very* least the developers could do would be to refer you to docs on how to set them up, deal with potential conflicts etc, rather than assume you're too stupid to understand the docs or care. I also think they should make you download & install those sorts of things yourself, so you're not only exposed to the docs etc, but get the latest versions which can include important bug fixes.]

Encoding/transcoding HD...
In a nutshell the biggest difference between HD & the video you might watch on a hand-held or with your cell, is there's more of it [pixels that is ;-) ]. Now most hardware that plays video requires certain formats it can understand -- stand-a-lone boxes with USB inputs &/or hard drives, just like hand-helds & cells can be very picky, meaning you have to research a bit & often experiment if there's not a preset or template available. Blu Ray players obviously like the BD-ROM discs you buy/rent, but most I think will also play discs you burn, BD-R & BD-RE [though it may take a firmware update]. Somewhat fewer Blu Ray players will accept the same Blu Ray files burned to a DVD. From reports on-line, slightly fewer players handle AVCHD discs -- a similar to Blu Ray layout popular for/with the PS3, that can be burned to either BD or DVD [your player may accept 1 & not the other]. With Blu Ray & DVD video discs, the *layout* is critical, but using UDF 2.5 it technically doesn't matter whether the disc is DVD or BD -- it may matter to your player since different lasers are used, & the electronics for 1 or the other may include more [or different] decoding capabilities.

Video DVDs use mpg2 but it has to be enclosed in .VOB files within a set structure [e.g. with the .IFO files that tell the player where everything is]. Blu Ray has its own structure, & AVCHD is very close to that. Fewer apps can actually put your video into that structure, so my advice is to start 1st with where you want your HD video to wind up, then look at what sort of input your choice of apps will accept. The free, AVCHDCoder was the only encoder with output that passed compliance testing in my 2 Blu Ray authoring apps -- it may be somewhat more compatible, working in more players. But if you use it, you probably don't want to use a separate video conversion app -- that stuff's built-in, & that's just how it's designed to work. The free multiAVCHD is popular, lets you include menus, has individual presets for Blu Ray players, PS3s etc, but also wants to install some added packages just like today's GOTD. Most free apps that put your files into an AVCHD or Blu Ray layout use the free smartLabs tsMuxer to create that layout. IMHO there's not one outstanding app you can use, so I stop short of recommending one.

Encoding your video to H264/AVC is popular with many hand-helds, is set to be more compatible with new cells, & works in AVCHD & Blu Ray disc *layouts* on BD or DVD. [Mpeg2 is also Blu Ray spec, but can be less compatible -- i.e. may not work where you want it to] Arguably the best H264/AVC encoder is the free, CLI [command line interface] app called X264.exe, used in free, open source, & commercial software -- several free *front-end* apps are available that use it. Many also use the free AviSynth app to handle file import, resizing, & optionally filtering -- AviSynth itself is world class software very popular with pros & in homes. The difference in the front-ends then is chiefly limited to how things are laid out, which X264 options you can use [there are so many most apps don't have all of the settings available], & how many templates are provided, assuming they're offered at all. Many video converters take it a step further, embedding X264 in their own code, hiding most options in an interface designed to make everything easier. However it's packaged [think of it like the re-branding common with PC parts/accessories] the end result should be the same, with any real difference caused by the settings or profiles used.

You'll find several encoders at videohelp.com, including megui, ffcoder, AutoX264, HDConvertToX, RipBot, XMediaRecode & so on -- all popular X264 front-ends. Roxio's VideoWave editor [included with Creator 2010] has fast mpg2 & AVC BD encoder templates that can make use of your ATI or Nvidia graphics hardware & work very well, but are hard to use, if you can use them. I have Creator 2010, & to encode HD in VideoWave, you have to start 1st in the included MyDVD [a restriction to encourage your buying their Blu Ray add-on]. While the BD templates were good quality & fast, to adjust them you need to create a new template -- something I could never get working for AVC. And surprisingly MyDVD doesn't like the video you encode, insisting on doing it over with it's slow, mediocre encoder... you'll still need an app to create your AVCHD or Blu Ray layout.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+36)
#14

I would like a good copy also of 1avcenter as I had toremove it as it drove my computer nuts as someone said a loop to loop roll.
Maybe it's vista .

Reply   |   Comment by STEPH  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-10)
#13

Software starts and runs ok. I don't see any way to activate it. Is activation necessary?

I kept trying to download the 1AVCenter software yesterday and kept getting a time out error. Anyone know how to get a copy of that software that works now that yesterday has passed?

Reply   |   Comment by tp3000  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-11)
#12

This is a great program to go along with yesterdays giveaway! Thanks GOTD

To #1 who wrote “Doesn’t properly make use of dual cores”. After reading that I’d say “Reviewer doesn’t properly make use of space between ears”

Reply   |   Comment by anewperson  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-23)
#11

This is nothing more than a front end/wrapper for AVI Synth, ffmpeg, Haali, and whatever Real codec it installed. It has nothing to do with the actual conversion process. I'm not saying this is wrong, but just trying to clarify what it actually IS.

If you already have AVI Synth and/or ffmpeg, you already can do anything this can do. Whether or not this is easier is for you to judge, however. Given that ffmpeg is command line interface and AVI Synth (to the best of my memory) requires scripting knowledge, most folks will likely prefer this.

Any issues with the conversion process are limitations of AVI Synth, ffmpeg, etc, or this program's interface with them.

Reply   |   Comment by RangerWinslow  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+10)
#10

Hi all!

Today’s giveaway is not bad as it does what it claims flawlessly: so THUMBS UP from S.O.!!

That said, since this app is only geared towards HD CONVERSION, I was wondering how many people may find it useful (probably no one…LOL!!).

What's the point of charging 40 bucks for a product like this which does just one thing that can be done flawlessly by FREE APPS as well?

Big MYSTERY.....LOL!!

For this reason my recommendation is, just for a change, to follow ASHRAF'S advice, namely grab the ubiquitous and always FREE “FormatFactory” which is a little bit better than “iWisoft Video Converter” for HD CONVERSIONS since it has greater selection of predefined HD profiles, not to mention that it can convert any video, audio and image format into a different one (so it’s not designed just for HD Video conversion like today’s giveaway).


Cheers

Reply   |   Comment by Giovanni  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#9

Great converter, installed fine on windows 7, 64 bit. Thanks giveaway.

Reply   |   Comment by Demon  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#8

Quick overview. Ashraf has done a fantastic review on this, one of the best reviews of any product I've seen for a very long time.

Problems encountered on my machine (that has some video driver issues) the preview video would not play, though conversion was flawless.

It's yet another frontend for FFMPEG, a very good video tools library that most video conversion software uses as the "workhorse"

Useful application, it does what it says out of the box and also allows you to change the settings though it's more of an expert tool in this regard as you must click on the "advanced" tab and then key in the settings manually. (I used 640 x 480 at 384 Kbps with mp3 audio at 128Kbps mono 22KHz and turned aspect radio correcting off in the primary settings menu as my test source was "streched") It would have been nice to include two categories, each with it's various options. One for standard definition common formats and one for the high definition stuff.
However, once you get a format that works, it remembers it for any subsequent videos you drag in to the applications and you can save the custom settings as a "profile" which makes life much easier in the future.

It does allow crude "trimming" of videos, a bit of a lacking feature as you cannot select frame by frame, only drag the left bottom arrow for the start and the right bottom arrow for the finish. It makes it very hard to select a scene from a long duration video as it can only move in defined steps as you drag it, you lose some control the longer a video gets. It's also a bit illogical for a novice.

It also does not support "stitching" so you cannot create one long video from a series of "takes" and you cannot mix audio into the video or add subtitles, images, overlay text etc.

It is just a simple video converter with a good backend and works well.

Overall it's a keeper.

Free alternatives:
Formatfactory - converter
Avidemux - a very featured and effective editor but requires a learning curve.
iWisoft - something I have not tried but must give a try from Ashraf's review, it looks excellent.

Reply   |   Comment by anton  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+25)
#7

#5 Nick - Since when has Nero been "free" ?

Reply   |   Comment by Phil K  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+27)
#6

#4 you should be able to, make sure you are selecting the correct audio device. If that doesn't work get a audio cable with a male jack plug at either end and plug the headphones (output) into the microphone (input) :-)

Reply   |   Comment by Rayok  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)
#5

nero can do all the work this soft can do.i wonder will the developer make money by this soft?
in addition.nero is free.my dear friend ,if you feel this soft is more convenient than Nero ,please tell me .

Reply   |   Comment by Nick  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-58)
#4

I should also mention that one of the severe limitations of both 1AVCapture and 1AVCenter is that when you capture from the Web (such as a webcast) you can only record the video stream, the audio stream is NOT captured, which is a real shame.

Reply   |   Comment by NotesTracker  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-13)
#3

Something in 1AVCenter caused me to repeatably get system crashed (BSOD - Blue Screen of Death) under Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, so I thought it wise to uninstall 1AVCenter.

I had previously obtained 1AVCapture as a Giveaway Of The Day, and re-tested this to confirm that it worked well without causing BSOD. Therefore it must be one of the other features of 1AVCenter which (at least in 64-bit Windows) is causing the crashes, so BEWARE!

Reply   |   Comment by NotesTracker  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-20)
#2

This is the "perfect" accompaniment to yesterdays screen capture software. If you are re-recording a streamed video or DVD using 1avcapture / 1avcentre you may end up with file sizes of 10MB per MINUTE of Video. Obviously with this you can then compress the video to a more manageable size.

Installed and registered fine on 7x64

Reply   |   Comment by Rayok  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+20)
#1

The Good
* Straightforward and fairly to use.
* Supports many input formats, and a handful of output formats.
* Can do video -> video, video -> audio, and audio -> audio conversions.
* Allows users to shutdown, sleep, or hibernate computer automatically after conversions have finished.
* Allows users to trim videos.

The Bad
* Can convert to SD videos (in addition to HD videos), but converting to SD videos is a big hassle.
* Doesn't properly make use of dual cores (if applicable).
* Developer claims to be able to add subtitles, but there seems to be no option in the program to do this.

Free Alternatives
iWisoft Video Converter
FormatFactory

For final verdict, recommendations, and full review please click here.

Reply   |   Comment by Ashraf  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+91)
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