How to convert your video into different formats using Free Video Converter
There are so many video formats that it can be not only confusing but also problematic. Not all formats offer the same level of compatibility, so you may find that you cannot play a particular video on your preferred device.
This is one reason for wanting to convert videos between formats on Windows, but size is another – video quality is important, of course, but if it comes at the expense of a gargantuan file size, it won’t always be acceptable.
Whatever your reasons for converting between formats, Free Video Converter is a great option and we’ll show you how to use it.
Download free video converter
Free Video Converter is produced by DVDVideoSoft and you can download a free copy of the software here (opens in new tab). press the Download for Windows button, save the file to your hard drive, and then go through the installation process.
There’s nothing unusual about the setup routine and you should have the software installed and ready to go in moments.
Once the installer has been executed, Free Video Converter will be launched automatically so that you can start converting video files.
Basic configuration options
Before you begin, you’ll find that you’ll be immediately invited to upgrade to the premium paid version of the software. This highlights the fact that Free Video Converter has some limitations, but this shouldn’t be a problem for most people.
press the Tool menu, select options and on the General From tab options you can use the… output folder Field to select the default location to save converted videos; Just click search and select the folder you want to use.
File Naming Options
While you’re in the options section of Free Video Converter is also worth checking out filename Tab where you can configure how you want the software to name your converted file.
There is plenty of room for experimentation here; You can add a prefix to the name of a newly converted video and/or create a name based on the date, the original filename and more. You can also append a suffix to a name, change the format of the date, and choose which character to use between components of a name.
A power saving option
Video conversion can be fast, but that’s certainly not always the case. If you are converting a very long video or have decided to convert multiple videos in a batch, the process can be very, very long indeed.
You might like the idea of leaving your computer unattended to work its magic while you get busy with something else, but it can be difficult to know when the conversion process will be complete.
One option is to let the conversion run overnight and automatically shut down your computer when it’s complete – just switch to it Progressive section and activate the Shut down the computer when you’re done Possibility.
import videos
To convert a video or videos, you first need to add everything you want to work with to Free Video Converter, and there are a couple of ways to do that.
The first way is to simply drag and drop one or more videos from Explorer to the application window. Alternatively, you can also click on add files button, click files > Add to Files or press ctrl + v to open the add files Dialog box that allows you to browse the contents of your hard drive and select the files you want to use.
Set conversion options
There are two menus you can use to configure your video conversion settings. The first appears next to the add files Button.
The default selected option is to Convert to MP4, but if you click on the drop down menu you will see that there are others to choose from. You can also choose Convert to AVI or Convert to MPEG if you prefer these formats, there is also the possibility of selection Convert to MP3 if you want to convert the video file to an audio file.
Finally, Convert to iPhone and iPad produces videos suitable for playback on Apple devices.
Configure video quality
The second drop-down menu appears to the right of the first. It contains various presets that can be used to change the quality of the converted video; is the default option Original qualitybut there are other settings to choose from.
Each of the four additional options (Economy (smaller file), 480p – 854×480, HD Ready – 1280 x 720and Full HD – 1920 x 1080) are pretty self-explanatory and the one you choose will depend heavily on how you intend to use the resulting video file.
Merge multiple videos
Another handy option available in the premium version of Free Video Converter is to merge multiple videos into a single file. This is a useful way to combine multiple video clips into one, and it’s up to you whether you want to just merge files without any other modifications, or you want to change the quality or format of your files as well.
Just activate the marked option Combine in one file and click the Convert Button. You have to click the same button if you only use the free version of the program to convert video quality and formats, but you have to click Convert in the dialog box that appears to confirm that you’re OK with adding a watermark.
Final Thoughts
The process of video conversion – just like other forms of video editing – isn’t much more accessible than it has ever been. This is due to both the increased availability of easy-to-use software and the fact that there are so many free utilities to choose from. Free Video Converter is an incredible tool, but it’s far from the only option available to you.
You might also want to take a look at Handbrake (opens in new tab), which is available for macOS and Linux in addition to Windows. Other notable alternatives are Free HD Video Converter Factory (opens in new tab) (as long as you don’t need 1080p support) and Any Video Converter Free (opens in new tab), another option suitable for both Mac and Windows users. We also spend a lot of time on Freemake Video Converter (opens in new tab).