Digitizing Your Media Life

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

WinFF Alternative for Mac Review: Convert Video/Audio Files on Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Can't find a program like WinFF for Mac. Now get this WinFF Converter for Mac Alternative to batch convert any video or audio on Mac OS X. WinFF Alternative for Windows also available.

WinFF is a cross platform batch GUI for FFmpeg. It will convert most any audio or video file that FFmpeg will convert. Software includes presets for most common file conversions with the option to add advanced conversion options supported by FFmpeg to one or more files in a batch. WinFF converts multiple files in a batch, with support for multiple formats output in the same batch. For example, you can convert FLV, WMV, AVI and WAV simultaneously.

Though WinFF is one of the well known video converter apps, it only has Windows and Linux version, there is still no WinFF for Mac version.Ever dream to get a WinFF for Mac to convert any video or audio on Mac OS X (Mavericks included)? This article just aims to introduce an ideal WinFF Alternative for Mac or Windows as well as describe an easy guide on how to use this WinFF Mac version.

Here, we highly recommend you to try Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac, which works as the best WinFF Alternative for Mac. With this best Video Converter and Editor for Mac, users can finish DVD/Blu-ray, SD/HD video converting and editing process with fast speed and high video qualtiy.

This app offers an easy way to convert DVD/Blu-rays, virtually all video and audio types, camcorder HD footages and TiVo recordings to desired video/audio format for portable multimedia devices, HD media players or video editing software, such as:

* Devices: iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad Mini, iPod 5, etc.

* Players: Apple TV 3, WD TV, PS3, Xbox 360, Popcorn Hour, Xtreamer Ultra, Dune HD Base 3D, Iomega ScreenPlay MX HD Media Player, NETGEAR NeoTV Max Streaming Player(NTV300SL), Asus O!Play Mini Plus, etc.

* Video Editing Softwares: FCP, iMovie, Avid Media Composer, Premiere Pro, etc. Plus, you are allowed to freely customize and personalize the conversion files through its settings and options in order to get an individual output in your own way.

Not all video tools like Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac offer so many video editing options in this full-features and powerful video/movie converter. It edits videos by trimming, cropping, splitting videos, add text/image/video watermark as copyright protection, and attach external *.srt, *.ass, or *.ssa subtitles into source media for entertainment. Support perfect audio and video synchronization.

The conversion speed is very fast and it supports batch conversion. It converts multiple video clips at the same time, moreover it can shut down computer after the process is complete, so run the app overnight and you could enjoy the created videos next morning when you are up.

Windows Version: Video Converter Ultimate

Tutorial: How to use WinFF Alternative for Mac to Convert Media file on Mac Mavericks/Mountain Lion with ease?

Step 1: Load video files to this WinFF Converter for Mac Alternative

Download the Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac on your computer, install and run the program, add videos.You can choose to import videos or the entire folder by clicking the top left two icons.

Step 2. Choose a proper format.

Click "Format" drop-down list and choose the best preset for you portable device with best video quality. Plenty of presets that can be customized as necessary.

For iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Mini, iPad Air or iPad Mini 2, the video formats from "iPad" option will meets your demand;

For iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, the preset from "iPad" option is able to work well.

For those who in demands of playing videos on Android devices, you can always find the one you want in Android preset.

Step 3. Customize video specs(Optional).

You could also click the "Settings" to adjust the video and audio parameters of output files.

In the Video Settings, you can select Encoder, Frame Rate, Resolution (you could define it yourself according to your device) and Bitrate for your movie.

In the Audio Settings, you can select Encoder, Channels, Bitrate and Sample Rate for your movie.

Step 4. Start the Videos and Audio Conversion on Mac.

You can hit the big red "Convert" to start converting MKV, AVI, VOB, WMV, MPG, Tivo, M4V, FLV, F4V, MTS to MP4 with best video settings on Mac. After the conversion, click "Open output folder" in the conversion window, or "Open" in main interface to quick locate the converted video.

Now, you can transfer these videos to your portable Android OS, Window 8.1/8 RT/Pro and Apple iOS device on Mac for smooth playback without any problem. Enjoy your digital life!

See Also:

Monday, January 6, 2014

Stream Blu-ray/DVD collections to Portable Devices and HDTV via Home Network

This guide introduces how to backup Blu-ray/DVD disc, folder, IFO/ISO to your locate network, so that you can stream them to portable devices and TV for playback at any time.

If you are any thoughts of home entertainment, you should not miss the idea of streaming your Blu-ray and DVD collections to portable devices and HDTV via home network. It's a good way to share movies with family members without the risk of scratching discs; everyone in your family can create and access the shared movies; isn't it fantastic?

If you already have the home network set up, then the most important thing is to backup Blu-ray/DVD to server in a most common format which could be accepted by most of your devices. After many trials, I prefer to save them into MP4 format as it's widely supported by my iPhone, iPad, Android tablet and Samsung Smart TV.

To backup Blu-ray/DVD into MP4 format with best quality, I recommend Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate as it's capable of ripping/converting just about every title that I own; it's easy of use and choices for decode/encode to all popular formats.

Review: 2014 Top 5 Video Converter Ultimate For HD Media Player, TV & Portable Device

Note: its Mac version is renamed as iMedia Converter for Mac.

How to convert Blu-ray/DVD to MP4 on home network or stream to portable device/TV for playback?

Step 1. Launch Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate; import disc.

Inset your DVD to computer; if you want to rip Blu-rays, use an external drive to connect it to your computer. Then hit "load disc" to import the discs. You can also drag and drop Blu-ray/DVD folder, ISO/IFO files to it directly.

Note that you shall keep Internet connected during this period.

Step 2. Choose format.

Hit "Format" drop-down list and choose "HD Video> H.264 HD Video(*.mp4)" as the most widely used format for playback on smartphones, tablets and HDTV.

Step 3. Adjust output settings (Optional)

You can click "Settings" (besides "Format") to change target video size, bitrate, frame rate and other specs. Change the size to "Original" to get full size picture that can be playback on TV clearly. And the higher bitrate you choose, the better video quality will be.

Step 4. Start the Blu-ray to MP4 conversion.

Back to the main interface and hit the "Convert" to start converting Blu-ray&DVD to HD MP4 on your PC/Mac; this converter will start all the tasks in batch. Wait for a while till the conversion completed; click "Open output folder" to quick locate the converted files. Now upload the movies to your NAS.

Related articles:

Tips for Getting Rid of the DRM on Digital Copy to Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 on Win/Mac

Have you ever got some similiar problems as following:

Q1: Can the Galaxy 2 10.1 Tablet play a Digital Copy of a movie? I would like to download a movie from my Digital Copy Disc on my tablet. Is it possible?

Q2: I have transfer my digital copy movies to iTunes, I can easily sync them to my iPad and iPhone for enjoying, what if any digital copy movies downloading to my new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2?

Q3: Galaxy Tab 2 – Digital Copy Download Not Working? I downloaded a digital copy of a movie and I copied the file onto Galaxy Tablet's folders where my other movies are, and when I went to play it, it gave me error "Sorry, video cannot be played" Why and how can I get it to work?

As a digital version of Blu-ray or DVD movie, Digital Copy gives you he flexibility to watch your movie anytime, anywhere. You may transfer your "Digital Copy" to your Mac, PC and iTunes-compatible devices. Basically Digital Copies all boil down to the DRM (Digital Rights Management) which prevents you from playing them on unauthorized devices. Unfortunately, the Android devices have not get a license to play DRM contents, which means digital copy movies will even play on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1.

In order to transfer Digital Copy movies to Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 for playing without problems, you'll need to remove DRM from Digital Copy movies first and then convert them to a friendly format by the Android 4.0 Tablet. Below is a simple tutorial for you, guaranteed to put Digital Copies on Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 for enjoying without problems.

See also: Top 5 Best DRM Removal Software Review for Android, Windows 8 Tablets/Phones

Requirements

Before anything else, you have to download an app that you are going to use later. You are required to download and install:

Pavtube ChewTune (available for Windows or for Mac users). Get the Windows version or Mac version.

Instructions

ChewTune is an easy-to-use yet top-ranking DRM removal software for Android. It supports protected movies, TV shows from iTunes, and Blu-ray/DVD digital copy videos that have been transferred to iTunes. And the output quality as decent as possible as original. Follow the DRM removal process to achieve your goal smoothly to get Digital Copy movies and Galaxy 2 10.1 Tablet to play nicely.

Removing DRM from Digital Copies for playback with Galaxy Tab 2

Note: For Windows users, just follow the detailed guide to finish your work about converting Digital Copy movies to Galaxy Tab 2. For Mac users, you can follow the guide on how to convert Digital Copy to Galaxy Tab on Mac to finish your work.

1. Run ChewTune, drag and drop digital copy movie to the software.

2. Select output video format. Click the format bar, you can get optimized videos for the Galaxy 10.1 Tablet under "Samsung > Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1(*.mp4)". You can click "Settings" button to customize size, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate, and audio channel to your required ones.

3. Start getting rid of DRM protection and convert Digital Copies to Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 videos.

Once the process completes, you can transfer Video files to Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and enjoy them on the go.

Related Articles:

MKV Player for Android - Play MKV movie on Android Tablet/Phone

In order to solve the problem of playing MKV on Android phones or tablets, this article gives you two feasible methods to make you enjoy your MKV videos on Android devices.

"I just got an android phone that is Samsung Galaxy while when I tried to transfer and play MKV files on my phone; I find my android phone can not support it. So, is there any solution to solve it?"

If you got an Android phone such as HTC android phones, Motorala smartphone, Samsung smartphones, Sony Ericsson, LG mobile phone, I'm sure you will dream of watching Matroska Video File/.mkv movies with it. Then what's the best way to play MKV videos files on an Android device smoothly? Here you'll find it out! Just follow this article to watch and view MKV movies on any popular Android phones and tablets effectively.

See Also: Supported Video Formats for Android

Method 1: Install Media Player for Android

The first way that most people first consider is to install a video player for Android that can play AVI, WMV, MPG, MOV, MKV files. If you search online, you will find there are many free MKV players for Android in the market and most of them are free. Popular Android MKV players include Mobo Player, MX Video Player and Rock Player. With a smart player installed on your Android device, you can play MKV movies without conversion on your Android device.

Note that though there are so many MKV players for Android, many of them can't play HD 720p or 1080p MKV videos in high quality on your device. What's more, some apps will slow download your device. Does this mean that you can't view your MKV videos on your Android devices? Never mind, you have another choice.

Method 2: Convert MKV to Abdroid supported format

The best way to play MKV movies on Android is to change MKV to Android compatible formats like MP4. To achieve it, you can use MKV to Android Converter to convert MKV format to Android friendly MP4 and then transfer to your Android device. It also supports Mac version: MKV to Android Converter for Mac.

Insatll and launch the program. The interface of the software is as below. Generally, the conversion process can be completed in 3 simple steps. 1. Click "Add File" icon and select videos from your hard drive to load. 2. Click the format bar and choose MP4 as the output video format. 3. Click "Convert" button to start converting MKV videos for playback on any Android device.

pavtube android video converter ultimate

After finishing this, the only thing you need to do is just waiting for the conversion to be done. Then get the converted Android playable videos and transfer them to your devices for play smoothly.

Have you learned the methods of playing MKV movies with dts on Android OS-based devices? So easy, right? Just enjoy it!

Some articles you may interested:

Friday, January 3, 2014

Best Blu-ray to H.264 MP4 Converter Review: Handbrake vs Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper

A comparison the better way of ripping protected commercial Blu-ray to H.264 MP4 format with Handbrake or Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper, so that you can playback Blu-ray on computer, smartphones, tablets or other devices.
Handbrake is a popular free software to help convert various video formats; many of us may have used it to backup DVD to H.264 for preserving or playback. In this article, we will test out the best solutions of ripping Blu-ray to H.264 MP4 using Handbrake or a top Blu-ray ripping tool like Pavtube BDMagic.

How to use Handbrake to rip Blu-ray to H.264 MP4 Video?

Part 1. Handbrake workflow:

Step 1. Before starting the transcoding process with Handbrake, you need to use an unlocking software to break the Blu-ray's protection. In this case we chose AnyDVD, but no Mac version available atm. Besides just running AnyDVD and decrypt the whole disc to the hard drive first.

Step 2. Open up Handbrake. Make sure the High Profile is selected and then select Source -> Video File.

Step 3. Browse to the BDMV folder of your Blu-ray disc and inside the STREAM folder select the biggest m2ts file and click Open.

Step 4. With the movie loaded it is time to set the output file by clicking Browse. The MP4 container should be already selected. Now in the picture tab you can set the output size. In this example we are keeping the full resolution so we selected Strict anamorphic. Open the Video tab and move to the next step.

Step 5. The codec we will use is of course H.264. Now a few words about the settings here. In this example I will use constant quality (1) with a 20 value. Constant quality is a faster encoding method than the traditional 2-pass option and tries to keep a constant quality on all your files, regardless of the movie length or content. That however means that you cannot know how big the file will be as it depends on the movie length, the CQ setting and the actual content. Usual values range from 18 to 26, with 18 being the "best" and 26 the "worse" quality. I am using this option for my mkv backups as I prefer to base my encoding on video quality and not file size.
Of course, you can always select the 2-pass option by setting a Target Size and enable 2-Pass Encoding. The Turbo first pass option will help you save some time without a slight decrease on quality so if you want to encode faster, select it as well. I suggest you give at least 4GB to your file if you are using 1080p and at least 2GB for 720p. If you go over 4GB select Large file size next to the MP4 container option. Now click the Audio tab.

Step 6. Here you have to select the audio track you want to add in the MP4 file. Selecting AC3 Passthru will actually make an AC3 track off your DTS audio as DTS is not supported by the MP4 format. You can also downmix to stereo AAC using Dolby Pro Logic II.

Make sure you click Add track after selecting the right track and settings and that it appears in the list below. Then click Subtitles.

Step 7. Here you can add subtitle streams in your MP4 file. Unfortunately Handbrake does not support processing Blu-ray subs, so you keep to have them in SRT format. If you do, import them and then after setting the language and if you want them to appear by default, click add to add them to the list below.

Step 8. That's all. Just click the Start button at the top and a few hours later you will have a HD MP4 file.

It's somehow complex but acceptable as the best free solutions; now let's try with Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper to see how it works.

Part 2. How to use Pavtube BDMagic to rip Blu-ray to H.264 MP4 Video?

This Blu-ray Ripper is developed by Pavtube studio; more info can be found in http://www.multipelife.com/bdmagic

First, this program has two version: BDMagic and BDMagic for Mac.

Good News! Pavtube Release a New Site - multipelife.com with Product Migration and Name Change. Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper has been renamed as BDMagic. Like us to get 20% off BDMagic on Windows/Mac platform: https://www.facebook.com/pavtubefans/app_209569249055691

Expire on Jun 4th.

Before purchase, you are able to download a free trial version to have a try. Now get it installed anyway and let's move on.

Step 1. Run Pavtube BDMagic; load Blu-rays.

It dose not only support loading both Blu-ray and DVD disc, but also support Blu-ray folder, Blu-ray ISO, DVD folder and DVD IFO/ISO files.

It seems during the importing, the disc would be decrypted already.

Step 2. Choose H.264 MP4 format.

Click the "Format" drop-down list and choose HD Video>H.264 HD Video(*.mp4). Or we can enter "H.264 MP4" in the small search box to quick locate matched presets. We can also choose presets like iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android and Windows 8 RT/Pro phoneS/tabletS, etc. for particularly using.

rip blu-ray to h.264 mp4

Step 3. Adjust target video specs (Optional)

Click "Settings" as bellow to check the source/target video size, bitrate, frame rate and other settings in one go; you will be able to know the target video size with different bitrate settings immediately.

Step 4. Start converting Blu-ray to H.264 MP4.

Now hit the big red "convert" to start the conversion. Wait for moments, we can hit "Open" or "Open output folder" to quick locate the converted video.

Conclusion:
Handbrake is a good free software; but it seems to be not easy-of-use especially for people who are not tech-savvy; also no Mac solution available. While Pavtuve Blu-ray Ripper works beautifully with easy-to-use interface and all-in-one workflow; it' should be a great choice and well worth the payment.

More details Blu-ray ripping guides can all the found here: http://www.multipelife.com/bdmagic/how-to-use-bdmagic

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