TMPGEnc

Editors' ReviewDownload.com staffSeptember 19, 2011Though this oddly named video converter is much more narrowly focused than many in its class, it's easy to use, functional, and free. TMPGEnc's gray interface will never win any design accolades, but since it works entirely in step-by-step mode, we doubt most users will get confused. Basically, the program converts AVI files into various flavors of MPEG optimized for DVD, VideoCD, and Super VideoCD. For a freebie, this one gives you a surprisingly large amount of control over your new file. For instance, you can convert in interlaced or noninterlaced modes; change the aspect ratio and size; apply noise reduction; crop edges; and extract certain portions of a clip. TMPGEnc also lets you set the video quality and apply different filters. As long as you don't regularly need to encode video files in a codec other than MPEG, you'll find this one to be well worth considering.