By Mustafa El Damaty from ww.windows7news.com

Have you ever wanted to rip a DVD movie but eventually got tied up in knots when trying to choose a suitable video codec or understand what “VBV buffer rate” even meant? What about that day you were anxious to watch a video on your brand new iPhone, only just to find out that it doesn’t work because it’s of the wrong format?! You might have faced other hurdles when downloading YouTube videos, removing a file’s DRM protection or burning a video to a DVD.

Yes, you can install a program for each of these tasks and get the job done. Nonetheless, you can take a wiser decision and dodge a lot of pain and frustration by just buying one program that can do it all. This application would be Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate ( download the latest version for a try ), which has the following capabilities:

User Interface & Usability

The program has a simple user interface without any settings buried deep inside it or difficult to access. You can add video and audio files to a list and specify each item’s output format and quality, all from within the main window. Trimming, editing and transferring files to a device can all be done via the buttons at the top. Once you’ve set your list and are satisfied with the settings, click on the “Start” button to start conversion or the “Burn DVD” if you want to make a DVD. Unlike some other media converters, Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate’s design integrates all features with one another and keeps everything in one place, making it very efficient to use.

I’ve found it easy to learn and became familiar with its interface quickly. In fact, after quickly skimming through the guide that appeared after installation, I was able to jump right into using it. There are, however, some features which I think are important that the program lacks. For instance, there is neither an option for minimizing it to the tray nor a “Clear” button to create a new list. Furthermore, while converting files, it only tells us the percentage completed and time remaining. There’s no mention of the time elapsed, conversion speed, etc.. These things aren’t major, though they are expected by users.

Supported File Formats and Devices

Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate is a definite winner when it comes to the video and audio formats it can convert to. It offers a multitude of common formats: AVI, WMV, OGG, MP4, MKV, FLV – you name it! Plus, it can convert from file formats which are not available on the output list (like AMR). Not sure which format works best on your smartphone? No need to worry because it also allows you to choose a device instead of a file format. Depending on your choice, the video converter will decide which format is eligible and even optimize its output settings especially for that device. For the full list of supported file formats and devices, click here.

Apart from being presented in an aesthetically pleasing way and its ability to perform batch processing, I was amazed to see devices recently released like the iPad being supported! If you’re a tech-savvy user, you can alter advanced settings such as the encoder used, bit rate and frame frequency by clicking on the “Advanced…” button on the main window. In addition, you can save your own preferences as a user-defined profile that can be easily accessed from the same menu.

Features

Media Converter: This is the application’s core feature. As we stated earlier, Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate can convert audio and video files to a wide range of common file formats. The time conversion takes is affected by many factors like the file’s size, its output resolution and the computer’s specifications. On my computer, it generally took less than 45 minutes to convert a whole movie (~700-900 MB). Converting a HD movie in MKV to a high-quality AVI with HD standards took about 2 hours to complete 50%. All in all, I didn’t face any major issues with this feature and everything went smoothly.

DVD Ripper: By ripping a DVD video, you make a copy of it on your hard disk drive as a single video file. This can make life easier as you can watch it anytime without having to insert the DVD. The multipurpose program can rip content from DVD-Videos, DVD folders, INF files and ISO images. The application managed to correctly detect the movies, scenes and bonus features of almost all of the DVDs I tried. As an ordinary user, the task was piece of cake and the quality of the DVD-rips was very good. It’s advisable that you rip just the first few minutes of the DVD video (using the “Clip” tool) to see how the output looks. This is because sometimes there might be a large black region around the actual video. If this happens, simply crop the screen by using the “Edit” feature or try changing the resolution from the “Advanced” settings.

DRM Removal: Digital right management
(DRM) is employed by many large vendors and online music stores in order to inhibit undesired usage of the content provided. This is another attempt to try to prevent digital piracy. Yet legitimate users can be negatively affected and constrained by it. Consequently, the application provides DRM removal for authorized users. It can banish DRM protection from the following formats: WMV, WMA, iTunes M4P, M4A, M4V, AAC, M4B and ASF. Unluckily, I was unable to fully test this feature and so can’t give feedback about it.

DVD Burner: One reason why you might want to burn videos on to a DVD is to be able to play it on your DVD player and watch it on TV. Similar to video conversion, after adding the desired items to the list, you can specify the output’s quality, TV standard and aspect ratio. The fact that the amount of disc space required is given just before burning can be annoying for some people. Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate can add a DVD motion menu as well. The menu consists of a title, a background image and navigation buttons (“Play” and “Scenes”). The templates offered mostly have vivid colours and cheerful backgrounds, ideally suited for family content and anniversaries. Notwithstanding, you can customize them by changing the background image and adding some background music. It’s worth noting that only the first minute of the audio file you choose – as your background music – will be played and repeated. If you want to effortlessly produce neat DVD menus, then rest assured because that’s exactly what it does. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something very customizable and advanced, you might find it very limited.

Device Transfer: You can directly transfer files to different players including BlackBerry, PSP and iPod. The last example wasn’t a typo! It can send files to Apple devices without using iTunes!

Youtube Downloader: Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate can download videos from YouTube and other video-sharing sites. You can find out the websites it can download from by clicking here. The all-in-one program first downloads the videos and then converts them from flash video format (FLV) to whichever format you pick. I was least satisfied with this feature. As you know, many YouTube videos now come in different resolutions (360p, 480p, 780p HD, etc.). Sadly, I was unable to select an output resolution because I could only copy and paste the video’s URL in the program. Plus, sometimes I got mixed up which video is which because it doesn’t save the video names. Hopefully these things will be improved in future versions.

Phew! That was a lot :). In conclusion, without a doubt I’d recommended this program. It has made my life easier, and I wish it makes yours too. Your comments are always welcome, so feel free to share your thoughts. For more information, pay a visit to the product’s page. You can download a free trail from there. However it comes with a three-minute restriction on converted files.