Comparing the Bigasoft Total Video Converter to RealPlayer
Why are we going to see how the free RealPlayer measures up to the Total Video Converter? Because it’s converters that provide the freedom for you to use the videos you’ve downloaded or shared however you like. Video file converters make sense of the baffling world of digital video formats and diverse collections of smart phones, tablets, portable media players and set top devices. They equalize the technical differences within formats and devices to let you enjoy media in more ways.
INTRODUCING THE BIGASOFT TOTAL VIDEO CONVERTER
Bigasoft Corporation makes a full line of digital video converters, many focused on converting digital media from one specific format to several other formats, or doing a conversion to one particular device, such as an iPad. It’s a large collection of products, but you have to pick and choose carefully to be sure you’re getting the right tool for you needs.
From that product line, they’ve also made a more integrated, general-purpose product called the Total Video Converter, priced at $34.95.
STARTING UP THE TOTAL VIDEO CONVERTER
The main interface window for Total is very reminiscent of the Eztoo Video Converter. The layout is strikingly similar, right down to having a list of “Getting Started” instructions on the main window when the application first opens.
The Total Video Converter interface is simple and direct, including instructions for “Getting Started.”
PUTTING THE BIGASOFT TOTAL VIDEO CONVERTER THROUGH ITS PACES
The sequence of adding video clips, selecting the output format and converting is simple. Click on Add File to browse your system for the clip you want; select the output from a considerable list of general video and device-specific formats, and then convert.
Selecting the Android OS, Samsung Galaxy Tab from the list of available formats and devices.
After selecting the output format or device, you can also click on the Setting… button to open the Advanced Settings pane where the codec, size, bitrate, frame rate and other detailed changes can be made to the profile. These can be named and saved as custom profiles for use in other conversions.
Advanced Settings allows making and saving custom changes to pre-set format profiles.
Again, for this evaluation, we’re using the 52-second “Sintel” trailer, encoded at 1080 HD in MP4/H.264. “Sintel” is being used because the Blender Foundation has made it available as free and open content under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
SPECIAL FEATURES YOU CAN USE IN THE TOTAL CONVERTER
It’s common for many dedicated video converters to provide a basic clip-trimming feature to create smaller segments from the larger video. Total does this, but also takes a step beyond, giving you the ability to adjust or apply special effects to the video and audio.
Before pressing the big blue convert button, clicking on the Trim icon opens the editing window, where you can do a number of things. Particularly convenient is the ability to see the original video and a preview of the effects being used in separate windows.
The video can be cropped, image brightness, contrast and saturation changed, text or graphic watermark added, subtitles inserted, and a number of special video effects like embossing, negative, mosaic and others can be applied. There is an audio adjustments section, but it only seemed to display properties and didn’t allow changes to the codec, sample rate, bitrate, etc. Maybe it was due to limitations of the Samsung profile. The separate Crop and Effect icons next to Trim simple open this same window.
USING TOTAL TO CONVERT FILES TO THE SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB
Once you set everything above to your liking, NOW you can press the big blue button. Total Video Converter handles batch processing; so several clips can be loaded. All will be converted to the defined profile.
While the video being processed is not displayed, a progress bar with percent done, elapsed time and remaining time are shown. Although we’re not doing rigorous bench testing, my simple 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, running Window 7 Pro, zipped through the conversion in less than the clip’s real time.
COMPARING THE FREE REALPLAYER AS A VIDEO FORMAT CONVERTER
More than ever, people are demanding convenience and flexibility in how they communicate. As video becomes a larger part of that, those same demands are placed on the tools and devices people use to accomplish that. In response, the free RealPlayer has integrated a video format converter as a key feature.
STARTING UP AND ADDING VIDEO CLIPS TO THE CONVERTER
A number of options are available here. The RealPlayer Converter can be opened directly by clicking on its icon that you’ve pinned to the Windows taskbar.
We’ll start there.
You can work directly in the RealPlayer Converter to add files, select devices and choose where to save the completed work.
With just the RealPlayer Converter open, you can perform all the key functions necessary to convert your videos. The first is adding files. That can be done by either clicking Add…, which lets you browse your system to select files. Or, if you have a window open with a list of videos, you can simple drag & drop them directly into the converter.
Next, select the file format or device to convert to, and pick a folder where you wish to save the completed conversions.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab with a similar profile as used in the Total Video Converter example was picked from a long list of brands and models of devices. Clicking on the Samsung Galaxy Tab “details” button opens another window where format, quality and resolution settings can be further altered for the conversion.
Clicking “details” lets you dig deeper into the profile settings.
USING THE REALPLAYER LIBRARY TO PICK VIDEOS FOR CONVERSION
Personally, the Library is the method I prefer. It offers the maximum flexibility and pure ease of use through a more intuitive and graphical interface.
Simply open the RealPlayer application and click on the Library tab at the top. You’ll see thumbnails or a list of all your video clips.
From here, there are many options for moving clips into the RealPlayer Converter. The fastest is just clicking on the thumbnail and dragging straight into the converter.
Another quick technique is to hover the cursor over the video thumbnail, where a pop-up menu then appears with a list of Play, Share, Copy to and More. Click on More and a drop-down menu with the Convert… option is shown.
The clip can be sent to the converter while watching it play back in Now Playing window. Just place the cursor in the frame and Convert appears at the bottom for you to click.
In addition to sending the clip playing to the RealPlayer Converter, you can Share on social networks, Trim the head and tail, or Copy directly to different devices.
Here, I’ve used a combination of these techniques to put “Sintel,” the “Midnight In Paris” movie trailer, and a “Funny Cat Videos” clip in the RealPlayer Converter.
NOW THE SIMPLE PART, CONVERTING VIDEO TO OTHER FORMATS
All there’s left to do is just click the Start button. Your clips will each be converted to the Samsung format profile. The clips are then saved in the folder you’ve picked and are also placed in the Library for viewing in their new format. Connect the device to your computer and transfer the videos.
EXTRA FEATURES OFFERED BY THE FREE REALPLAYER
The free RealPlayer itself performs several additional functions to make your experience with digital media more efficient. Those include:
- Trimming heads and tails of clips
- Sharing videos on social websites
- Creating playlists
- Downloading video with one click
- Emailing video clips
If you need to do even more with your video and audio content, the upgrade to RealPlayer Plus for $49.95 lets you:
- Transfer video at twice the speed to mobile devices
- Download video at three times faster from the Internet
- Burn video to DVDs
- Burn high definition video to DVD to play on Blu-ray machines
- Burn audio CDs with professional level controls
COMPARISON CHART FOR THE BIGASOFT TOTAL VIDEO CONVERTER vs. REALPLAYER CONVERTER
| Compare | Bigasoft Total Video Converter | RealPlayer |
|---|
| Price | $34.95 | FREE |
| Input File Formats | ||
| Input File Types | AVI, Xvid, DivX, H.264, MP4, 3GP, MKV, WMV, RM, FLV, MOV, WTV, MXF, MVI, F4V, Apple ProRes, MOV, WebM, VP8, AVCHD, MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA | AAC, M4A, PLS, EPL, AVI, CDA, IVR, MP3, MPA, MPG, MPEG, MPV, MPS, M2V, M1V, MPE, RA RV, SMIL, WAV, SSM, MP4, M4E, M4V, WMA, WMV, WAX, ASX, ASF, WM, WMX, MICROSOFT MEDIA SERVER PROTOCOL, MOV, QT, AU, AIF, AIFF, ACP, 3GP, 3G2, DIVX, DVD (RP+), AMR, AWB, QCP, EVRC, EVR, FLV, VOB (RP+), REALAUDIO LOSSLESS, MP2 (RP+), MP1, MPGA, MID, MIDI, RMI |
| Output File Formats | ||
| Output File Types | ASF, AVI, Xvid, DivX, DV, DVD, H.264, MP4, 3GP, MKV, WMV, RM, FLV, MOV, WTV, MPG, MXF, MVI, F4V, MOV, VCD, WebM, VP8, AVCHD, MP3, AAC, AC3, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, M4A, MP2, RA, SUN, WAV, WMA | RA, RM, RV, WMV, MP4, AAC, H.264, H.263, RealPlayer Plus H.264, 3GP, CELL PHONE, M4A, MP3, RealAudio Lossless, WAV, WMA |
| Conversion to Output Devices | ||
| Mobile and Set top Devices | AAndroid, Apple, Archos, Blackberry, Creative Zen, HTC, iRiver, Microsoft Zune, Mobile Phone, Motorola, Nexus, Pocket PC, PSP, PS3, Samsung, Windows Mobile, Xbox, 3GP | Android, Apple, Archos, Barns and Noble Nook, BlackBerry, Creative Zen, Google, HTC, iRiver, KIN, LG, Microsoft Zune, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, PS3, PSP, Samsung, SanDisk Sansa, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, T-Mobile, ViewSonic, Xbox, 3GP |
| File Format Processing Support | ||
| Pre-set Format Profiles | Yes | Yes |
| 720p and 1080p HD Support | Yes | Yes |
| GPU Acceleration | Yes, NVIDIA CUDA | Yes, with RealPlayer Plus* |
| Multi-pass Encoding | No | No |
| Fixed and Variable Bit Rate Encoding | No | Yes – Audio Only |
| Calculator to Estimate Output Size and Time | Yes | Yes |
| Batch Processing | Yes | Yes |
| Video Quality – Sync, No Skipped Frames | Excellent | Excellent |
| Conversion Speed | Excellent | Good |
| Editing Capabilities | ||
| Trim Head and Tail of Clips | Yes | Yes |
| Crop Video Size | Yes | No |
| Makes Screen Grabs | Yes | Yes |
| Merge or Join Files | Yes | No |
| Adjust Brightness, Contrast, Color, etc. | Yes | No |
| Video and Audio Special Effects | Yes | No |
| Graphic Watermark | Yes | No |
| Create Subtitles | Yes | No |
| Other Features | ||
| DVD Ripping | Yes | No |
| DVD Burning | Yes | Yes, with RealPlayer Plus* |
| Hi-Definition Burning | Yes | Yes, with RealPlayer Plus* |
| Easy Upload to Social Media Sites | No | Yes |
THOUGHTS ON THE TOTAL CONVERTER vs. FREE REALPLAYER CONVERTERS
I was impressed with the Bigasoft Total Video Converter. It has a simple interface, using just the right amount of graphic support for identifying formats and devices, making navigation and selection easy. Its special effects features are nice if you need those in a format converter. Total Converter did do the conversion of the “Sintel” trailer faster than the free RealPlayer Converter.
Both products have comparable input and output format capabilities, mostly overlapping, but some differences in specific formats. RealPlayer does handle a wider range of inputs, while Bigasoft Total Video Converter has a slight edge on output files types. RealPlayer Converter addresses many more types of mobile devices than does Total Converter.
As mentioned earlier, Total’s interface is similar to the Eztoo Video Converter, and although simple to use, I still favor RealPlayer for the graphic approach used in the Library. Other winning features include combining the player’s own capabilities with the many ways to route content to the converter, and because the converter operates in a separate window.
The free RealPlayer also has special capabilities to connect with and upload videos to many social websites. With YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and others becoming a more commonplace meeting ground for people, this will become a standard feature in video converters.