Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
There are many applications out there that can exchange various types of video recording into formats that are friendly to iTunes and the iPhone , iPod , iPad , or Apple telecasting . Of those , there ’s an interesting subset — include Chris Marrin’sVideo Monkey 0.10 — that can not only encode files , but also chase them with television set show or movie metadata at the same metre . Or , they can simply sate in or update tag information without additional encryption .
There are number of reasons why you might get such a utility to be useful :
To convert video , Video Monkey takes advantage of the open - sourceFFmpeglibraries . Video Monkey offers a identification number of Apple - centric presets , designate by the case of machine they ’re meant for : All Apple Devices , iPod , iPhone , iPod pinch , 1st Gen Apple TV , and 2d Gen Apple TV . The presets dissent in the physique size , framing rate , bit charge per unit , and audio quality they allow for . Several of the presets have a skillful For area where you may pick out between optimize video for the gadget ’s screen , or for playback on a TV screen ( the former bound the frame sizing to the gadget ’s screen resolution , the latter takes advantage of the maximum size supported by that twist ) . To choose one , just plunk it from the iTunes subdivision of the Convert To crop up - up computer menu .
notice that the iPhone preset is for all iPhones , and does n’t take into account the higher answer of the iPhone 4 ’s screen ( same goes with the iPod tinge preset , which does n’t take reward of the fourth - coevals model ’s Retina display ) .
In addition to iTunes presets , there ’s also a section called Video Format , which offer presets for AVI , MP4 , QuickTime , WMV , Flash , MPEG , and DV . Two other sections — Advanced and Other Conversions — each list a single , grayed - out preset with the words Not Yet Implemented at the terminal .
you’re able to peck the encoding speed — Fastest , firm , Normal , and Best ( 2 Pass)—as well as ready the calibre using a luger . An H.264 Video checkbox permit you pick out whether to use the H.264 codec to encode your video for Apple gadget ( if unchecked , it will use the received MPEG-4 codec ) . There ’s also an choice to have the software send off your encoded video to iTunes when completed .
For the tagging part of Video Monkey , the software connects to the thetvdb.com and themoviedb.org sites for goggle box show and movie metadata , severally . In the software ’s thin preferences , you could choose which database to practice as your default ( the only other option is the maximum number of thread permit for encoding , from 1 to 8 , or Auto ) .
To get Video Monkey to mechanically wait up metadata free-base on a single file name , you need to go through several step as a one - fourth dimension frame-up . First , you need to add a single file , chatter the Info clit at the top of the window , and then tick on the Metadata tab . Then you need to tap the Search button and from the pop - up menu that come along , prime Auto - Search On Load .
If Video Monkey finds the information for your file , it will dwell as many fields as it can — for case , video show sequence , TV series rubric , time of year , episode number , description , medium sort , and so on . This info makes it much easy to direct files in iTunes and on iOS devices , and is interchangeable to what you ’d get purchasing cognitive content from the iTunes Store .
Converting and tagging a 183.5 M , 21 minute and 7 2d AVI television set episode to iPhone format ( 480 pixels all-inclusive ) with default preferences ( encoding f number at Fastest , Quality slider in the middle ) to H.264 took 4 bit and 15 seconds . The 98.5 MB file looked perfectly satisfactory , and Video Monkey tagged it with the proper metadata for the episode .
Converting and tagging a 1.17 GB , 43 bit and 19 2nd 720p HD MKV goggle box instalment using the second Gen Apple TV preset with nonremittal context ( encode speed at Fastest , Quality skidder countersink a little at less than one - quarter ) to H.264 occupy 16 moment and 40 second . The data file weighed in at 364.4 MB with a moment charge per unit of 1.1Mbps , but the quality was only mediocre , with blocky artifacts in several scene . bump the quality up to 50 pct ( Standard ) took the same amount of time to encode , but the quality was much better ( producing a 696 MB file at 2.1Mbps ) . Metadata was tot properly .
Although the interface might be a slight confusing at times ( with too many choice ) and rather plain look , Video Monkey unquestionably gets the job done . And for those who do n’t like to monkey around with telecasting and audio setting , it ’s gracious to know that if you knock off a file into Video Monkey , choose a preset for your target twist , and press Start , you ’ll end up with a file that works .
