AVS Video Converter Review

Detailed Reviews

Whirling your music from your iPod to iPhone, or even to Android is quite easy. All you need to do, is copy the audio files from one device to another. However, how do you plan to play this on every possible media device? Or say, are you sure your devices will support media files from those Blu-ray disks, or any other odd device?

We already know that not every device has exchangeable media files and have different file formats. If they are not supported, we try to convert them, like we have done this quite often for YouTube videos.

Pros:

• Light-weight and easy to configure video settings.
• Can convert most of the video formats without a sweat.
• Highly comprehensive set of editing parameters for each file type and format.
• Unique set of video effects divided into several types.
• Also includes audio effects like echo, compress, etc.
• Tons of customization for every file type and format.
• Create chapters in the video files for smoother navigation.
• Good speed for video conversion and rendering.
• Can use functions like crop, trim, etc., with ease.
• Multiple files can be merged into one and can also do batch conversion.
• Can convert 2D videos to 3D form with ease.

Cons:

• Too much costly given that the UI is very old fashioned.
• Cannot convert 3D videos to 2D.
• No Video Stabilization
• No feature for Screen Recording and editing.
• Lacks proper GIF converter, currently which is very bad.
• Media files and formats are cluttered too much and choosing them is messy.
• Ordinary video effects and some of them are close to useless.
• No dedicated watermark section and lacks any detailed setup for the same.
• Worst one is no support for audio file conversion. You cannot directly convert video file to audio.
• Audio extractor supports only two audio formats and does not even has bitrate modifier.
• No video downloader feature for online videos.
• Mediocre DVD ripper

Overview

Correspondingly, we have tools called Video Converter Software, using which we can convert these different media files from one format to another. Now, these video converters can be offline or cloud-based too. For cloud-based, you need to upload the file for conversion, wait for it to convert, and then again download it.

This process is cumbersome and only feasible if you have a fast, unlimited, and reliable internet connection. And so, we will be using offline video converters to aid us in this task of video conversion.

Amongst these tools, we have AVS Video Converter, to help us convert media files. This product was formed in 2006, by AVS4YOU.com, in London, UK. The video converter had a name change twice, i.e. AVS Video Tool in early days and reverted to AVS Video Converter in 2009.

Based on such an old reputation, AVS4YOU has incorporated number of similar products. Among these, we need to test the AVS Video Converter.

AVS Video Converter has many distinct features along with great video conversion. The software interface may look highly abysmal, but it has many fantastic options to play with. Before we give our verdict on the software and its services, we need to assess it thoroughly.

Starting with AVS Video Converter Interface

The video converter can be downloaded from the AVS4YOU website. From there, you can choose the free trial version. There are no restrictions in conversion format for free version, except that it will insert the AVS watermark in the videos.

The setup is fairly bigger than many of its counterpart. After installation, users can see a small window with couple of video conversion formats. The setup is very old-fashioned in the current version-12.0. Some users may get cynic at first.

However, we need not to simply evaluate it based on looks and UI, which to be honest, had an average impression on us. For that, we suppose they are working to make it more pleasing, instead of this feature-phone style setup.

Nevertheless, our job is to dissect the product thoroughly before judging it to be wrong. The initial steps for video conversion are elementary. Navigate to the file location you want to convert and add it in the list.

Use the format from above to decide output file type. After that, you wait for the file to be converted. Then, there are other selections for video effects which you can look into.

Since we are done playing around, it is time to compare the product with other equivalent products. Once you check all the features, open the videos that you have converted so far. Check their quality and see if things have adequately worked.

Regardless, this was the initial setup of AVS Video Converter. As we evaluated it, the product was totally noob-friendly. Although, things can become quite complicated once you go into complex settings. Nevertheless, we are here to help you evaluate the good and bad of AVS Video Converter.

Time to Analyze the Video Converter

With such an old interface for video converter, many people may find it bit awkward in the beginning. The main interface of video converter consists of two parts, viz., simple panel and advanced panel.

The simple conversion panel is barely 350*750 size window. The buttons are also old fashioned. The leading picks for the smaller panel are file browser, output folder, profile selection, progress button, convert now button, and navigation pane on top header.

From here, users with novice experience can directly choose a format from the top menu and hit the convert button. It is one of the most elementary approach to convert files, that we have seen so far. The formats in top navigation bar will be discussed by us later on.

For now, if the users are not contented by simple conversion, they can choose to pick advanced conversion format. For us pro-users, we need to look at the advanced functions first to make sure we can do some sophisticated editing in it. Simply click the advanced button on smaller panel to expand entire settings.

Advanced Editing Features for Video Conversion

In this advanced setup, it is divided into audio and video output properties. Other than that, there are some added options viz., merge files, split files, file size limits, and aspect ratio corrections.

In the advanced setup, they have provided a peculiar list of properties for input and output files. Among these, they have video codecs, frame size, frame rate, bitrate, audio codecs, sample rate, size, and channels. Same options are accessible for formatting too.

In Video Codecs, we have selected these video formats such that they can be tested for variety of codecs for each format. This ranges from codec types like H265/264, MPEG-1/2/4, and other types like Huffman lossless codec, VP8, etc.

And so, the codec types depend on the format chosen by you for output files. Next comes frame size. As perceived in many video converters, frame size refers to the resolution of video file.

For that too, AVS Video Converter has given multiple choices. Similar to above, the default settings restrict resolution based on format chosen. However, maximum resolution is limited to 4k-4096*2160 format. Even if you put higher values than that, it will revert back to 4k mode.

Following it was Frame Rate. For general file formats, frame rates are given from 1 FPS to 30 FPS. For better and higher quality, it can be extended to 60 FPS too. For Bitrate, it is limited up to 50k, which no one would want that high.

All these options are existing settings in almost any video converter, or any video editor you find in market. The main task was to see level of alteration in these options. In that section, AVS Video Converter has left many other products like Video Converter Factory, Movavi, & AVC in dirt.

So, this made AVS Video Converter shine above all in terms of different settings. Apart from this, it has more options there. In the new pop-up, after you click on more button in the advanced setup, you can see additional settings for bitrate, rate control, file MBs and frames, etc.

In the bitrate button, users can set encoding pass rates like single-pass, multi-pass, and bitrate levels like different channels like 1.0, 2.0, 5.1, etc. In the next tab Rate Control, we set boost percentage, quantization limits, scene cuts, etc.. The Frames Tab allows us to setup partitions and B-frame settings.

In the last tab, other settings, there are Motion Estimations, Noise Reduction, Deblock Filters, Partition Methods, etc. Huff! So many things we can play around in it, isn’t it? It is relieving to see that at least some developers are thoughtful about these options in video conversion. As far as these terms go, we cannot elaborate them all here.

You can check their tutorials or just use the Internet to learn more about them. In the last option, we have to set the audio quality. The audio codecs, similar to above, are different based on the format chosen, like mp3, aac, pcm, apple lossless, mp2, wma, etc.

Sample rates can be fixed till 48kHz, with 32bit size rate. However, the audio channels are limited and only have stereo, mono, and 3.0 and 5.1 channel support apart from other converters, which give supports for even 7.0, 7.1, etc. channels. The audio bitrate is maximum up to 320 kbps, which is great.

In the aspect ratio correction tab, users can alter aspect ratio based on different ratios like 16:9, 4:3., etc. Users can change these profiles from the chosen format and save them separately. With that, users need not to change settings over and over. This crop function does not have the zoom area selection button.

In this checkup, we have tested all the features for video conversion. However, we overlooked a thing, i.e. we used multiple files with diverse file types, having resolutions like 3GP, SD, HD, and 4k videos for this test. The time for conversion was very ordinary.

The file we had of 2k resolution took about 40 minutes in AVS Video Converter as well as AVC, Video Converter Factory and Aiseesoft. Only Movavi performed faster and did it in 25 minutes. The conversion parameters were quite the same along all these video converters.

Overall, the video conversion time, its quality, and the amount of customized settings made AVS Video Converter stand tall even if it had so dull UI. The quality was nice for lower resolution conversion, whereas conversion from SD/3GP format was below average(expected to be honest).

Nevertheless, we enjoyed tweaking so many things with smaller test videos. The experience was bug-free. Also, it did not affect other tasks like reading, browsing, music, etc., during video conversion. Now that we have assessed this feature, we have to move on to another useful thing to check, i.e., file format and device support.

List of Media Format and Device Supported

For the media formats, one of the common steps is to check if the files to be converted are supported by the video converter or not; and also confirming if those files worked in our device or not.

Direct option to choose a device format helps to avoid the hassle of setting up properties of the file manually. If you are a novice user, you may find trouble in setting these things. For that reason, almost each video converter has tons of individual device list along with tons of file format.

In AVS Video Converter, the file formats and device types seemed very limited. There is no special menu for selecting or configuring these formats and devices. The options are only displayed on the top menu bar.

Among these, there are three main tabs on the top viz., Formats, Devices, and Web. Each section here has a bunch of preset options to pick from. Let us inspect these sections.

In the Format Section, AVS Video Converter has been given a list of some standard media formats like MP4, AVI, DVD, MPEG, WMV, FLV, SWF, WEBM, 3GP. BLURAY, MOV, MKV, DPG, etc. This totals to around 20 file types. All of them are frequently used and supported by most of the media devices.

To our surprise, there was no direct picking for audio formats like MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, etc. It lacked sole audio file conversion too. This is a big con in AVS Video Converter. Only way users can extract the audio is via audio-extractor in edit section.

Compared to this, almost every single video converter like AVC, Video Converter Factory, Movavi, etc. have a dedicated video to audio converter. AVS Video Converter must have thought of this at least.

Now, going through these formats, we felt there were many missing. The software UI made it tougher to explore the given ones. Nevertheless, the only silver lining in the entire fiasco, was that every format chosen was highly customizable.

This was perfect for advanced users. If there are beginners, they can directly access Profile Button. In the profile drop-down menu, they can choose a format type right away. Like in MP4 format, they can choose from Apple phones, Android phones, Gaming Consoles, resolution based, i.e., SD, HD, low quality, etc.

Although such detailed, the UI may seem a bit irritating to many advanced handlers. For that reason, we advise AVS Video Converter to update the UI. The aesthetics are way too middling compared to top products like Movavi, Video Converter Factory, Aiseesoft Video Converter, etc.

After you have edited properties for specific format type, you can also save that profile for personal use. The next section, Device Tab, contains a list of conventional device supported by this converter.

Among these devices, AVS Video Converter has included popular ones viz., Apple, Android, Samsung, Sony, Consoles, Media Players, Mobiles, BlackBerry, etc. Similar to above setup; their properties can also be changed with preset settings. It is advisable to choose the default configuration for those devices.

In the finishing section, Web Tab, they have given support to convert videos for popular video platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Telly, Flickr, and Dropbox. Once again, you can select the quality from profile menu directly like SD, HD, 2k, and 4k for these video sites.

The settings are shared across the sites, but users can change them as they want to. Overall, this concludes the format and file types compatible with AVS Video Converter.

If you go through it, the setup has sufficient support for general conversion as well as for the detailed one. However, as mentioned, AVS Video Converter needs to improve the UI first. The icons and setup have way too old look, and some modern users will find it difficult to adjust with it. Overall, this section is topmost among customization.

Inspecting Video Editing Effects of AVS Video Converter

What if you can not only convert videos to different formats, but also edit them with some wonderful effects? For that reason, we have video editor effects included in most video converter software.

With time, these effects have significantly evolved and top video converters have made sure to accommodate them one by one. Among them, AVS Video Converter has also managed to be in league with other comparable products.

The chief video editing effects with AVS package are video effects, audio effects, chapter creation, audio/image export, and trim button. All these effects are beneficial.

Video Effects

We normally use the camera filters, either to improve or enhance specific video effects. Some common effects we input while making videos are, auto-brightness, blemish removers, face softeners, negative filters, or other effects like wave motion, mirror effects, etc. for slideshows.

Among them, AVS Video Converter has divided these into different classes. These are video adjustments, general effects, special effects, transform effects, and draw effects.

Users can pick anyone from them after they use the edit button on top menu bar of front panel. From there, video effects are present on the first tab itself. As you can see in screenshot, there are around 88 types of distinct video effects in it.

The video effects from the first tab are widespread like control for brightness, contrast, colors, hue, etc. To enhance them individually, users can click on the properties button below.

In this bottom menu, the video is divided into separate sections, one for list of video effect and another for audio effects. Whenever you add an effect to the video, it will time stamp that location. You can directly migrate to the setpoint by clicking on it.

The video effect section had many more video effects viz., sepia, invert, emboss, motion blur, mosaic, etc. There’s only single setting in it. Users can add a polygon region for the effect area and select its intensity too.

Based on your requirements, these effects can be adjusted to particular time-stamps. This is good since we can assimilate different effects in a single video at several time intervals. Such thing is unique in AVS Video Converter, and even top Video Converters did not have this flexibility.

The UI is simple. You can use mouse drag to increase or decrease the effect length, move one video effect to another, or superimpose two effects on each other.

The 3^rd part was Special Effects Section, which had some off-track effects like timers, puzzle, pencil sketch, newspaper, anaglyph 3D, watery, etc. Similar effects are found in the 4^th and 5^th section, and they are all customizable.

Compared to other video converters as in AVC, Video Converter Factory, Movavi, etc., they have given more exhaustive effects. Only thing we advise, is to separate 3D effects section altogether and include the split-screen 3D too. They can check things in Aiseesoft Video Converter and give us more sophisticated setup for 3D conversion.

Audio Effects and Export

Apart from video editing, users can also alter the audio effects in AVS Video Converter.

As we can look into the audio effects section, they have net 16 audio effects for users to play with. Among them, they have played with various sound properties like amplitude, delay effect, time/pitch, invert, and sound filters.

Sadly, we cannot input lone audio files into the software and edit them. We hope they fix this thing of not supporting audio file conversion.

Nevertheless, in the audio effects, users can amplify the sound, compress it, remove background noises, fade effects, etc. In all audio effects, the prime parameters for each of them are threshold, ratio, RMS, and post amplify.

This was full setup in the audio effects. Although these effects were unique and detailed, the lack of audio format conversion highly restricts its potential. One more audio effect remaining is Audio Export.

As the name implies, this feature extracts the audio out of a video file. Just select audio export button on the effect menu. Pick the format of output audio from mp3 or wav format. They can add a few more audio formats like AAC, M4A, WEBM, etc., for export function.

Create Chapters in Video Files

Just as our life has different chapters, we can add chapters in the video files too. In many movies on Internet, they have a line | mark on the player navigation bar. When you hover across, you can see some texts over it.

These texts are chapter names. Such settings help in understanding the map of stories. So, how can we add such chapters in videos using AVS Video Converter?

Well, access the Chapter Section from editing menu. In the chapter panel, users can see some regular choices viz., add chapter, remove chapter, remove all, rename chapter, previous/next, and auto-set chapters.

To manually add a chapter tag, go to the designated time-stamp, and click add chapter button. Rename the chapter as you want to, and then add more chapters.

However, if you want the process to be automated, use auto-set chapters. With this option, users can set these chapters at the beginning, at specific time intervals, and in input files.

You can set the time interval per minute, per half an hour, or anything as you like. This feature is unique to AVS Video Converter so far and has decent features too. One more UI tweak they can do is something similar to the clip button, where we can manually select two points and assign a chapter to it.

Also, they need to add an undo/redo button here. Many times you delete something fortuitously. For such instances, these buttons can help us to revert to previous chapter settings. Overall, this section is definitely remarkable, and users must try it.

Lastly, we have image export function. With that, users can export entire video into image format. There are settings for making it for entire video, or you can input manual time-span for each snapshot. The format for saving the images are JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG, etc.

Now, there is a trimming button too. With that, users can remove a particular part from videos. The interface is very minimal, and users simply need to select endpoints for the trimmed section.

Users can select multiple sections for trimming, unlike some video converters which provide trimming only for single session. While selecting the properties of trimmed section, you can edit endpoints again. This time you can also input exact time stamps.

The crop settings are minimal however. Users can only select preset aspect ratios viz., 4:3, 16:9, or custom size. They can also add correction to the crop section from output file properties.

Overall, this concludes all attributes in AVS Video Converter. As we have gone through them, some of the things were very detailed while some were just half-baked. Editing parameters, effects, etc., had amazing personalization properties; while crop, trim, media formats, etc. were among the mediocre range.

Conclusion

With the end conclusion, our experience with AVS Video Converter was healthier than other tools. We did not have to go through any problematic learning curve since the UI was too much elementary.

Several things were lacking regarding video enhancement like video shake reduction, resolution upscaling, etc. compared to some other tools. The 3D section needed to be made entirely separate and must include split-screen effects.

The UI seriously needs an aesthetic update to dump this old feature phone look. They need to introduce better format selection and better UI for these effects.

Another sincere concern was no support for plain audio conversion. Almost every video converter can directly convert videos to audio in different formats. This was not given in AVS Video Converter, which needs to be rectified soon. They also need to allow conversion and editing of audio files.

Overall, there were some plus points and some mishaps while using the video converter. The detailed file parameter editing shows developer’s dedication, of which some can be redirected to UI appearance and its betterment. When it comes to recommendation if you can purchase it or not, it is deemed costly from our side. Unless they reduce the price or enhance it with a complete overhaul, $60 seems too much for it.