Comments on: iSquint Gets .AVI to Apple TV, iPod

By: grace

grace — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:42:27 +0000

it is said that VisualHub, AudialHub, and iSquint have been discontinued.
http://www.moviesmac.com/news/free-mac-video-converter-discontinued.html#118

By: David Chartier

David Chartier — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:55:39 +0000

Ugh, sorry for the cranky post earlier. I should never comment when in such a bad mood.

I’d like to toss in another vote for iSquint and its commercial brother VisualHub. Been using VisualHub for about a year or so and can’t imagine using anything else.

Also, to #9 Luke: I don’t think you have to worry about damaging your Mac by doing this kind of work. I’ve run both desktop and notebook Macs day and night doing lots of video conversions in a row and never noticed any kind of long-term problems. Never heard of any found in more scientific tests either.

Depending on your Mac’s configuration though, you could consider upgrading your RAM to help the conversation process or if you want to be able to work on your Mac while doing conversions.

By: Luke

Luke — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:42:07 +0000

DO these video conversions really take a toll on your system? I’d like to start watching all my videoo on tv via the ipod but I don’t want to burn out my Mac or significantly shorten its life.

By: Arvin

Arvin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 05:30:29 +0000

Quick tip for iSquint, to get 640×480 resolution (best for iPod video output to your TV) mark the H.264 check box, and select “Optimize for TV”. The final converted file will playback fine on any video enabled iPod or even the iPhone. Enjoy

By: istara

istara — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:43:54 +0000

Ditto VisualHub - I started out with iSquint, then a friend suggested I try VisualHub.

I also use MPEG Streamclip a lot - which is uberpowerful, and free - however something about VisualHub just made it worth paying for.

MPEG Streamclip: http://www.squared5.com/ - I just noticed there’s a Windows version too.

By: Scott Mesch

Scott Mesch — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:29:20 +0000

I am glad to hear about iSquint. You can also convert .AVI files using Quicktime Pro (the paid version) by exporting (for Apple TV or iPod). You end up with a .m4v file.

I have done this from .avi files downloaded from the Internet.

By: MJ Valente

MJ Valente — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:29:27 +0000

I use ViddyUp and I’m quite pleased with it. When I tested it agains iSquint, ViddyUp was quite faster.

It costs 10$ and is shareware.

http://www.splasm.com/viddyup/index.html

By: David Chartier

David Chartier — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:51:55 +0000

If by “proprietary” you mean “open and widely-adopted standards” like mpeg-4 and H.264, then yes, I think you can join other ignorant critics in calling the Apple TV proprietary.

Truth is, most complaints are based on the Apple TV not supporting the cloudy AVI file container and the DiVX video codec. This is probably due to both being largely used for pirated video, not to mention that most of the industry tried to do away with AVI due to too many of its faults a lot time ago. Some consumers appear to hang onto the file format either out of habit or a fear of change.

The WMA/WMV issue, as far as I know, is still a mute one. Windows still doesn’t support QuickTime or even the open AAC standard out of the box in the same way that Mac OS X doesn’t support Microsoft’s formats.

By: Jon Henshaw

Jon Henshaw — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:49:47 +0000

I’ve been using VisualHub for quite some time, and yes, it’s well worth the money. It converts a lot more formats too, including Flash, PSP, DVD and WMV.

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:03:19 +0000

Techspansion also makes Visual Hub, which does quite a lot more than iSquint. While it’s not free, it’s well worth the $23 in my opinion.

http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/

By: giyad

giyad — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:21:52 +0000

I use Video Converter, works great.

http://www.mp4converter.net/video-converter-mac.html