How do you convert an FLV file to another video format, say, to use on a Zune or iPod?
The best option I’ve found is to use SUPER© (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer), which provides a GUI wrapper for ffmpeg, mencoder, mplayer, and ffmpeg2theora. More info and a faster download link is at VideoHelp.
After trying several converters that either watermarked the results, failed to convert, or simply built incompatible files, I stumbled across a reference to SUPER at VideoHelp.
Right away I was able to convert an FLV (Flash Video) file to MPEG4 H.264 format. It was huge, as the defaults are set to very high quality. Since the input was a low-quality FLV file, dialing the quality back quite a bit (see the two circled settings below) and keep the file size under control. With some additional tweaking I’m sure the video can be shrunk even more.
The SUPER© software is a little odd but it seems to work very well. Just drag a file from Windows Explorer over to the job list in the lower part of the SUPER window. Also, options are available by right-clicking anywhere on SUPER.
Anyhow, then I had an MP4 file ready to transfer to my new Zune.
At that point, I had to struggle a bit with the Zune software. Tip: do not manage your files inside the Zune software. Point it to your media directories and delete or rename them, etc. from Windows Explorer.
Also, it helps to send the SUPER output files somewhere Zune isn’t looking, then rename and change the meta-information (like Title and so forth) before moving the video to your media directories.
