2017年5月25日星期四

2017 Best HEVC/H.265 Converter for Mac Review

What Is HEVC?

HEVC, also referred to as H.265, is a new-rising video compression standard developed by JCT-VC organization. It can reach a double compression ratio of its predecessor AVC/H.264, in other words, to achieve optimized quality at the same bit rate. High efficiency helps HEVC support UHD with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels (4K) or even up to 7680 x 4320 pixels (8K). Till now, many tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Intel, Netflix etc.) has been applied HEVC to their products for UHD 4K/8K content support, like online 4K movie streaming, 4K blu-ray disc and more.

However, high licensing fees restrict a wider popularity of HEVC to some extent. A lot of video players and devices lack the ability to handle HEVC video, which leads users to explore a HEVC decoder to convert HEVC to a more compatible video coding format (for example H.264) for a flawless playback. On the other hand, some users need a HEVC encoder for encoding source file to HEVC video. How to decode and encode HEVC? A qualified HEVC/H.265 converter will be a good helper.

What Is the Best HEVC/H.265 Converter for Mac?

Focusing on Mac, WinX HD Video Converter for Mac is definitely the chief in the market. It builds in the most efficient HEVC/H.265 codec helping decode and encode HEVC video with no effort at all. Plus, other embedded 300+ video/audio codecs and 410+ profiles drive users to convert HEVC to H.264, MPEG4, MOV, M4V, AVI, WMV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Windows Mobile, Xbox, Sony PlayStation etc, with ease.

This best HEVC converter for Mac is designed with an intuitive interface so that novices can learn how to operate it quickly. Start a conversion and output a video. It will reach an extreme fast speed thanks the support of hardware encoding (Intel QSV and CUDA/NVENC acceleration), multi-core utility and Hyper-threading tech. Take a look at the resulting file, which keeps a high even lossless video and audio quality.

How to Decode/Encode HEVC/H.265 Videos on Mac

WinX HD Video Converter for Mac is available for Mac OS X Snow Leopard to the latest macOS Sierra. Before using this Mac HEVC converter, make sure that your Mac computer is running on a required system.

1. Download the best HEVC/H.265 converter for Mac
Download WinX HD Video Converter for Mac on your computer. Right click .dmg file and select Open. Then, drag this program into Applications folder. Now, WinX HD Video Converter for Mac is installed.

2. Import source video file
Open this HEVC converter for Mac and click + Video button to import source video (a HEVC video or a video you want to convert to HEVC). You can also directly drag the file into the program for loading.


3. Select Output Profile
Output Profile window appears. There are several categories listed on the left column.

For decoding HEVC to H.264 or other formats
Go to General Profiles category and select MP4 Video (codec: h264+aac) as output format. You can also pick other formats in this category or other categories (Mobile Video Profile, Web Video Profile etc,) as result format.


For encoding to HEVC video
Scroll down to find PC General Video category and select HEVC Video (codec: HEVC+aac) as output.


4. Start decoding/encoding HEVC
Browse to set destination folder if necessary. Click RUN button to start decoding/encoding HEVC video on Mac.


Tip: You can turn on Hardware Encoder and quality setting options before conversion to speed up and improve output quality.

2017年5月11日星期四

2017 Top 5 Windows Movie Maker Alternatives for Windows 10

Windows 10 indicates arrival of a brand-new generation of Windows OS. It brings several fantastic features making Windows more intelligent. On the other hand, it dismisses some favorable tools included in previous versions, for example Windows Movie Maker. In fact, as a part of Windows Essential 2012, Windows Movie Maker was available for Windows 10 until January 10, 2017, when Microsoft announced ending support and download service for this Windows essential tools package, but no official replacement is pushed out. How can we create and edit videos on Windows 10? 2017 Top 5 Windows Movie Maker alternatives introduced here can completely satisfy you!

[Review] Best 5 Windows Movie Maker Alternatives for Windows 10 of 2017

A diverse of movie making and video editing software are stuffed into the market toughening the task to dig out an excellent alternative to Windows Movie Maker for Windows 10. Through a careful evaluation, we list following top five replacements which are suitable for different users ranging from rookies to veterans.

WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe – What Beginners Love
Are you wondering why a video converter can be Windows Movie Maker alternative? WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe not only works as a format changer, but a photo slideshow maker and video editor.


Main Features:
• It allows users to create a video from a series of photos from wedding, birthday party, graduation ceremony etc, and embeds matched background music. Photo order can be sorted by data and file name ascendingly or descendingly. Interval time is set as 4 seconds by default, while other options (2/6/8) can be chosen.
• It offers basic video editing tools helping users crop, trim and join video clips. External subtitles (.srt) can be easily added to videos. If you are the one who have better knowledge on video, you can adjust parameters, like video bit rate, frame rate, aspect ratio, resolution and audio bit rate, sample rate, channel to make the resulting file fitter to your devices.

Brief Review: It is highly recommended to novices who are seeking for an easy-to-use Windows Movie Maker alternative for Windows 10. Although it doesn't provide more advanced and complex effects for video editing, it gives essential tools for us to make a photo slideshow and edit video hassle-free. What’s more, built-in 300+ video/audio codecs enable you to output video in any format for Windows, Mac, Web and portable devices.


Avidemux - Do More on Editing
Avidemux is a famed free and open-source non-liner video editor for Windows, OS X, Linux and BSD. It focuses on helping users complete video editing and encoding tasks.


Main Features:
• Avidemux has a Filters library helping user resize/crop/split/rotate/join videos and apply various visual effects (colors, noise, sharpness, fade etc.) to videos. It allows users to insert subtitle and audio streams into video, and extract audio from video files.
• Taking advantage of libavcodec library from FFmpeg, Avidemux can decode and encode various video formats, including AVI, FLV, MKV, TS, 3GP, MP4, MOV, WebM, VOB, AAC, MP3 etc.

Brief Review: Avidemux takes a rank in top Windows Movie Maker alternative for Windows 10 chart because it is certified as a fast, clean and easy-to-use program which can handle basic video editing/encoding task well. However, some users tell that it doesn't have an intuitive interface so that they should get a tutorial to learn how to edit a video at first. What's more, some errors (for example loss of frames, saving incomplete video) may occur when choosing MP4 Muxer as output format.


VSDC Free Video Editor – Supply Abundant Tools
VSDC Free Video Editor has a similar interface to Windows Movie Maker so that it probably turns to be the preferred alternative for users who are very familiar with Windows Movie Maker. This free non-liner video editor supports various formats including HD/4K videos and enables users to capture videos from camera or screen for further editing.


Main Features:
• It offers a diverse of visual and audio effects which are divided into five genres, color correction, object transformation, object filters, transition effects and special fx. Color blending modes can be used to change the look of images while Instagram-like filters are prepared for newbies who have no idea about how to adjust parameters to style a video. And, masks can be used to hide, blur or highlight certain elements in video.
• It can convert video format for smartphones, tablets, PlayStation, Xbox etc. During conversion, you are allowed to cut unwanted parts, split videos into several segments and merge video clips. And, videos can be directly uploaded to YouTube after editing and conversion.

Brief Review: It has more features than above two Windows Movie Maker alternatives to meet more needs on further editing. On the other hands, it is a little complicated. We need a beginner guide at first and explore slowly to get how to use it better. Some unlucky users also encounter not opening or crashing issue when using it.


VideoPad Video Editor – Boast Versatile Features
VideoPad Video Editor is a professional video editing program aiming to make video editing and creation much easier. It can handle various videos in different formats (AVI, WMV, MP4, MOV etc.) or capturing from DV camcorder, webcam.


Main Features:
• 50+ transitions and visual effects can be founded in this top Windows Movie Maker alternative. Video optimization can be achieved through fine-tuning colors, video stabilization, adjusting clip playback speed and installing plugin to apply more effects on videos. Apart from general videos, VideoPad Video Editor enables you to edit 3D video or transfer 2D to 3D. And, chrome key (green screen) can be created for your video. If you want to give an explanation or annotation on this video, overlay texts can be added. For audios, it enables you to import and mix music tracks as well as apply sound effects.
• It embeds video conversion feature to create video for sharing online (YouTube), saving on iPhone, iPad, PSP and other devices and export videos in high definition 1080P HD, 2160P 4K and more.

Brief Review: VideoPad Video Editor is announced as the greatest basic video editor due to its ease of use and ample editing tools. It is powerful enough for some users while seemingly a little simple without more advanced options for some others. Sometimes, it gives a slow speed to convert videos and even doesn't work at all.


Adobe Premiere Pro – What Experts Prefer
Adobe Premiere Pro is professional movie making and video editing software with a development of 25 years. It owns numerous customers over the world, from personal users to professional filmmakers. Even some features films (such as Deadpool, Peter's Dragon) are edited using it.


Main Features:
• Adobe Premiere Pro supports a wide range of video formats (like virtual reality/3D/8K videos in native format) and audio codecs. Basic editing tools enable you to trim, rearrange, cut, move and stretch imported video clips in Timeline, add transitions and onscreen titles with text effects (stylization/animation etc.). Advanced options are available to expand your editing skills. Lumetri Color panel can help you adjust colors and apply effects to make video more vivid. Select Audio on this workspace and you can embed soundtrack for your movie as well as add transitions, adjust levels, customize audio effects or use presets.
• Premiere Pro is a part of Adobe Creative Cloud. Integrating with other applications in this cloud, for example After Effects, Adobe Stock and more, you can make a more creative and appealing movie. And Adobe CreativeSync can connect everything included in the package across desktop and mobile apps.

Brief Review: Adobe Premiere Pro is definitely more powerful than Windows Movie Maker, which can not only do what Windows Movie Maker does, but offers more to get deeper editing. It is the perfect choice for an expert, while an initiate should spend much more time to master its workflow.


Bottom Line
All above best Windows Movie Maker alternatives work well on Windows 10 and lower versions. Some offer fundamental options while some feature rich tools. Depending on individual needs, select the most appropriate one.