How to Convert a Video into Different Formats using VLC.

Hello. This will be my first time in creating a tutorial. Bear with me, I don't have all the knowledge to create one. Haha. This discovery came out of nowhere wherein I am simply looking for a program that can convert a video together with a subtitle that could play in my Ipod Touch. Luckily, VLC lets me do exactly that.

In this tutorial it will tell you how to convert a video into different video formats such as mpg, mp4, avi, ps, etc in VLC. Yep, that's right. It's VLC. I know everyone knows VLC as a media player for PC, probably substituting it for any media player for its versatility and flexibility. Now, unknown to most of us it can actually convert a video file.

Step 1: Download VLC. As said in their description, VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework, that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD and VCD and various streaming protocols. You can download it directly at their website. www.videolan.org

Once you have downloaded the file, Install it and Run the program.

Step 2: Click the Media tab on the top menu and look for Convert/Save. This will bring up a menu of the Convert/Save module.

Look for the Convert/Save Option.

Step 3: A menu will pop out with 4 different tabs, namely: File, Disc, Network and Capture Device.

This is where we will begin the process of converting. Select the type of tab on where your wanted video to be converted is. If you have it on your computer just simply choose the File tab. 

Now, browse and select the video that you want to convert by clicking the ADD button. 

In here, I chose the movie El Crimen Del Padre Amaro which is in AVI format.

Optional: If you have a subtitle that you want to include in the process of conversion, you may do so by checking the Use a subtitles file and by browsing the actual subtitle file and selecting it. Notice: The subtitle and the movie's filename should be the same, otherwise it won't work.

You can also adjust the font size and alignment to your liking.

Step 4: Convert/Save. Now it's time for us to convert the file. With the movie I selected, I want it to be converted in MP4 so that I can view it in my Ipod Touch. Just click the Convert/Save button and you'll be redirected to the convert page.

Let's talk about the Video Profile first:

Under the settings group, you can see a drop down list of popular video profiles. It ranges from mp4 to Ogg. You can also see the settings button at the right that looks like a notepad with a yellow star. If you select it, you can do varieties of setting you want on how you want to convert your video. 

Notice: If you have a subtitle added to conversion, you must need to check the overlay box under the subtitles tab for it work.

Step 4: Set the destination file output and browse where you want to save the file. As you can see, you can convert it to the following container formats of VLC. Do you see the Save as type Information? This is the variety of formats wherein you can choose to convert your video. You cannot drop it down and choose just one. You need to name the file together with the extension that you want it to be converted. So if you have a video.avi file and want to convert it into an mp4, you should put in the name of the filename as video.mp4 with the .mp4 because if not, by default it will only convert into a .ps file.

Now just hit the save button and automatically your video file will stream and be converted. If you can see, the time of conversion is based on how long the movie is. You can easily check the time remaining by looking at the bottom part of VLC. 

The conversion ends if the timer reach the total time of the video.

And that's basically it! Enjoy! :)

See next post for the free download link of the El Crimen Del Padre Amaro movie with English and Spanish Subtitles available. :)