Format Factory

Media file formats are rather like measuring spaghetti or trying to insert a USB device: no matter what you do, you’re doing it wrong.

If you’ve ever had a PNG when you needed a JPG, or wished for an MP4 when all you have is a WMV, Format Factory is the tool for you.

Why you need it

Everybody who uses media files needs a decent file converter, and Format Factory is particularly good for people using photos, music or video files. You can convert music files to or from MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC, WAV and more, video to or from MP4, 3GP, AVI, WMV, SWF and others, and convert images from or to JPG, BMP, PNG, TIF and even Google’s WebP format.

You can rip music directly to an audio file, and rip unprotected DVDs to video. It’s particularly useful if you want to convert files to run on phones and other mobile devices, with support for 3GP and various other mobile video formats.

This would all be for naught if the interface were confusing or complex, but it isn’t: Format Factory isn’t the prettiest, but it’s simple and straightforward. It’s a good tool to have in your programs folder.

Download here: Format Factory