We’ve been investigating the best converting solutions and here are our recommendations.

Note: If you have only been converting with the Handbrake solution or the Sideline internal converter, you need to try these options out.

If your computer supports hardware acceleration (most computers do), you will experience conversion speeds that are much faster. Maybe 10x faster.

Please let us know how it works for you or if you know of even better solutions.

Windows

1. GOM Video Converter

It’s simple. If you do a lot of converting on Windows, you should invest $35 and save yourself tons of time by using the GOM Video Converter. Try it out first for free. We highly recommend it for all kinds of conversion.

Instructions:

Click here to visit the Gom Video Converter website
Click here for instructions on how to set it up

Download presets:
Note: Firefox browsers do not download the presets with the correct names. Please download in Chrome or Internet Explorer.

Sideline – DVD (Pal) 768×576
Sideline – DVD (NTSC) 720×480 (Only needed in USA)
Sideline – Widescreen 720×400
Sideline – HD 1280×720

2. MediaCoder Converter

It’s free but only works when you have internet-connection. It’s not as good as the GOM Converter and doesn’t work well with all DVD conversion. But when it works and you have hardware acceleration, it works fine.

Note: In our view, MediaCoder is a kind of crapware. It shows advertisements in a sneaky manner and asks for donations. The only reason we notify about it is for those that want an option for something that is free. For everybody who convert a lot, please invest in the GOM Converter.

Note 2: As shown in the instructions, you need to enable the GPU option which gives you hardware accelerated conversion. If you computer does not have that option, you will not get fast conversion with the Media Coder.

Note 3: We show in the instructions how you can create and use presets. But if you set everything up, it’s really enough just to change the resolution in the Picture settings when you have different conversion needs.

Instructions:

Click here to download and install
Click here for instructions on how to set it up

Mac

We didn’t find a freeware option for the Mac which gave us fast conversion. However in the price range of $30-$50 we found quite fast converters. Obviously worth the money if you are converting videos regularly.

1. Elgato Turbo.264 HD

The Turbo converter got the top spot because it’s good for all kinds of conversion and it’s very user-friendly. It comes in two versions, a software version which we tested and then a hardware version.

With the hardware version you get a USB device (and the same software) which will give you faster conversion speeds, at least on Macs which are not brand new.

Price: Software version $50. Hardware version $100.

Instructions:

Click here to visit the Turbo.264 HD product website – Software version
Click here to visit the Turbo.264 HD product website – Hardware version
Click here for usage instructions
Click here for instructions on how to set it up

2. Xilisoft Video Converter Platinum for Mac

In our testing, the Xilisoft converter was a bit faster than the Turbo H.264. But it was not as good with DVD conversion which is why we recommend the Turbo converter first for customers that need to convert DVDs.

How fast is it? On a MacBook Pro, 2011 model (2 GHz Intel Core i7) we were getting conversion speeds in the range of 3x up to 7x depending on source video and conversion settings. Relatively easy to use and supports conversion without any restrictions. You can also trim video before conversion as with the other converters. We didn’t show this in the video tutorial, but it’s possible.

Note: Platinum is good enough, you don’t need to buy the Ultimate version

Price: Regular price is $50. When we tested it there was a campaign price where you could purchase it for $30.

Instructions:

Click here to visit the Xilisoft product website
Click here for usage instructions
Click here for instructions on how to set it up