Convert Video, Pictures, and Audio File Formats Online for Free

Another wickedly useful (yet heinously ugly) web site recently popped up: Media-Convert, which is as simple as its name would indicate.

The idea at Media-Convert is exactly that. It lets you convert media file formats from one to another, without having to install software. Just visit the site, navigate your way around the mad crush of text ads, and upload a file using the form. Not only are most sound, graphics, or video formats supported, but Media-Convert handles word processing formats, databases and spreadsheets, presentation files (like PowerPoint), and even compressed file types. Media-Convert automatically detects the type of file you're uploading (you can also include a web URL instead) based on the extension, I presume. You can also specify this by hand.

When that's done, just select the output format, click "I accept the terms" (which are harmless), and click Convert. After a short amount of processing (mainly while your file is uploaded), you'll get a new window offering your converted file for downloading. The link stays alive for about a week.

I've tried Media-Convert with a number of files and had no problems except for one: It choked when trying to convert a 40MB EPS file I've had lingering on my system for years, without any software to open it. (Media Convert claims support for files up to 50MB in size, but in practice, you'll want to stick to smaller files.)

That's it: Amazingly useful and no strings (or frills) attached. Yes, it's horribly ugly, but the number of file types supported and the ease with which Media-Convert works makes it a simple matter to ignore this one shortcoming. Give it a spin and you'll probably instantly bookmark it, just like me.