After recently picking up an iPod video, I wanted to know the best and fastest way to convert my video files (mainly AVI files - DivX and XviD) to an iPod-friendly format. I tried a selection of tools, which are amongst the ones I found most highly recommended - the results however, may surprise some people. I'm running on an AMD 64+ 3000 with 1GB of RAM. Whilst each conversion was running, the computer was left alone. I do realise that each program could be tweaked - but this guide is aimed at the beginner, so I left the default settings. The video file I converted was a 9 minute long AVI file. I've arranged a summary of the results in a table below:

Here is a screenshot showing the videos, side by side.

As you can see - they all look very similar. They also, all sound very similar. The two that looked better were the ones on the right - Videora and WinAVI. Videora looks slightly brighter and more vivid, whereas WinAVI looks sharper. Upon viewing them actually on my iPod, its a tough call but I think the WinAVI one looks better.

Program Breakdown

Xilisoft - $29 Pros - Good UI, simply interface. Cons - It's not free, output not brilliant, conversion time wasn't brilliant

WinAVI MP4 Converter - $ 24.95. Pros - Very simple interface, has lots of options, can export to other formats too, best conversion time, best results. Cons - It's not free.

Videora - Free! Pros - It's free, offers good output, easy to use, lots of options. Cons - Not very good conversion time, not quite the best quality.

3GP Converter - Free! Pros - It's free, not bad output, very small file size. Cons - English is not the default language, very little support available, not many options.

I'm looking for…

• A free program and I want small file size
  • 3GP Converter is your best option
• A free program and I don't care about file size
  • Tough call - trade off between quality and conversion time. If you want better quality, go with Videora, if you want a quick conversion time, try out 3GP Converter
• A paid program to convert my videos quickly.
  • WinAVI without a doubt. Offers best quality, and best conversion time.

I was surprised when I was collating these results, I found the two most popular converters (Videora and Xilisoft) to be not all that great. My recommendation goes with WinAVI on the whole. It offers quality output, the best conversion time, and it's cheap as well. What could be better? Got any recommendations of your own? Drop by the forums and let us know!