In recent years, streaming video has become ubiquitous. Most of the streaming video is delivered through a flash player, the best example being the one implemented by YouTube. However, Flash Video is not a very popular format on the desktop. It’s a shame that Windows Media Player does not play it.
You can download flash video players so you can save the flash video file and watch it offline, however if you would like a consistent media player rather than one for every file (I’m looking at you, Real Player and Quicktime) you may want to convert the .flv (flash video file) into something that is more suitable for desktop playing.
I’ve tried several web based converters, they all suck. For some of them, you need to first download the .flv (which you may need a *seperate* website to get!) and then upload it. I’ve tried some where the retrieval is automatic and just requires a link to the page where the video is hosted, but somewhere in between it hangs, or even touts that YouTube is down!
Meet the vixy.net desktop converter – the best thing for Flash Video since, Flash. Ironically, I had trouble using the web based vixy converter, which is what the desktop one is based on. The vixy desktop converter will automatically download the .flv file, and convert it for you. You can even select the standard to convert to. Support conversion formats include .avi, .mov, .mp4, .3gp, and strictly just .mp3. All you need to do is copy in the URL, and hit start. That’s it! No going to multiple sites, finding the damn flv file…and best of all, it actually works!
Start screen
Completed screen
And yes….there are ads. I don’t mind. Hopefully the developers behind vixy get money for impressions – I’m not going to click on those ads.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
(2 days really, since i’ts just 4AM). I may have just stumbled upon some company secret.
Recent Comments