Rating: 4 

Description: Media-Convert is a website that provides document and media file conversions online. Upload your file (it will accept every format you can think of), select your output format, wait for the conversion to take place, then download your converted file.

The sheer range of supported formats is just astounding. Want to convert an MP3 into a Soundblaster file (.VOC) or an Amiga sound file (.MAUD)? No problem. How about PDF to text or Rich Text Format (.RTS). You will most surely find the output format that you want supported by media-convert. For evaluation purposes I tried a random batch of conversions, including PDF to RTF, PDF to TXT, PDF to Flash (.SWF), JPG to HTML, AVI to Ipod MP4, MP3 to FLAC. What I found out is that (a) the conversions mostly were quite reliable (although PDF to .SWF didn’t work), and (b) this service is NOT geared to do Optical Character Recognition (OCR); it does not give you the option to convert images to useable text. If you are looking for OCR I suggest you try Docmorph, a similar service to this one which does a very comptent job.

I can see a number of scenarios where you might want to use this service:

• If you are working remotely (say, on vacation in a cybercafe in Amsterdam) and you need to convert a document or media file urgently.
• If the input or output formats are unusual, and you do not typically work with them within your applications and do not plan to start.
• If you only have a limited number of files to convert, such that uploading these will be a manageable undertaking.
• You can also convert an audio file to a ringtone, and if you have a WAPor GPRS enabled cellphone, you can download these straight to your phone.
• Another nice feature: if the document you are looking for is available online, just point media-convert to the URL; no need to download the file and reupload

However, you wouldn’t want to use this service in any of the following scenarios:

• If your file is over 50megs — that’s the maximum upload that Media-Convert will allow.
• If you’re interested in OCR (converting images to useable text). Use Docmorph instead.
• If you have a lot of files to convert… uploading and downloading will just not be practical

All in all an interesting service that might well be very useful.

Go to the Media-Convert site