Your Tech Tamer

By Sandra Clitter 　http://www.yourtechtamer.com/blog/2012/09/how-do-i-convert-my-videoaudio-files-to-viewlisten-on-my-pc/

There are what feels like a million different audio and video formats – each of which plays on a different device. GRRRRRRRR!!!! So frustrating…I never seem to have the correct format for the correct device.

A good friend of mine had to take video for work, then upload it to the web in a WAV format. She figured…simple. Simply put the SD card from the camera in her PC and upload from there. Imagine her surprise when the format on the disk didn’t match the format that needed to be uploaded. What do do, what to do?

Luckily, we were able to find a FREE utility, ConverterLite, that is very easy to use. The only downside is the installation. Installation is a bit ugly. The install isn’t difficult, but the installer desperately wants to install a lot of bloatware (probably to help subsidize the free downloads). If you remain alert during the installation, you can avoid adding a lot of ‘stuff’ you don’t want on your computer.

So, let’s get started! First go to www.converterlite.com and click the ‘Download Now – It’s Free’ button. Save the file to your desktop, then double-click to begin the install. Here’s where you need to PAY ATTENTION:

Beware of the unintentional bloatware installation

On this screen, change the installation type from ‘Express’ to ‘Custom’. Once you do that, UNCHECK each of the options (unless you actually want the extra software installed). Click ‘Accept’ to continue the installation.

There will be several (I didn’t count how many) screens following which will each be trying to install additional software. Read each screen carefully and decide whether you want to Accept or Decline that portion of the installation. We want to install ‘ConverterLite’, but not a raft of other software.

Once the software is installed, you can click ‘ConverterLite’ from your desktop icon or program menu. Here’s the main (very simple) menu:

Click on the icon which represents the type of file you need to convert. When you click on it, an Explorer window will open. Navigate until you find the file that you want to convert and highlight it:

Then, click ‘Open’. You can select as many files as you like for converting – they will all list to the right side on ConverterLite’s home screen. That said, select all ‘Audio’ if you’re converting Audio files or ‘Video’ if you’re converting all Video files…don’t mix and match:

Click ‘Next’, and a new screen appears. Pick what type of file you want to convert TO:

If you select Video, you have a bunch of conversion type selections:

Click ‘Next’ again:

Click ‘Convert’ to convert the file(s) FROM the existing format TO the new format you selected.

My friend was able to convert from AVI to WMV with no problem. While this simple, free tool probably doesn’t allow for EVERY combination of conversion available, it solved this issue quickly and simply. For people who don’t do a lot with audio/video, this helps to make it a bit less intimidating…for a very nice ‘price’!