Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 1, 2013. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The open-source HandBrake tool is intended to encode videos from all formats into the H.264, MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 video formats. Audio output options include MP3, AAC and Vobis. Presets for devices such as iPod, iPad and Android tablets can also be configured.
According to the HandBrake team, downloading the current version 0.9.9 gives the free tool a major improvement in compression speed. Further features include additional frame-rate settings, support for Blu-ray subtitles, improved audio remixing and double-frame-rate mode.
HandBrake is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. The download for HandBrake 0.9.9 is available here.
