Webware

Movavi is a company that provides a variety of software solutions for video editing and conversion. Today they've launched a free, Web-based video conversion service that lets people change the format on video clips without installing any sort of conversion software on their computer. Users can upload up to five different video files, up to 100MB in total space, and choose from 11 popular formats for output. The main use for services like these is compatibility with portable devices, or Web services that require video clips to fall under a certain spec for playback--the iPod and upcoming iPhone included.

Movavi is also giving bloggers and site owners a fairly simple way to add the new video conversion service to their site. Users can embed a line of code, to add a simple one-file-at-a-time converter widget. This widget lets users convert up to one file at a time, and choose from 11 popular video formats. All the system needs is your e-mail address, where it will send a link for downloading. One neat thing about the embed is that it shows you how far it is on the conversion while you wait. There are six different widgets to choose from; I've embedded one of them at the bottom of the post.

There are quite a few of these online video converters around, and many are tied to paid software solutions that don't have length or size requirements. At 10 minutes and up to 100MB, Movavi's file limitations are fairly generous, although I've got to be honest--I'm really not a fan of filling up my e-mail in-box with download links. I much prefer HeyWatch's system, which lets you watch the entire process right in your browser and even grab download links to share with others.

See also: Zamzar, MediaConverter, and HeyWatch [review]