All you have to do is visit Make Own Ringtone and follow these easy steps. And when I say easy steps, I mean really easy steps. Your Grandma could do it!

Once you arrive at the site, you will see something that looks like this:

Next up you will need to upload your audio file. Make sure you know where it is located and hit the upload button. Once you click this button your file browser will pop up.

Select the audio file you want to use as your ring tone and hit open. Don’t worry if you only want to use the chorus or a small part of the file we will get to this shortly.

Once you click Open the file will be uploaded to the remote server for processing. All the editing will happen in your browser. This makes everything VERY easy! You will see a progress bar that looks like this:

Once the file has been successfully uploaded you will see the audio layout of the track. There is a time line so if you will know how far in the part you want is – this is the best way to do it. You can also play it here and when you find the start and end point of your ringtone, mark them with a simple click.

The first click marks the beginning and the second click marks the end – simple right? Go ahead and set yours when you are ready move on to the final steps.

The Make A Ringtone button is a little hidden if you have a small monitor so scroll down and find the button. There are also buttons to normalize the sound (make it all one volume) and to fade in and out at the beginning and end.

Once you click the Make A Ringtone button you will see the following screen allowing you to download your free ringtone and either email it to your friends or share it with them via your favorite social network!

Mark previously showed us how to make free ringtones using Audacity. How do you make ring tones? Let us know in the comments!

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Sound Converter

Available via the package manager, Sound converter provides basic batch audio file conversion. Select the files or drop in an entire folder, choose the output format and bitrate from within Edit > Preferences and basically, you’re done.

Gnormalize

Gnormalize is a GTK based tool for audio conversion. In addition to converting audio (between mp3, mp4, mpc, wav, ogg, ape and flac), Gnormalize can adjust the volume of sound files to compensate for varying recording levels. You can also use Gnormalize to rip CDs, edit metadata and play your songs as well.

SoundKonverter

KDE users can try SoundKonverter. It has all the features of Gnormalize like reading tags, replay gain calculation but supports a few additional audio file formats.

OggConvert, WaoN and flac

You always have a plenty of choices at your disposal when choosing software in Linux. Here are some command line tools that are good for specific audio conversion tasks. OggConvert provides you tools to convert almost all major audio formats into Ogg. flac and WaoN are good to use use when working with Flac or mid files respectively.

SoX

Then there is SoX – Sound eXchange. Although not just a conversion tool, geeks swear by it. You just cannot write an article about sound and not mention SoX. It does some hundred different amazing things and is rightly called the “Swiss Army Knife” of sound-processing programs.

WinFF

FFmpeg pretty rules the roost here. You can get all geeky and learn the command line switches or you can try WinFF. WinFF provides a frontend to FFmpeg. It works on Windows and Mac as well. It (actually FFmpeg) can be used for batch conversion of audio and video files. Just add the file(s) you wish to convert, choose the desired format, apply device presets if you desire. Once you are set, hit the Convert button and out pops the command line with one big ass command! Glad we don’t have to type in that ourselves, thanks to WinFF.

You can do pretty amazing things with WinFF or FFmpeg in general. We saw how we can use it to create actions so that you can convert video for your iPod with a right click in Nautilus. Studying the command line that WinFF pops out, you can create more of such custom actions. You can for example, write an action to extract audio out of videos, the possibilities are endless.

Handbrake

Handbrake is a popular multi-platform video transcoder. It can be used to convert DVDs to MP4, MKV, AVI and OGM. It offers additional features like chapter selection, burning subtitle into the picture, cropping and scaling.

DeVeDe

If Handbrake converts your DVDs to MP4s, DeVeDe takes in video files and creates DVDs and CDs that you can run on your regular home CD/DVD players. DeVeDe is available for Windows as well.

There are plenty of choices for you to consider and choose from if you are looking for some good Audio/Video converters for Linux. Did we miss out on your favorite software? Let us know in the comments

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“What you don’t have any videos for me to watch? I have about an hour and a half to kill each way hook me up!

I did have a crap load of new video files but nothing that was converted to play on the PSP. (This will work for almost all popular video playing devices.)  Yeah that sucks. But I remembered a little application I had seen that would allow my friend to convert these videos himself – and easily.

This application is so simple anyone can use it that can click a mouse!

I burned the video files for him and a little program called EncodeHD. I downloaded the 5.5MB Zip file, Extracted and ran the EncodeHD.exe file.. He was almost ready to rock and roll.

I decided to show him how to use the application before he left and took screenshots of my actions for everyone to follow along. Before we get started I should tell you guys how it works. This awesomely easy front end launched these 3 great tools without you having to know how they work:

1. FFmpeg
2. Atomic Parsley
3. MP4Box from the GPAC Project

With that said let’s see how she works!

The application is totally portable so there is no installation necessary. After launching the exe you will see a window like the one below. Select what type of device you have and want to convert your media for.

Drag and drop your media files into the window below like so:

If your computer can play it – EncodeHD can convert it! The advanced options are pretty simple but this is also where you can find the log file – if something goes wrong.

Check the box to specify an output folder if you do not want to write it to your source folder. You can select your PSP drive if it is connected to write the videos directly to your device so you do not have to copy them later. In this instance I am writing to a folder called EncodeHD on my D:\ drive.

Then simply hit start and you are on your way!

It seemed to take about half as long as the video to convert. So for example a hour episode of something took about 26 minutes to convert. Mileage will vary depending on your hardware!

EncodeHD will batch run each file and when it is complete you can happily watch your media anywhere you want it!

How do you convert your media? Do you have something that is even easier than this? We would love to hear about it in the comments!

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• Max – The Multitalented Audio File Converter for Mac (4)

In the search for the application capable of reading into this Monkey, I found a powerful audio file converter for Mac called Max.

Maximum Ability

So, what is Max? It is an application for creating high-quality audio files in various formats, from compact discs or files.

In the process of extracting audio from compact discs, Max offers the maximum in flexibility to ensure that its users will get the true sound of the CD. Max offers a high-speed ripper with no error correction.

Max can also work with damaged discs. It will use either its built-in comparison ripper (for drives that cache audio) or the error-correcting power of cdparanoia.

Once the audio is extracted, Max can generate audio in over 20 compressed and uncompressed formats including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, Apple Lossless, Monkey’s Audio, WavPack, Speex, AIFF, and WAVE.

To convert audio file from one format to another, Max can read and write audio files in over 20 compressed and uncompressed formats at almost all sample rates and in most sample sizes. For many popular formats the artist and album metadata is transferred seamlessly between the old and new files.

As an additional bonus feature, Max can even split a single audio file into multiple tracks using a cue sheet.

Working With Max

Now let’s look at how to use Max to convert the APE image to MP3s. After launching the application, go to the “File → Open” menu to open the audio files or CD image.

In my case, since this is the first time I use it, Max asked me to choose an audio output format to convert to.

My choice is none other than MP3 with high bitrate.

Choosing other additional output formats could be done by opening the Preferences window (Command + Comma). The next step would be choosing “Formats” icon and click the plus (+) button.

If everything else is done, what is left to do is clicking the “Convert” icon and waiting for the process to finish.

More Hidden Power

The Preferences window has many more customization options to choose from. For example, users can define how the converted audio file should be named. This option could be done from the “Output” tab.

To be able to split an audio file, you have to leave a checkmark to “Generate Cue Sheet” box in the “Ripper” tab.

There are also “MusicBrainz” tab to specify which server will be used to retrieve disc info, “Tagging” tab to specify custom tag name based on the type of the file, and “Album Art” tab to specify whether users want to save the album art with the converted files.

I barely scratch the surface here since the discussion here is only how to use it to convert the disc image to MP3 files. There are more powers under Max’s hood for users to explore. The best way to get familiar with all the capabilities of this application is by using it yourself.

Have you used Max to convert audio files? Do you have other alternative audio file converter for Mac? Share using the comment below.

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We have covered Audacity before, to record audio files or create your own MP3 ringtones. Now let’s see how you can use it to convert your audio cassettes and LPs to MP3 files. This article assumes you’re using Audacity on Windows, but you can also do this on Mac/Linux.

What You Need

Equipment

1. Computer with a sound card. Check that your sound card has a LINE IN jack (generally blue), and ensure that you have the latest drivers for your sound card.

2. Cassette Deck/Turntable. This is your audio source. You can use a tape deck, or an amplifier or receiver connected to a turntable. Whatever you use, the audio source should have RCA LINE OUT jacks (preferred) or at least a stereo-mini headphone jack.

Clean the audio head and pinch roller of your tape deck with a clean cloth dabbed in alcohol. Also, forward and rewind your unused cassettes to remove residual moisture and ensure smooth playback. If using records, clean them to reduce clicks.

3. Audio Cable. One end of your cable will be a stereo-mini. Depending on the jack you use on the audio source, the other end should be either RCA or stereo-mini. Use a cable with gold-plated jacks for best results.

Software

1. Download and install Audacity 1.3 (Beta). We use the latest Beta version as it has better noise removal features.

2. Download and install the Lame Encoder. This is required for exporting to MP3 format.

Steps

1. Connect your equipment

Connect the deck’s LINE OUT or PHONES jack to the LINE IN jack on your computer using your audio cable.

2. Setup Audacity

Start Audacity, select Edit-Preferences. In the Audio I/O section, set both playback and recording devices specifically to the sound card in which your cable is plugged. Do NOT use Microsoft Sound Mapper on Windows PCs.

Start playback from your audio source and adjust the volume level in Audacity. Click the down arrow next to the microphone icon and select Start Monitoring. While playing the loudest part of your audio track, adjust the input level slider on the Mixer Toolbar such that the meters almost reach the right end of the scale. If they actually reach the end such that they ‘hold’, reduce the input level to avoid distortion.

3. Record

Create a new project by selecting File-Save Project As. Start recording with the red Record button and start playback from your audio source. Use the blue Pause button between tracks or sides. When finished, press the yellow Stop button and save your project using File-Save Project.

4. Edit

You will probably have unwanted noise in your recording, such as background hum, tape hiss, or vinyl record clicks. For removing noise, select the beginning of your recording where the playback has started with the hum and hiss, but the music is yet to start. To select, simply use the mouse to click and drag at the start of the track.

Select Effect-Noise Removal, and click Get Noise Profile. Now, select the entire track by choosing Edit-Select-All, and choose Effect-Noise Removal again. Set the Noise Reduction (dB) slider to around 10 to 20 depending upon the level of noise in your source, set the other two sliders in the middle, and click OK. You can review the result by playing the track, using Edit-Undo and trying with different noise samples and slider levels.

If you are using vinyl records as your input, you may want to try using Effect-Click Removal to remove unwanted clicks. Always feel free to experiment and undo as needed to get the best results. When you are satisfied, use File-Save Project to permanently save your edited track.

5. Export

To export a single audio file, use File-Export As.

Most likely, you will have multiple tracks or songs in your recording, and it makes sense to export them as multiple files. Ensure you have all the tracks recorded, using the Fit Project button on the Edit Toolbar. The number of ‘boxes’ or ‘balloons’ should correspond to the number of tracks. Using the zoom controls, click in the gap between songs, choose Tracks-Add Label at Selection. Name the labels as per your song titles.

Select File-Export Multiple, choose MP3 Files as the Export format. Click Options to use the built-in presets to select the quality of the MP3. Higher quality produces larger MP3 files. You can repeat the export several times with different options and check the results. You can also specify metadata tags to make it easier to organize your tracks in iTunes.

That’s it, you’re done! You can discard those cassettes/LPs or gift them to your Grampa, now that you’ve got your favorite oldies music on your iPod. Let us know which record or tape albums you created in the comments! If you’re familiar with some other tool that can be used to convert LPs to MP3 please share it with others in comments as well.

(Note: Some images are taken from the Audacity 1.3.7 Beta Manual, available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.)

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Today, I will show you some of the top free media converters for Windows to allow you be able to use, watch and listen to all your video and audio files.

Media Converter SA

Media Converter SA may just be the best media converter ever created. Its simple and easy to use interface is enough to get anyone to use it, but besides that, Media Converter SA supports an incredibly large array of formats. It seems as if there are almost no audio or video formats that it cannot convert.

Besides converting in multiple formats, Media Converter SA comes with quite a large amount of settings that allow you to customize the process even further. Its features include: video resolution, start time, maximum file size, audio/video bit rate, recording time, and much more.

(Note: There is also an accompanying online media converter provided here if you would rather convert online.)

MediaCoder

MediaCoder, while less of a user-oriented interface in comparison to Media Converter SA, still supports a fairly large amount of file formats and devices. One thing that really makes MediaCoder one of the top media converters is the number of features. Not only does MediaCoder support converting single files, but it also allows users to convert entire folders, tracks from DVD’s or CD’s, and even URL’s or RSS feeds.

Yet, it continues! You are given the option to change the settings for each format currently supported, which yields a lot of options.

If you are intending on converting a large amount of files or want to convert something probably not supported anywhere else, you definitely can with MediaCoder.

RazorLame

RazorLame is an extremely simple and to-the-point audio converter. While it does not have as many features as either Media Converter SA or MediaCoder, RazorLame supports common audio formats for regular use.

If all you need to do is convert a few MP3 or WAV files, then RazorLame may definitely be useful.

(Note: You will need to download LAME separately and locate it with RazorLame to use the application. LAME can be downloaded here.)

Windows Essential Codec Pack

W.E.C.P. are a series of codecs that allow the user to view/listen to almost any media format introduced. What is neat about W.E.C.P. is that it doesn’t require the user to convert a file to a different format and thus have a duplicate file, but plays files without requiring separate conversion.

W.E.C.P. also comes with Media Player Classic to work with the codecs installed. If all you need to do is use certain media files once, then W.E.C.P. may be one of the best options.

Switch

Switch is an audio converter quite similar to Media Converter SA, due to its simple and easy-to-use interface. Supporting numerous audio formats is only part of Switch’s large array of options. Other features include: the ability to import playlists, ability to convert up to 32,000 files all at once, settings for individual audio bit rates, etc. Switch could be used for a multitude of different media.

I hope this helps some of you pick a media converter that is good for you. What do you use to convert media? Tell us in the comments.

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Zamzar

Zamzar is a free and all-inclusive (video, music, images, documents) online file converter. In 4 quick steps you can convert almost anything to anything else; (1) simply enter a file you want to convert by pointing to its location on your local drive or address on the web(ex; youtube video), (2) select output format(eg. PDF, doc, 3GP mobile, iPod, PSP…), (3) enter email address where it should send converted file and (4) convert it.

Special features:

• supports all popular video, music, image and document formats. More details
• provides browser bookmarklet(Firefox, IE) which lets you convert and save files from any webpage.
• convert and save any video while you are watching it(supports Youtube, GoogleVideo, Myspace, Revver, PutFile, Break.com, Apple, Trailers, Dailymotion, Metacafe, iFilm, Grouper, Blip.tv)
• file size can’t exceed 100 MB

Media-Convert

Media-Convert also lets you convert all types of files, i.e. video, music, images, docs and archives. It’s also free and supports almost all conceivable file formats. Procedure is pretty much the same; select the file, specify output format and let it do the rest. Once it’s done with a file, it will provide you with a link from where it can be downloaded.

Special features:

• each converted file remains accessible for 6 more days, so if you want to share it with friends you can forward them a link to download page.
• input file format auto-detection(no need to specify input format)
• additional option to adjust conversion settings(like fps, bitrate, codec, audio rate, etc..)
• download file directly to your mobile via WAP or GPRS.
• file size can’t exceed 150 MB

Mux
Mux lets you convert youtube and googlevideo videos to following formats; mpeg-4, Quicktime, iPod(m4v), flash video, windows media, mpeg-1/2, windows avi, 3gb mobile and OGG Theora. It’s not as powerful as above mentioned zamzar or media-convert however it has some handy features that you won’t find with others (see below).
Special features;

• for more demanding users there is a power mux which allows users set additional settings on output file(bitrate, fps, file length…etc).
• there is also a mux mobile which lets you convert web-videos to mobile format(3GP, AMR) and instantly forward them to any mobile for free.

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