mediAvatar Zune Converter FAQ
Q: What do I need to do so that I can import the files into the Zune device? I have completed the conversion job, but I do not know how to put the files into device.
A: You need install Zune software to get it done. It is a program which can be found on the Zune CD, the disk that is offered following the purchase of Zune. It will take a few minutes to install. Not only can it help you sync the files, video, audio and pictures, into the Zune device, but also it can be used as a playback program for those audio files.
Q: I am really a beginner to this kind of video conversion tools. It is hard for me to understand the way to use your program. Is it possible to offer me a simple way?
A: In the V3.1, we provide a Wizard for beginners, which is quite easy and convenient. You can run it by the shortcut for Wizard from desktop after installation. In each step, it has clear description about what to do, guiding the conversion job.
And also, our program can be run in normal mode and Wizard mode simultaneously, performing different conversion jobs.
Q: I want to change some settings of conversion. Where can I find them?
A: All the settings of the software can be found on the right panel of the main interface. After you highlight the file you load and select the output format, the settings that can be changed will be active, such as the "Frame Rate", "Sample Rate", and "Video/Audio Bit rate" and so on. Some of them are in drop-down lists and some of them can be changed simply by entering a concrete number.
In the Wizard, you can reach them in the fourth step, "Select Profile", by clicking "Advanced Settings".
Q: After my original file is loaded into the program, where can I read the basic information of my file, such as Video Size, Video and Audio Codec, etc?
A: Please open "Setting" menu, you will find an item called "Show File Information". It will be an independent small window which shows the basic configuration of the loaded file. In the small window, you will read those information items.
In the Wizard, after you select the original file in the second step, the information will still be shown automatically in the corresponding place.
Q: I have a video file. I hope that it is in a new name after conversion. But it would be not convenient for me to rename the output files each time after conversion. Is your program able to help me with this issue?
A: No problem. On the right panel of the main interface, you can find an item called "File name". After your file is loaded, please highlight it in the program. And then, enter the name you want for the final output file in this field and press "Enter" to confirm. After the conversion is done, the content you input for this field will be the title of the output file.
Q: What about if I convert a file into same format several times saving in the same output folder without setting different output names respectively? Will your program just overwrite the previous conversion? It will be nice if it can save the output files in different titles automatically.
A: Please open "Tools-Preference" and select "Not Overwrite" there. Generally, it is the default option.
For example, if your file is called "movie.3gp" and you want to convert it to WMV format, after the first conversion job, the output file will be named as "movie.wmv". If you do the same conversion job again, our program will generate a file, which is called "movie-0.wmv". And also, if you perform a third conversion, the third output file will be "movie-1.wmv". It means it will produce files in different titles each time in this way.
Q: I notice that there is an item in the "File" menu of the program, "Add DirectShow Files". What does it do? It seems that it is same with "Add", which just load the files into the program.
A: It is a decoder that we added into the program, which provides a much more stable way to decode Microsoft files. If you load a Microsoft file into the program by DirectShow option, it will be converted better than common way. For example, for some WMV files, the output would be not sync sometimes. But it will not happen if you load them by DirectShow option.
Q: After the conversion is done, I found that the output file is in such a small resolution. All what I used are default settings. I should be able to adjust resolution. But I can not find such a resolution item on the right panel. Why? And what should I modify?
A: In our program, resolution is called "Video Size". You can find this item on the right. The default value for this option is "320x240". Another larger value, 640x480, is also able to be found in the drop-down list of Video Size. These two values are the optimized settings for Zune playback according to the news that Microsoft offers. So you’d better not enter any other values.
Q: Where can I found the output files after the conversion?
A: After our software shows "complete" for the conversion job, please click "Open" button which can be found at the bottom of the main interface. You will reach the destination folder directly, from where you will find the output files for your conversion job. Generally, the default destination folder for our program is "C:Temp".
Q: When I play the loaded files in your program, I found that the video quality is not good enough and even the audio is not OK sometimes. Will it affect the final output files?
A: Our software is just a conversion tool. The preview function would be limited by certain files which are not in common codec. So the preview of the original file would not be perfect in certain conditions. But it will not affect the conversion, which means the output file should still be OK.
Q: I have many files to convert. How can I import them simultaneous? It means I want to import many files by one time.
A: You'd better put all your files into one folder and open it with our software. Multi-selection is available by pressing "CTRL" key and highlighting them at same time. Actually, our software supports "dragging to load". It means you can select all the files you want to convert in the Windows and then drag them into the program. Our software will get them loaded automatically. It is quite convenient.
But in the Wizard, you can only load files into the program one by one since you can only highlight one file each time.
Q: After I make some proper modifications on settings, is it possible to save it as a single profile so that I can use it directly each time?
A: It can be done by the "Save As" button. After you finish the modifications, please click this button and finish other jobs following instructions. After the profile is created, you can delete or re-name it as you like.
But you can not do it in the Wizard since it is an advanced option.
Q: I just want a clip/segment of my video files. Is it possible?
A: Yes. You need set "Start Time" and "Duration" to get the clip you want. First of all, you should highlight the loaded file in the program. And then enter correct values for "Start Time" and "Duration"; these two items can be found on the right panel of the interface. For example, if you want a 3-minute-clip from the 10 minutes of the whole movie, you should enter "00:00:00" for "Start Time" and "00:03:00" for duration.
It will be much easier for you to finish a clip encoding in the Wizard. You just need to set start point and end point before you start conversion.
Q: After the conversion is done, I do not like the audio quality of the output files. I know that enlarging bit rate setting will get better quality. But what is the largest value for audio bit rate that Zune will afford?
A: According to our test, Zune device can support larger bit rate for audio. No matter what format you are using, mp3, m4a or wma, setting audio bit rate as 320 kbps is OK. We recommend 320 as the best value for bit rate since higher bit rate setting would cause a larger file size simultaneously.
On the right panel of the main interface, you will find bit rate setting for audio. You can just simply enter 320 into the field after the file in the program is highlighted. As far as the sample rate is concerned, you can set it as 48000.
Q: What are the optimized settings to my Zune device so that I can get best Video Quality?
A: Generally speaking, output quality is mainly decided by Video Size (Resolution) setting and Bit Rate value. For both the WMV and MP4 output of our program, we provide two proper Video Size values: 320x240 and 640x480. If you want to get an output files in better quality, please choose 640x480. About Bit Rate setting, the default value provided in our program is 1200. It should be OK. If you like, a larger bit rate value will also be afforded.
Q: Your program provides two video formats for Zune, WMV and MP4. Which one is better? I’d like to get fantastic video quality on my Zune.
A: It is hard to say which the better one is. But according to our test, under the same configurations, including same Video Size and Bit Rate, WMV would be a little better. But MP4 would provide a smaller output file size while it keeps sound quality simultaneously.
Q: When I try to convert my video files to WMV format, the program simply and quickly shows "Complete" for the conversion. But the output files are only in a few KB, apparently not playable. Why?
A: Please check the version of your Windows Media Player. If it is not V10.0 or above, please get it upgraded from www.microsoft.com. It is free.
Q: I want to convert some VOB files, which I load into the program from the "Video_TS" folder of a standard DVD. But I either get a "Fail" notice or a bad, not complete conversion result. Why?
A: Our software, Zune Converter, is just a video conversion tool, so it will not do a good job on DVD conversion. If you can remove the encryption of the DVD by other third-party program, such as DVD Decryptor, our software will be able to convert the decrypted VOB files. But if you want to convert DVDs directly, you should try our DVD tools, such as DVD to Zune Converter, which can convert DVDs including the protected ones directly into proper video and audio files playable on your Zune device.