The first thing that jumps out at you when you launch Total Video Converter is that it looks at least a decade old. The interface, workflow and tools and end quality all fall flat on their face when compared to the rest of the video converter programs we reviewed.
This video converter software scored the worst in the category in nearly every test. The one exception was conversion time, which it clocked in at 15 minutes – twice as fast as the category average – but doesn’t come close to the fastest programs we saw like Wondershare, Aimersoft and Movavi.
Conversion options also leave a lot to be desired. Total Video converts all the core video formats we look for in this category (AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV and MP4). For more advanced users that may want more options; they'll find that this video converter offers 8 of the lesser-used formats. And while this may suit the needs of some, it is the lowest amount of file formats we encountered in our evaluation.
Adding to the woes of this program, the end results leave a lot to be desired. We inspected the converted video and compared it to the original, looking for imperfections in the picture and sound. There was noticeable pixelation, compression artifacts and blur. These flaws distract from the viewing experience, especially when displayed on a large HD television. The audio, by contrast was quite good. We noticed only a slight hiss when the audio went silent. But unless you’re listening for it, you probably won’t notice.
Another major reason this video converter fared so badly in our evaluation is it omits some of the extra features we look for. For example, the program doesn’t support 4K ultra-high definition video standard. It also lacks the ability to download videos from online sites YouTube and Vimeo.
The ability to edit your videos before converting them is severely limited at best. This program does not offer a video editor as we understand it. When you open their editor, the only options you get is to input video files next to each other and then load them as a single video into the conversion queue. You don’t get any tools to trim clips, adjust picture saturation, contrast and brightness or rotate and flip the image. This severely limits the usefulness of the program.
If you choose Total Video Converter, you'll get a program that works, but has some major drawbacks. You'll also get a decent selection of formats and a decent conversion speed, but you'll lose all the nice features that make video converter software truly useful. And the quality of the converted video isn’t very good.
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