Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate for Mac

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on September 16, 2012

Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate is a fast and easy-to-use video file converter tool that lets you convert almost any type of video and make it playable on mobile devices.

If an application can become addictive in terms of everyday use, Xilisoft's Video Converter Ultimate is one of them. It has a nice-looking interface, but we can't say it's very intuitive. However, once users go through the long list of options, subsequent movie conversions will be a piece of cake. Xilisoft Video Converter supports a ton of formats, and we find that very useful, as you can have all your preferred videos on any of your favorite mobile devices.

What we liked the most about Xilisoft is that it's more than just a simple video converter tool. It also comes with basic editing tools. Don't expect the level and performance of professional video editing software, though, as the tools users get are just enough for everyday use with nice-looking results. If you shoot a video and want to add some flair to it, Xilisoft provides the basic editing tools you'll need. Beginner-level users will enjoy using the Crop, Effect and Rotation tools.

During our testing the trial version turned out to be fast, although we needed to choose small files, due to its limitations. The unregistered version will only convert 3 minutes of your video. When we added 3D effects, what had taken 90 seconds to convert jumped to 22 minutes, so you can expect larger files to take much more time, especially if you add effects.

At first glance, beginners may feel a bit overwhelmed by all the conversion options. However, after spending some time getting used to the application, users will find it easy to use and appreciate the editing options.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate for Mac 7.5.0.20120829.