MediaCoder Audio Edition

MediaCoder Audio Edition is designed to convert large AVI and WMA files to MP3 files. It performs this task well and also has a few other tricks up its sleeve.

This well-designed freeware has an attractive, expansive interface. Since this is the Audio Edition of this program, it's only designed to handle audio and not video. After importing a short AVI movie into MediaCoder, we selected "start transcoding" from the Actions menu. MediaCoder pulled the audio out of the selected video and saved it as an MP3 that can be played with the program's built-in audio player. Although it's easy to use and works quickly, too, we barely scratched the surface of what MediaCoder Audio Edition can do. Clicking the Support tab leads you to the manufacturer's Web page, which has extensive online help and other useful resources, everything from a Wiki to an FAQ and user forum. There's even information about other versions of MediaCoder that will handle video.

MediaCoder Audio Edition is a great example of user-friendly freeware. Both novices and experts will enjoy using this excellent audio application.