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Format Factory

A conversion workbench that turns essentially any media file into essentially any other, with batch queues, disc ripping, and repair tools for the files that will not open anywhere else.

Version 5.22.0 112 MB Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (64-bit) Updated 2 days ago

Overview

What this release is

Format Factory is the utility that ends up on every machine eventually, because sooner or later somebody sends you a file in a format nothing on the computer will open. It converts video, audio, images, and documents between the formats in common use, it does so in batches, and it has been doing it long enough that the awkward edge cases have all been encountered and handled.

The interface is organised by destination rather than by source, which is the right way round. You pick the format you want, add however many files you have, and the program works out what each one currently is. A folder of mixed camera clips, phone recordings, and downloaded video all become the same output format in one queue without you sorting them first.

Beyond straight conversion there is a useful set of secondary tools. Video can be joined, split, cropped, rotated, and have its audio replaced. Audio can be extracted from video, normalised, and mixed. Images convert in bulk with resizing and rotation applied. Optical media rips to file with chapter handling, and the repair function fixes the broken index that makes a file refuse to seek or refuse to open at all.

Quality control is more thorough than the simple interface suggests. Every output format exposes its bitrate, resolution, frame rate, sample rate, and encoder profile settings, and those settings save as named presets. Hardware acceleration is used when the graphics adapter supports it, which on a modern card cuts the conversion time on long video files dramatically.

The whole thing is small, fast, and free of the tiered feature gates that similar tools use. Everything the program can do is available in this build with no prompts and no advertising panel.

Feature set

What you get

Format coverage

Video, audio, image, and document formats in wide circulation, converting between essentially any pairing.

Batch queues

Add hundreds of mixed source files at once and convert them to a single destination format unattended.

Editing tools

Join, split, crop, rotate, and replace audio without opening a separate editor.

Disc ripping

Rips optical media to file with chapter structure and subtitle track selection preserved.

File repair

Rebuilds the index on damaged video files that refuse to seek or refuse to open.

Hardware acceleration

Uses the graphics adapter encoder when available, which cuts long video conversions to a fraction of the time.

Changes in this build

What changed

Added encoder support for the newer video codecs in wide use
Faster batch processing through improved job scheduling across cores
Rebuilt repair routine that recovers more damaged container types
Preset system now stores custom encoder profiles per output format
Fixed the audio sync drift on conversions from variable frame rate sources

Installation

How to install it

Extract the archive with any archiver. The package is not protected.
Run the setup executable as administrator, or use the portable folder if you prefer nothing installed.
Decline the optional bundled components on the setup screen. None of them are needed.
Open the program and set your default output folder in preferences before the first conversion.
Enable hardware acceleration in the settings if your graphics adapter supports it.

Hardware

System requirements

Processor	Any 1 GHz or faster processor, more cores speed up batch work directly
Memory	2 GB minimum, 4 GB for large video jobs
Graphics	Optional, a hardware encoder capable adapter speeds up video conversion
Storage	300 MB plus working space for output files
Display	1024 x 768
System	Windows 7 through Windows 11, 64-bit

Package

Release information

Title	Format Factory
Version	5.22.0
Developer	Free Time
Category	System Utilities
Platform	Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (64-bit)
Package size	112 MB
Interface languages	Multilingual (62 interface languages)
Release identifier	BS-52200001
Listed	6 years ago
Last rebuilt	2 days ago
Total downloads	124,181

Questions

Before you start

Is anything limited in this build?

No. Every format and every tool is available with no prompts and no advertising panel.

Does converting lose quality?

Any transcode between compressed formats loses something. Raising the bitrate above the source reduces the loss but never eliminates it.

Can it convert protected discs?

It rips unprotected media. Anything carrying copy protection is refused.

Why does a converted file play but not seek?

The output index was not written, usually because the job was interrupted. Run the repair tool on the file and it will normally be fixed.