PQ DVD to iPod Video Converter Suite is a special discount package that combines two great tools, the PQ iPod Movie Video converter and the PQ DVD to iPod converter. Both applications are good choices for those guys and gals that simply cannot live without their iPods.
With a super fast, high quality conversion process and a not so bad set of features, this suite is the perfect example of the combination of both price and results.
Feature set (5/5)
The first thing we noticed when evaluating the PQ DVD to iPod Video Converter Suite was the high speed of the conversion process. The advertised “up to 4x faster conversion speed” advertised by PQ on their official site was not too far from truth! Although we did not experience such a difference when comparing this suite against other packages, we must say the difference was really noticeable. Indeed, there was only one suite that could compete with this one in terms of speed, and in that very tough competition this one was beaten but only by a little bit.
PQ DVD to iPod video converter suite has a feature that many users will appreciate: it supports hardware video acceleration routines. This means that if there is a graphic accelerator card installed, this package will detect it and take good advantage of it at playback time.
Both included programs (PQ DVD to iPod converter and PQ iPod Movie Video Converter, which are also available separately) are fully compatible with the latest Apple developments, including the 30G and 80G iPods and their high resolution format (640×480 pixels, H.264 / MPEG-4 encoding).
The suite is able to process and generate MP4 iPod-compatible videos from different sources, including DVD-video discs and several different types of files, including Tivo, DivX, XviD, AVI Video for Windows files, Windows Media (WMV) files, MPEG video files (MPG and MPEG), VCD and SVCD files (DAT), Realmedia video (RM and RMVB), VOB files, QuickTime MOV files and even DVR-MS video. As for audio, the suite fully supports the Dolby and DTS Surround sound specifications, and is able to convert most popular audio files into iPod MP3 format.
The user can select the audio and subtitle tracks, the output file size, the aspect ratio and resolution and also the number of resulting files, in case that several partial video files are needed from a single source.
Advanced users will also be happy to know that most settings can be tweaked easily.
Ease of use (5/5)
The PQ DVD to iPod video converter suite has a nice, clear interface that is useful without being too confusing. Most features are accessible with just one or two clicks, including the conversion process.
The only thing we didn’t like was that there is a little “too easy” to get to the advanced settings, which may be an irresistible temptation for curious first timers.
Ease of Installation and Setup (5/5)
Like all relatively modern pieces of software, the PQ DVD to iPod video converter suite comes in an autorun-compatible disc, making the whole installation a simple matter of inserting it and clicking “next” a couple of times. It doesn’t require a system restart under Windows 2000 and XP, but you must reboot if your system is running older OSes.
Quality of copy (4.5/5)
The PQ DVD to iPod video converter suite does a great job in generating high quality iPod videos. The software’s engine is designed to make extensive use of any CPU multimedia extensions available (MMX, 3DNow! and SSE/SSE2 instructions), which improves output. At 640×480 resolutions, the results are good enough to watch them in your TV, by using iPod-to-TV (which is also supported). The only bad thing we noticed is that the resulting videos could be compressed more, as the relation between quality and file size is not optimal.
Software stability (4/5)
The PQ DVD to iPod video converter suite was found to be very stable when tested under windows NT-based systems (Windows XP, windows 2000, windows NT4), but showed several undesired results under older 9X/ME systems.
Summary (4.7/5)
- Easy to install.
- Easy to use – single click video conversion.
- Supports a good deal of input formats.
- Supports the latest 640×480 video size, as well as several aspect ratios.
- Really fast operation.
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The offical website is http://www.pqdvd.com/dvd-to-ipod-video-converter.html
I bought this product and feel totally ripped off. The problem is once the conversion is made and the video is placed on your ipod it compiles the videos in pieces/frame segemnts. This ends up making the video freeze every 5-8 seconds for about .5 sec whis is super anoying. I deleted this program and decided to get the copier from Cucusoft which is much much better quality.
I’ve been using this program for a year, meanwhile the AVex DVD to iPod Video Suite is also my choice. Never have had any problem with it. Compared with other converters, AVex & PQ are faster, output quality is better, and their customer support is also great. I did have some out-of-sync problem with PQ at the first time. However, the problem was solved by downloading a new version from their web officla site, and the current version I’m using is V2.5.04, the most stable version. As to AVex, nothing to complain at all. It’s definitely a Best Buy.