1. Download the FFMPEG daily build - link here
2. Unzip FFMPEG (you'll need to download the 7-Zip software to open the .7z file - link here)
3. After unzipping the zipped file, the only file that is important is the ffmpeg.exe to convert the media files into the format that you want. Locate that file.
4. For convenience, create a temp directory eg. C:\ffmpeg and copy the ffmpeg.exe into it
5. Copy the file/s (you can use Windows Explorer) that you want to convert into the same temp directory that was created for the ffmpeg.exe file. In this instance, I'm assuming the media file name is original.avi.
6. Going into Windows DOS prompt - in XP, click on Start, Run and type "cmd" without the brackets. I think it's somewhat the same in Vista.
7. At the DOS prompt, type "cd\ffmpeg". If this command fails, type "c:" first followed by the "cd\ffmpeg" command
7. To convert the original.avi file to converted.mp4 (mp4 format), type in the command below:
ffmpeg -i original.avi -sameq -vcodec mpeg4 -acodec aac -ab 192k converted.mp4
8. Press Enter and Wait for conversion to complete. The converted file converted.mp4 will reside in the same temp directory as ffmpeg.exe and original.avi
9. Enjoy the converted video ;)
For those reading this and wish to have greater control on the output (eg. reduce size, cropping to 4:3 format, add subtitles, obtain the audio track etc), read the FFMPEG documentation for more details.
