SoundConverter

What SoundConverter is

SoundConverter is a free audio transcoder for the GNOME desktop on Linux. It reads formats supported by GStreamer, including Ogg Vorbis, AAC, MP3, FLAC, WAV, AVI, MPEG, MOV, M4A, AC3, DTS, ALAC, MPC, Shorten, APE, SID, MOD, XM and S3M. It can convert batches to Opus, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, AAC or MP3, or use GNOME audio profiles. It can also extract audio from video files, rename files and arrange them into folders based on tags. Quality controls are available, and its multithreaded design uses as many processor cores as possible to speed conversion. The interface is described as following GNOME HIG and designed to be simple to use. SoundConverter requires Linux, GNOME, Python, PyGTK, GStreamer, GStreamer-python and Gnome-python. MP3 output additionally requires GStreamer-lame. The software is licensed under GNU GPLv3, which permits redistribution and modification. Its README notes that it is somewhat slower than command-line tools and points to those for maximum performance.

Who it suits

SoundConverter suits Linux users who want to batch-convert audio, extract sound from video, or organize files by tags. It is a fit for people working with GNOME and the listed dependencies.

Limits

MP3 creation depends on installing GStreamer-lame. The project README says SoundConverter can be slower than command-line tools.

Getting started

1. Open the SoundConverter website
2. Use a Linux system with GNOME and the listed Python, PyGTK and GStreamer requirements
3. Install GStreamer-lame if MP3 output is needed
4. Choose input files and an output format
5. Run batch conversion and organize results with tags

Verdict

SoundConverter covers a wide range of input formats, batch conversion, video audio extraction and tag-based organization at no charge. Check its GNOME and dependency requirements, and note the performance tradeoff if conversion speed is a priority.