Audials Moviebox

The Internet is absolutely crawling with videos – not just YouTube, but tons of other sites and services compete for viewers' attention on a daily basis. Recently, after decades of existence in separate media spheres, even classic TV networks and cable channels have gotten into the game, offering their programming to the public via streaming video web services, sometimes exclusively. All too often, however, it's just a matter of time before a video disappears into thin air and becomes impossible to find again. This is where audials movebox 12 can come in handy – this small, high-performance tool promises to help you find videos and streaming services of all kinds anywhere on the Internet, without requiring any special knowledge or skills on the part of the user. Sounds great in theory, and DLH.Net has decided to try it out and let you know just how well it works in practice.

All Good Things Come in Threes

audials moviebox 12 has three main components – the universal converter, the video recorder, and the media center. The universal converter takes all supported media formats (video and audio) and converts them into a single format of your choosing. This has lots of different applications, such as converting old Flash videos into MP4 format so they can run on smartphones and tablets. We've included a (long) list of supported audio and video formats below, for easy reference. The converter is also capable of copying DVDs.

Now let's have a look at the heart and soul of audials moviebox: the recording features. Recording videos turns out to be a pretty simple affair – you just choose between automatic or manual detection of videos, or enter a link. There are even templates for the most popular video portals such as YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, MyVideo, or MaxDome. The clip is then recorded and saved in the best quality available. So far, so good. What's really impressive, however, is manual recording. Just select the "record video" option and start browsing. We decided to test out a common problem involving videos on Facebook. Clips can't be saved directly like images, and they quickly get lost amid tons of more recent entries, making them very hard to find later. But by selecting the video and simply clicking "record", not only are you able to save the video, but since you're doing it manually, you can wait until the relevant segment you want to record rather than recording the whole thing. And then there are those times when, for one reason or another, audials moviebox doesn't automatically detect that a video is playing. But this is no problem either – just select the area on the monitor where you'd like to record your movie and let it start recording – done. Of course, actual quality will always depend on the source.

Live TV and Multimedia Libraries

audials moviebox 12 is also capable of recording live TV streams, though you should be aware that not everyone's going to be using HD quality. The same goes for multimedia libraries and other media hubs available online – as long as they're not restricted or don't require a user account, audials moviebox will be able to detect and record whatever media files you want it to. You can also refine your search to make things easier to find and record – kids' programs, movies, sports, etc. Unfortunately you can't program the recorder to save your favorite TV show while you're out grocery shopping or something, nor can you control it using your smartphone.

One question that you might have at this point is: What happens with all these files I've been recording? Sorted between video and audio files, you can find everything in the audials moviebox media center. You can also rename all the files here and transfer them to your smartphone or tablet. In this case, however, it's absolutely necessary to download the companion app on whatever mobile device you're using.

User-Friendliness and Design

Using audials moviebox 12 is almost entirely intuitive. And this is a good thing, since the "manual" that comes with it (in the form of a hlp file) has all the charm of an Excel table. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get the hang of things and start recording whatever you want, though. Using simple mouse clicks and drop-down menus, all the features are easily accessible, and most of them are self-explanatory. Finally, the options allow you to easily select where you want the files to be stored on your own computer

Supported Audio Formats:

4XA, 722, AA, AAC, AAX, AC3, ACT, AEA, AIF, AIFF, AMR, APC, APE, AU, AUD, BIK, DTS, EAC3, FLAC, GSM, IRCAM, ISS, M4A, M4B, M4P, MP2, MP3, MPC, OGG, OMA, PVF, QCP, RAM, SOL, VQF, W64, WAV, WMA, WV, XA

Supported Video Formats:

3G2, 4XM, AVI, BIK, C93, CDXL, CIN, DFA, DIVX, DV, DXA, F4V, FLV, GXF, M2T, M2TS, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, MTS, MVE, MVI, MXF, NUV, PAF, PMP, PVA, RL2, RM, RMVB, ROQ, RPL, SEQ, SWF, TMV, TS, VID, VMD, VQA, WEBM, WMV, YOP