Playing video doesn't mean you're tethered to your PC. Countless different other devices can play video as well, including hand-held devices and music players, mobile phones, the PlayStation Portable, and the ubiquitous iPod. Trouble is, the videos you've downloaded to your PC might not be in the formats those devices require.

This free piece of software solves the problem. Any Video Converter Free Version is a universal converter that converts files between many different formats, including just about any you'll find online. It even handles .flv files so that you could, for example, download YouTube videos using TubeMe, then convert the file to a format you can play on a portable device. Converting files is simple: Select the videos you want to convert (you can do it en masse), select the format you want them converted to, and then click the Encode button.

Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

--Preston Gralla