With some tools, you have to look carefully under the hood at the features before
dismissing them as being just another look-alike utility. Such is the case with Media Wizard. On
the surface it looks like a Windows Media Player replacement, but it actually is much,
much more. Yes, it plays video and audio files like Windows Media Player, but that's where
the similarity ends.
Media Wizard,
from CDH Productions, has some very cool features not found in other multimedia player
products. First, if you are like me, you frequently can not remember what your cryptic
file names mean. Oh sure, they made sense at the time you created them, but let a few
weeks pass, and then watch what happens. You have to open and close a zillion video and
audio files to find the right MPG, AVI or WAV file you were looking for. A time waster,
for sure.
Media Wizard
has a way around this problem, and it is so simple, you have to wonder why Microsoft
hasn't incorporated such a feature into their own Media Player product. The secret? It's
called a Preview Box. When you go to open a file in Media Wizard, in addition to the
standard file list, you'll see the highlighted file playing in a small preview box on the
right side of the file list. Great feature.
Next, in addition to handling the standard features like file lists, etc., it also
converts files from one format to another. So if you have a need to convert an MPG to an
AVI or visa versa, now you can without using another standalone utility. Audio file
conversions are also supported.
You can also slice a video file into a collection of individual frames. I think this is
very neat, especially for those folks who create training materials. Now if you have an
existing video segment, you can slice it up and incorporate individual frames into your
printed materials or presentations. Likewise, if you have a series of individual stills,
you can combine them into a video file.
The interface is very sleek and easy to navigate. Highly intuitive. Unlike Windows
Media Player which seems to hog memory and screen space, Media Wizard appears to
be less memory intensive and even collapses into a thin tool bar you can drag anywhere on
your desktop, so it will always be there. No clutter.
Now you'll need some processing horse power to do larger file conversions, and maybe
taking a coffee break wouldn't be a bad idea, but if managing and manipulating your video
and audio files is becoming a bear, then you might want to take the time to try out Media Wizard. Click the
banner above for more information.
