We are always on a look out for freeware available on the internet. Today, we’re going to do a whirlwind review of various audio/video freeware applications by Freemake.

Are they on par with other similar applications? Do they have something that set them apart from other freeware? Read on to find out.

Freemake Music Box

the Milky Way

Freemake Music Box is an application that allows you to search for and listen to free music online. When you run this app for the first time, the first thing you would notice is the beautiful UI. Dipped in milk, with a nice touch of squiggly patterns, this app has a Mac-ish feel.

With Music Box you get access to lots of free songs online. This application has an excellent search engine. I would say that the algorithm is quite persistent. I typed in a series of jumbled letters and the search engine didn’t give up searching until I cancelled it. You can filter the search results by artist and album.

Yes, this app has an inbuilt music player, but don’t expect a Winamp style fully fledged music player. You can create playlists and also import local playlists in various formats.

The search feature of Music Box has to be refined as there are some minor flaws. There is no option to pause a search. Clicking on the close button at the right end of the search box will only clear the search. Also clicking on filters will only result in the search being renewed with the filters applied.

Freemake Audio Convertor

Freemake Audio Convertor

Freemaker Audio Convertor allows you to convert your songs to all key formats such as MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, AAC, M4A, OGG. You can convert files from any format, even the lesser used ones. Freemaker Audio Convertor also provides all the basic features of an audio convertor such as ability to merge audio files, extract audio from video, etc. I like the ability to drag and drop files into the pool. Output parameters can be customized. To do this,

• Add the files you need to convert into the pool.
• Click on the format to which you need to convert to and select from one of the output parameter presets. You can also customize the presets and add create your own preset.

You cannot convert the files in the pool individually. Only batch conversion is allowed. Editing options for files in the pool are missing. You only specify the output parameters, that too for the entire batch only.

I kept searching for something that makes this app better than others in the market. But unfortunately, apart from its beautiful looks, I found none. This app however allows you to export the converted audio into iTunes directly. This is a good app if what you are looking for are good looks and ease of use.

Freemake Video Convertor

Freemake Video Convertor

Now, this is an application that I would watch out for as it packs a considerable punch.  Freemake video convertor supports more than 200 input formats with an ability to convert them to all major formats. You can download and convert video directly from more than 50 websites including the popular ones such as Youtube. For an extra “macht”, this app allows you to create slideshows out of pictures and audio. To do this,

• Drag and drop the pictures into the pool.
• You will be able to see the summary of the slideshow properties in the pool. Click the “No Audio” link and select “Add Audio” and select the music you want.

You can embed subtitles to the videos using this app (access this option from the file summary in the pool). Individual files can be edited by double clicking on a file which will open a separate window for editing and previewing the file. You have limited editing options such as trimming the file, flip video horizontally or vertically, etc.

One feature that distinguishes this application from its rivals is that with Freemake video convertor you can upload your videos and slideshows to Youtube.  The program will cut videos (if required) into 15-minute parts and insert them into one YouTube playlist.

Freemake Video Downloader

why not stick to the video converter itself?

Freemake video downloader is an easy to use freeware that allows you to download video from umpteen numbers of websites. Just copy the URL from your browser and click the paste button in the app and you are good to go. You can even download videos embedded in Facebook and videos tagged private in Youtube.  This application also lets you extract audio from the videos online.

One click download feature enables you to set parameters for download such as input quality, action, ie, whether to download or extract audio or convert the video into another format, etc. Once you have set this and if you have the browser plugin installed (you can choose this option when installing the software), Freemake video downloader will automatically rip video in accordance with your saved settings.

One thing that I like about this app is that the media files that are download will appear in the Downloads folder only after the download is complete. Hence cancelled downloads will not result in partially downloaded files cluttering your Downloads folder.

Why Make Life Harder?

This is the question I would like to ask the makers of this software. I would have loved this software if they had clubbed these four applications into one.

But now I have to download and install each of this software separately. Also, some of the features are repetitive. For example the video convertor can do the same function that the video downloader does, albeit, in a smaller scale.

Future Enhancements to Watch Out For

• Freemake has promised a web based version of Music Box so that download and installation of the software won’t be necessary.
• Ability to sync your playlists across your computer network and mobile phones
• Ability to burn audio CDs using the Freemake Audio Convertor

Conclusion

That said, all these applications have one thing in common, a very beautiful UI. All these applications are easy to use and supplemented with a load of handy video guides at the Freemaker website.