Techspansion drags VisualHub video converter program for Mac behind the killing shed
Techspansion, makers of the excellent VisualHub program — about the only truly excellent program to allow for the conversion of regular video files to iPod-compatible MP4s on the Mac — have closed their doors, citing the tantalizing and mysterious excuse of "personal reasons."
The good news is that Techspansion hints that they will release the source code before they completely blink out of the time stream. That they would consider releasing the source seems to imply the "personal reasons" causing Techspansion to fold aren't actually related to the tattooed fingers of Apple's legal team resting a vice-like grip upon the lead developer's shoulder in a shadowy bar at 2am, but who knows? We've sent a snooping email hoping to learn more.
Update: Tyler Loch of Techspansion just emailed us, saying there were no "lawyers or other nasties" involved:
No, the decision was all mine. No lawyers or other nasties involved. The work was adversely affecting my health, my relationships, and my other responsibilities, too much to bear. It was a very tough decision, and it's one that I hope was the right choice for me.
Either way, this is sad news for regular iPhone and iPod video users. While Windows has a million-and-one iPod video converters, the Mac, ironically enough, has few serviceable ones, and VisualHub was the best of breed.
Techspansion [Official Site]
the latest
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ever try Mpeg Streamclip?
Great software.
Please release the code!
I've always used ffmpegX, and the built-in presets have always worked perfectly. There are presets for iPod and iPhone, etc etc.
I guess my question is, what did VH do that was better?
It's a very useful program, so I'm disappointed that they're shutting their doors, and I hope that whatever personal things are going on get themselves resolved as well as possible.
That said, I'm also annoyed that I paid $40 less than a month ago to register both VisualHub and AudialHub. *sigh*
I regret not having bought VisualHub or AudialHub - I've used iSquint for a few years now, though, and THAT'S been fantastic.
(Plus, funniest docs and dialog boxes I've read in a while.)
We'll miss ya, TE.
I am running iSquint, which does everything I want it to without any muss or fuss. I always wondered what upgrading to VH would do for me, but I'm not disappointed that I have lost my chance.
Anything to avoid paying for QT Pro or using iStore as my only source for television and video.
VisualHub was really nothing more than a fancy wrapper for ffmpeg - but it was an AWESOME wrapper, and made video conversions simple and easy (even more so than ffmpegX).
Tyler now has a note on the site that people clamoring for the source code should "calm down" as he "works on something". This gives me hope.
If nothing else, I'd like to get a list of the command-line options that each VisualHub conversion used, so I can start doing things by hand with a recent build of ffmpeg.
one of the few pieces of software that I've paid for.
I use Video Converter from iSkySoft. Never had a problem with it.
I've used VisualHub for a couple of years - thought about getting AudialHub, now it seems I never will.
I sent Tyler Loch a "so long and thanks for all the code" email, and he sent back a backup of VisualHub in return for my registration details. I wish him well in sorting his life out.
alt.binaries.mac.osx.apps.
A remarkably well-equipped ZIP file named "-Techspansion".
And there's nothing stopping one from sending him the required fee for the installers.
(just don't ask me what I was looking for in that particular newsgroup.)
VisualHub, AudialHub, and iSquint have been discontinued.
ISquint is rellay a good free software. but….
You can learn more from:
iSquint - free Mac iPod video conversion applications discontinued, why?
it is said that VisualHub, AudialHub, and iSquint have been discontinued.
iSquint and VisualHub, the popular video converter on Mac OS X have now gone open source. They also has got new names, Film Redux (VisualHub) and PunyVid (iSquint).