Digg this post | Submit to Delicious | Stumble this post | Tweet It

The Internet is overflowing with tools that claim to help users with effective and easy to use file conversion. Although the software market is filled with conversion utilities for the Windows operating system, its nemesis (Apple Mac OS) is still comparatively struggling to get its fair share of software development love.

Even though you may be a diehard Mac OS fan and argue that your boy genius doesn’t need the attention of third party vendors, the truth is, no matter how many features an operating system provides out of the box, it cannot supply every need, and that’s where a healthy third party market comes into play.

Thankfully in the last few years there has been a surge in interest in developing for Macs, possibly due to the iPhone, but also great events like the MacHeist charity scheme that brings little-known application developers to a huge audience.

Document, audio and video conversion tool options all now exist for the Mac, meaning you should never be stuck in the wrong file format ever again. Below is a list of the best file conversion software tools I found for the Mac, but do let us know your own suggestions in the comments.

Document Conversion software for Mac

iFille :
Making document conversion easier than ever before, iFille is a file conversion utility that can convert a range of text file formats like DOC, RTF, TXT, HTML, XHTML, Web archives, XML, XHTML, and more. With the unique drag and drop facility that this utility supports, users can perform batch conversions with ease.

PDF2Text:
Small, light and very easy to use, PDF2Text is a plug-in that can be used to convert PDF documents to plain ASCII files. For efficient conversion, PDF2Text supports various options like paragraph formatting, text size, page numbering, Horizontal/Vertical formatting, character spacing and a lot more.

Trapeze 1.3.1:
Featuring drag and drop facility, Trapeze 1.3.1 is a file conversion utility that can be used to convert PDF files to plain ASCII/text documents, HTML files or RTF documents. With options like paragraph reformatting, page numbering, advanced text encoding as well as support for password protected PDF files Trapeze surely knows how to please its users.

Video Conversion software for Mac

Xilisoft Video converter:
One of the most powerful video converters available, Xilisoft is a video conversion utility that can perform conversion on anything from a plain AVI file format to the famous DivX/Xvid format. Apart from providing quick conversion of video file formats like H.264/AVC, AVCHD, MP4, MKV, MOV, XviD, RM, 3GP and WMV, you will also be able to convert audio files to popular audio file formats. Sporting the ability to convert videos to game console or portable music player format, Xilisoft Video converter is an excellent option for Mac users who need to convert their video files quickly.

Aimersoft Video Converter 1.8.2.3:
If quick and effortless video conversion is what you are looking for, Aimersoft Video Converter is what you need. A powerful video converter that allows its users to convert video files stored on their Mac to formats that are supported in PSP, PS3, iPhone, iPod, Zune, etc, Aimersoft Video Converter also allows its users to trim videos according to their preferences.

ffmpgeX 0.0.9y:
Allowing you to turn your DVD’s into other formats like MPEG, DivX/Xvid, VCD as well as VCD and XVCD, ffmpgeX is a video converter that can work wonders for users with constant needs to convert their video files to other file formats. Not only video files, ffmpgeX will also allow you to convert audio files as well. Ability to convert almost any file format, ffmpgeX is not only easy to use, it is quick performer too.

Audio Conversion software for Mac

Switch Audio Converter for Mac:
An audio file converter for Mac OS X, Switch audio converter is an easy to use audio converter that allows MAC users to convert their audio files into any other file format. Audio formats supported by Switch Audio Converter are .mp3, .wav, .aif, .ogg, .flac etc. While output of all audio format files like .wma or .rm are not supported for input as well as output, Switch Audio Converter can still be used to output them to the player. Fast conversion, ability to automatically download plug-ins and easy to use interface are some of the features that put this software apart from the league.

Xilisoft audio/video converter:
Used to convert audio as well as video files, Xilisoft audio/video convertor is one such utility that can not only be used to convert audio files but video files too! A lethal combination that brings the best of audio as well as video conversion, Xilisoft has a user friendly interface that any computer user can use. The ability to interchangeably convert WMA, WAV, MP3, RA, AAC, AC3, M4A and OGG audio files makes this application a keeper.

SoundConverter:
Simple to use and efficient, SoundConverter is an audio conversion utility that has the ability to quickly convert audio files to other audio file formats. Supporting a huge array of audio file formats, SoundConverter also allows users to tweak other sound features like bit rate, Stereo, sound frequency as well as the VBR of the sound file. Features like drag-drop and sound fade-in make it an efficient Sound Conversion utility to have.

Got any more recommendations for great conversion tools for the Mac? Please share your tips in the comments …

This is a guest post written by Hadar Kadar. Hadar works for Cogniview, the creator of the PDF2XL, the PDF to excel converter.