KOSOVAR1  To Jeff H., chances are you won't know what will happen when you install VideoDrive because the bums who make it routinely refuse to include release notes. That's because the developer wants us to do their dirty work for them and this is really annoying. OK, if VideoDrive were free, I'd have no justification for complaining, but those of us who bought this program, we deserve better! By the way,since I updated to Snow Leopard, the last two or three updates absolutely refuse to convert a movie. I use VisualHub, a program that hasn't been developed in well over a year, to do my conversion. This is a testament to how crappy VideoDrive has become.  
(Version 1.12)

JEFF H.  Just got a brand new mini today running Snow Leopard and Video Drive won't work.

Keeps saying it needs to update Quicktime 7 and then quits.

Stinks...I really love this app.

Anyone have any ideas? Are there alternative apps for SL?

Thanks  
(Version 1.11.3)

TOM08  Works great on my 64bit Snow Leopard installation. Online metadata did work anymore, but an update was released the same day. Nice customer support!.

My only complaint is the quality of the downloaded images: they are ok, but not the best.  
(Version 1.11.3)

KOSOVAR1  To the mental muppet in the room, I expressed annoyance with developers who release tiny, incremental updates to their software practically every week (or twice a week), listing one or two "improvements" like "rounder buttons and other superficial interface elements, without making any significant usability or stability improvements. My complaint about VideoDrive last week is that it simply STOPPED CONVERTING MOVIES and I would like the developer to make it work again--because I paid for it-- not just to announce new shiny buttons or color scheme refinement. Developers like this produce frequent meaningless update announcements just to get more free exposure for their product, but they often won't do the hard work necessary to make a good product that was worthy of what I paid for it. In contrast, I gave the example of the noble VisualHub, which hasn't been updated IN YEARS because the developer discontinued work on it for personal reasons (and who very nobly stopped accepting payment for it because he was no longer doing the work), but IT somehow manages to convert my movies for me, whereas VideoDive will not. In contrast, if VideDrive is supposedly improving their software constantly, why doesn't it work anymore?

I'm sorry that you seem incapable of understanding my point or is it perhaps that you have some other agenda to defend a company's business model and practices or software that you want to refute as being defective for some, just because (you say) it works fine for you.  
(Version 1.10.1)

KOSOVAR1  Here's an update: Since the last ten times (at least) I've tried to convert a movie, VideoDrive 1.10.2 has failed miserably every time AND THIS IS WITH CHAPTERING TURNED OFF as the developer recommended. As described below, I have all components of MacOS 10.6.1 running in 64-bit mode. Nothing has changed in the last six weeks except that VideoDrive stopped converting movies. Amazingly, VisualHub has converted movies just fine and IT has not been updated in years. So as the months pass, apparently there's still no functional version of VideoDrive available for people running Snow Leopard in full 64-bit mode. It's getting to be a real bummer.  
(Version 1.10.1)

KOSOVAR1  The new beta of VideoDrive STILL DOES NOT seem to be compatible with Snow Leopard, at least not if you boot your Mac up with the 64-bit kernel enabled (as I do). I tried a few .avi to .mp4 conversions, formatted for AppleTV and they all hung within seconds. I have the new Apple QuickTime Player installed, but I retained Version 7 of QuickTime Pro during the 10.6 installation.  
(Version 1.10.1)

KOSOVAR1  The new VideoDrive beta still does not work with Snow Leopard.

I installed the today's beta of VideoDrive for Snow Leopard on my new iMac, exactly as Aroona software recommended here on MacUpdate's web ie and on Aroona's own website. I already have the QuickTime 7 components installed as part of Mac OS X 10.6. However, the beta doesn't work. After trying to import two .avi files, I got the following error messages: "QuickTime could not process your video. Please try again: QuickTime Player 7 got an error: Can’t get every chapter of document... (error: -1728) The second error message was "Import of [moviename].avi failed because QuickTime could not process your video. Please try again: QuickTime Player 7 got an error: Can’t get every chapter of document [moviename].avi. (error: -1728)"  
(Version 1.11b)

KOSOVAR1  I can confirm that VideoDrive no longer works now that Snow Leopard has been released. The problems seem to be related to QuickTime and Applescript. Either I get "stack overflow errors" or VideoDrive informs me that QuickTime is busy and that I need to "Quit QuickTime and try again," which I do, but to no avail. Under Leopard, VideoDrive was usually reliable, although slower to process avi files than VisualHub.

AROONA, can you please advise when a fix will be released and thank you in advance for a reply. Without a major fix, VideoDrive is dead in its tracks for those of us who have upgraded to MacOS 10.6.  
(Version 1.10.1)

2SHAE  Just a heads up for those experimenting with Snow Leopard...Videodrive currently doesn't work with Quicktime X.  
(Version 1.10.1)

MC_SHIZZEL  Just updated to version 1.10 and noticed that my copy is no longer registered. I remember reading somewhere when I purchased my license a couple of months back that all updates before version 1.9.x.x would be included for free so does that mean I have to purchase another license since it's no longer 1.9.x.x?

I can't find much information concerning licensing on the developer's website. If I need to buy a new license then I might as well go back to using version 1.9.8.07 because it does the job and I'm not interested in spending more money on features I most likely won't use.  
(Version 1.10)

KOSOVAR1  VideoDrive and Limewire would have to share the prize in any competition for the flood of superficial updates that seem to be rather transparent free extra publicity for these products. (Limewire can be excused for this since it's free.) Now, don't get me wrong; I love VideoDrive, what it does, and usually how it does it...except for the past couple of weeks that is. Since then, VideoDrive stopped working for me completely. It hangs with that endless Technicolor spinning ball, saying that it's trying to register with Growl. (Disabling Growl, restarting the system, or trashing the prefs file doesn't fix this.) I always end up having to force-quit VideoDrive and then go back to my old standby, VisualHub, which, although it is showing its age, still works reliably for simple video conversion tasks. Ironically, there seems to have been no VideoDrive update lately that fixes the problem with freezing. Maybe I'm being punished! ;-)

Any developer who puts out an incremental update to a paid-for program should at least have the professional integrity publish the changes right away so we can judge for ourselves if it's worth the effort to update that program, or if we're just getting smoke blown up our butts.  
(Version 1.10)

KOSOVAR1  It really annoys me that the developer of this application only bothers to send paying customers an updated version only every three days. How lazy! If they were earning their shareware fees, they would provide a new update three times per day, eight days per week. The added benefit for the developer is that that they would get all the extra free advertising of their product with shameless transparency. (We certainly yearn for more of that!) The added benefit for us customers is that we could waste more of our valuable time constantly downloading and installing VideoDrive, like version 1.9.8.02.06.321rc because we all know how irresistible and indispensable those new features are, like the more rounded edges to the button on the thirty-third preference option, or that incredibly important changed word spelling in the help menu, or the new localization into Finno-Ungaric. Besides my minor gripe, I do think this is an excellent program.  
(Version 1.9.8.02)

ESTNYC  I've used this app for several months now, and it's very, very handy. I have a "hacked" Apple TV which can play .avis just fine, as long as the file's embedded within the appropriate wrapper, to fool both iTunes and ATV to play it just fine.

It's getting better and better, but I have two major headaches with it that prevent me from giving it more than three stars. First of all, the Hot Folders feature has never worked for me. I think it's got something to do with my keeping my iTunes folder on an external HD. I can live with that, I don't mind manually queuing up files (although I'd much rather have it done automatically). The biggest drawback for me is that it's just not very good at finding metadata -- that is, the correct names of shows, episode titles, etc. Often it's wrong in what it finds; sometimes hilariously so. It's kind of irritating to be babysitting a conversion process which should run just fine untouched by human hands.

I just figured finding the right info was hard, and I'd just have to put up with it. And then Boxee came along! Boxee does a GREAT job of identifying movie, show, episode information; much much better than VideoDrive. So, I have to wonder, as I yet again change the hilariously misnamed mess VD makes of "House," if Boxee can do it, why can't VideoDrive?  
(Version 1.9.4)

HAGAR06  Great tool, can't wait for better image quality of the covers!  
(Version 1.7.6)

JEFF H.  I just bought this a couple days ago so I will give it more time to prove itself but after these few days my experiences have been mixed.

When it works, it does just what its supposed to do and does it faster than any other method.

But I've had several .mov that once in Front Row will not play and even when I scroll over them Front Row goes into a sort of loop and I must force-quit to get back to my desktop.

Anyone else with this?  
(Version 1.7.6)

2SHAE  I seriously have no regret ever buying this app and it's great to see that it's being tweaked all the time.

It has made my Frontrow experience so much better.  
(Version 1.7.4)

ANDREW SCOTT  I've come to rely on VideoDrive quite a bit since setting up my media centre. I routinely use it seek out cover art for my video collection as well as adding useful metadata.

It does, however, have its idiosyncrasies, mainly to do with the metadata functions. For example, it has a distinct penchant for turning up "Doug's 1st Movie" for many automatic metadata searches. (It did this just now when searching for "Citizen Kane"!) If you re-type the movie title and search again it usually finds the correct movie.

The other thing is an unfortunate interface arrangement. There is a "Set Metadata" button for starting a search on your iTunes selection(s) and below it a "Preferences" button. If you want to switch between manual and automatic metadata you have a trip to the preferences ahead of you. If you just hit the "Set Metadata" button there is no cue to what you'll get—you have to remember what you set your preferences to last time you used it. Surely it would make more sense to have a few more buttons at this top level such as "Auto-set metadata" and "Manually set metadata" (with a brief summary of the settings that will be applied)?

In summary, it's a bit rough around the edges but it's better than doing everything manually in iTunes and I gladly keep using it.  
(Version 1.6.8.01)

T_TOBY  I use this tool regularly and like the new regular updates. Stability and features have been improving steadily. Too bad there still is nu automatic update function.  
(Version 1.6.8)

IJULIA81  The app is improving with every release. I've had problems with a previous version and the developer fixed it within hours. Again.

I collect TV shows and have more than 800 episodes, my two 500 gig external drives are almost full. Even though I could create the reference files myself, I am glad VideoDrive does it for me because it gets REALLY tiresome really soon. In addition, the feature to add the metadata is helpful when tagging episodes with all the necessary information.

The app is fast, stable and highly customizable, depending on what you want. I just need reference files, which are put in my iTunes library which is on an external drive; the originals remain in place on other external drives. It works beautifully.

As to the other comments: The developer never said that every file works on the mobile devices, he even states on the first page on his website: "Reconversion may be required."

And like I have described above, my iTunes library and the files are spread over three (3 !!!) separate drives, soon it will be four. It handles shortcuts without problems, as long as you don't move your files around. Even iTunes itself doesn't like that.

Overall, I think this app is great for everyone who doesn't want to go through the tedious procedure of creating reference files and who wants full metadata on self-added (non-iTunes purchased) files.  
(Version 1.6.8)

WILLIAMD  HINT:

"VideoDrive is compatible with iPod, iPhone, Front Row and AppleTV"

NO, it does NOT allow unconverted movies etc to be played on those devices.

This statement by the developer is a LIE.  
(Version 1.6.7.03)

GARY WHITE  It appears that if you do not store your iTunes Music folder on your home folder, even though my Shortcut works to my external drive, this application barfs.

Pretty crap really if it can't follow a shortcut like every other application.

Very poor  
(Version 1.6.7.03)

NBREGI [PT]  Why buy this app if you can do the same for free??

1. Install Perian

2. Put movie file and subtitle file in the same folder and with the same name (abcd.avi, abcd.srt)

3. Open the movie file (divx) in quicktime

4. Open movie properties

5. Select video, visual specifications, and change transparencies to composite

6. Save as reference file

And Voilá!!

You have working subtitles in your movie.

But if you’re lazy, this app do all this steps for you.  
(Version 1.6.7.01)

PEHPSI.3  A very handy tip, thanks!

I only have a few vids anyway, so there's no point in me buying a program like this, even though it looks great.

James.  
(Version 1.6.5)

GCOGHILL  If you just want to get a reference movie file into iTunes, open the movie in QuickTime and then do a Save As… and select the 'reference movie' option. Add this new reference movie file to iTunes.

Install the Perian plugin for Quicktime to play additional movie formats.

You'll have to set all the info manually, so VideoDrive might help here. Also helps with automating the procedure.  
(Version 1.6.4)

RAZOU  The big difference between MetaX and VideoDrive is the number of video formats supported. MetaX only supports MP4, while VideoDrive supports all current formats. So, if you don't want to reconvert videos, VideoDrive is a better solution. Personally, I don't want to spend hours converting videos to watch them on Front Row, just because iTunes is so selective.

It would be cool if Actors, Producers, etc are supported, but apparently this is only possible for MP4 videos.   
(Version 1.6.4)

AROONA SOFTWARE  The current version of VideoDrive (version 1.6.3.03) is fully compatible with the newly released versions of iTunes 8 and QuickTime 7.5.5. Tiger users are advised to install VideoDrive 1.6.2 available at www.aroona.net.  
(Version 1.6.3.03)

TUCKBODI  Hmmm, first off, I always find it suspicious when there's so many good reviews and they promote features. You think the dev came up with a program to create user names for him?

I downloaded this app and have to say it's kinda lacking. I guess it's a plus that they combine the two steps of adding to iTunes and meta tagging into one step. At $20 I'd expect it to at least tag the movie rating and it'd be nice for it to display movie poster size (so you know the quality of art (important for your AppleTV)) and it'd also be nice if it could tag actors, directors, producers and chapters like some free apps do (like MetaX). And while MetaX may have some kinks/bugs before I declare it the ultimate tool it too combines the two steps into one (tagging and importing) and like I said...it's free.  
(Version 1.6.3.03)

MACSOLU  This constant updating is getting a little ridiculous...

Is version 1.6.3.03.1 soon to arrive?  
(Version 1.6.3.03)

RAZOU  Finally a solution for subtitles in Frontrow! this feature alone rules! I could not use Frontrow since leopard came out because the screen went black as soon as subtitles kicked in. But this new feature is awesome, works flawlessly in my first tests  
(Version 1.6.2)

PAUL69DRV  Great app! Love the new hot folders!  
(Version 1.6)

MIKE360  This app is absolutely the best. Works great to manage large video collections. Drag videos to the app and they appear in iTunes, completely tagged and with an image!!!

Great support too: I had some questions and they answer back within a couple of hours. My feature suggestions appeared in a new version only 2 days later.

One cool feature, that would make it a killer app is hot folders. They mailed me back saying it will be added soon. Can't wait!!  
(Version 1.5.10)

TIAGO  The irony in this whole story is that users who pirate the software will certainly find a way to do so again and again and again (as they always do).

I agree that Aroona Software has the right to protect its product, in order to assure future development of VideoDrive, but there's a fine line here that must never be crossed... Customer experience should never be sacrified.

As DRAW said, Mac users can't stand MS-like behavior. That's why OS X does not annoy the user with registration or activation issues, unlike Windows...

I guess if this is a one time thing, it's ok... But this is it... If this happens another time, I think the company should rethink its registration strategy.  
(Version 1.5.10)

DIAGO1969  This program does exactly what it says it will do and does it quite nicely! Remember, this is a program under development, and the developer is updating it quite quickly, which is far better than many others.

As for the new keying system, everyone should the understand the need for the developer to protect their investment, just as any of us end-users would protect our investment in our Mac's!

One last sentence to the guys at Aroona:

Keep making VideoDrive better and I'll be happy to get a new key whenever you feel the need for it!

P.S. If they were acting like MickeySoft, then it would cost you $99.00, take 100 times the space, be full of security holes and never completely work right!  
(Version 1.5.10)

DRAW  >To avoid loss of productivity time keep Aroona Software's upgrade philosophy in mind before you try to upgrade to 1.5.10.

"VideoDrive will expire when upgrading to version 1.5.10 from earlier versions. Users will have to re-apply for a registration key. Please email us your current registration key with your paypal email address and we will send you a new registration key free of charge.

When starting version 1.5.10 for the first time, VideoDrive will propose to create a mail message for you. Once you receive your new registration code, you can enter it in the VideoDrive Preferences, together with your Paypal email address.

We are forced to make these changes to accomodate to the growing user base of VideoDrive and to guarantee the integrity of current and future personal licenses. For security reasons, we have to send out the new registration codes on a per-request basis. We apologize for this inconvenience. "

>I wrote them that I dislike such uncomfortable updating procedure to get their next beta version 1.5.10 (decrementing amount of bugs but still no major improvements in workflow).

Please judge their Email answer for yourself (read their last threaten sentence!):

"Your request for a new key has been received and will be handled as soon as

possible. Due to possible integrity violations, this process can take up to

12 hours.

We understand this process does not offer the most optimal customer

experience. However, we are forced to take these actions as the result of

users who use illegal methods to obtain user licenses, compromising the

integrity of the personal license system.

We like to remind you that you are not forced to upgrade to this new version

and that your current installation continues to work. Aroona Software is

committed to enhancing VideoDrive continuously and free of charge for

current customers. We believe this offers a better customer experience

rather than keeping all updates for a paying 2.0 release. If we receive more

complaints about our update path, we will definitely consider revising our

policy."

> Trying to continue with 1.5.9 shows the message: "Trial version expired".

One last sentence to the guys at Aroona:

Please handle your customers/beta testers with more respect and politeness! Mac users don't support M$-like behaviour.  
(Version 1.5.9)

2SHAE  Really like the app, but it really really needs an auto-update with all these updates coming out.

If I didn't check this website I'd still be using version 1.3  
(Version 1.5.9)

TIAGO  This seriously needs sparkle support to handle the update process... I'm getting nuts with the quasi-daily updates released by the developer...  
(Version 1.5.8.04)

DRAW  VD1.5.7.01 starts up with AppleScript Error "sh: /Applications/: Is a directory (1)".

German OSX 10.5.2  
(Version 1.5.7.01)

IJULIA81  I love this application! Finally I can manage ALL my TV Shows and Movies within iTunes and the developers are great as well!

I had questions and some problems while importing and they got back to me within hours and even released an updated version of Video Grabber the same day, while checking back with me if my issues were resolved! Great support.  
(Version 1.5.7.01)

REVCO  "Compatibility: improved Growl support. Systems without Growl displayed an error message in some cases at launch time."

Thank you!  
(Version 1.5.7.01)

MICWARE  Buggy version with my licence number. Impossible to enter it even if i am a regular licence user, the button is grayed and i cant import new movies in iTune. WHERE IS YOUR PREF FILE TO DELETE IT ?  
(Version 1.5.6)

LARGEEMU  Wow... look at the poll below. Each of these features is amazing.. how do I decide? Great app.  
(Version 1.5.4)

PETER25  Great app: far more features than you expect at first sight. And lots of updates with new features too.

This has made my day!  
(Version 1.5.1)

ZX  WRNING!!!! Demo clearly indicates that you can modify 12 videos for free!

Not only that this app deleted my Metadata...It replaced my Metadata/description of the file with a 'Added by VideoDrive (unregistered)!

THERE IS NO WAY TO GO BACK UNLESS YOU PAY FOR IT!  
(Version 1.5.1)

2SHAE  This really is a great app and if you use Frontrow a lot with avi movies this is perfect.

It shows all your movies like the iTunes trailer section.

Bought it 2 weeks ago when it was still version 1.3 and it's good to see the developer(s) are making better and updated version so quickly  
(Version 1.5.1)

MIKE_360  This should be build right in iTunes!

If you want to have a video collection that looks like the videos you purchase in the iTunes Store, or the movie trailers you see in Front Row, then this tool is great. It fills in a description and adds cover art to movies and even TV shows and puts them in the right category.

I don't have an iPod but VideoDrive offers to convert incompatible videos for that purpose too. If you want to watch your videos in iTunes, Front Row or stream it over the network to another iTunes library, you DO NOT need conversion! And that's what it's all about!

Finally, I have my Front Row the way it was intended!!  
(Version 1.4.3)

WILLIAMD  NOT FOR IPOD.

DOES NOT ALLOW PLAYING OF THOSE file types on the iPod.

iPod will NOT play those file types without CONVERSION !

iTunes-ONLY product!  
(Version 1.4.3)

::MILE::  This sounds really promising, but I'm encountering some strange problem: I was trying to import the last three episodes of a TV show and everything seemed to work fine -- but when I checked in iTunes only one was (correctly) placed in "TV shows", the other two ended up in "Movies"...!? Makes no sense and I can't get it right, it seems...! Tried importing the files separately as well as a single folder containing all three -- the result is always the same...! :((( Any ideas or suggestions...?!  
(Version 1.4.1)

ALAN_G  If you just want to watch .avi videos via Front Row..just install the latest copy of Perian (donationware)...then drag all your .avi files into your Movies folder...launch Front Row..navigate to to your Movies folder and enjoy!  
(Version 1.4.1)

KOSOVAR1  i'd warn buyers to beware this app until they have proven it does what it says, which may not be entirely possible if some features are crippled until AFTER you've paid for it. The reason I say this is that we are told that on MacUpdate that "VideoDrive makes it easy to add videos to iTunes without converting them or losing quality." The developer's website also backs that up. But if you squint at the tiny text on the VideoDrive webpage, the following statement: "(*) reconversion in iTunes may be required to copy videos to iPod, iPhone and AppleTV. Consult the support page for more technical information." Right away this indicates to me that something is wrong here and people should not reward software developers for over-hyping their products' capabilities and promising things that may not be real. I think we've all been burned that way.

I, for one, am going to test this product and definitely buy it if it does all that the developer promises up front. If not, you will hear from me again in this forum.  
(Version 1.4.1)

HAGAR06  Very handy tool, I finally have all my tv shows in iTunes! This tool is great in what it does, and it offers enough options to customize my videos the way I want it.  
(Version 1.3.3)

REVCO  All I get when I launch the app is "Where is GrowlHelperApp.app?". Useless.  
(Version 1.3.3)

MACFEVRE  There is not one thing that this application does that you can't do yourself, albeit taking up all your time. That being said, it's brilliant in what it does do, easily and quickly. As such, I have quickly bought the thing.

It's been integrated in my workflow, and has changed the way I store my media, since it simply creates the reference files and tags them by batches. Can't wait to find out what's in store for the future.  
(Version 1.3)

LEMMING  Awesome video file tagging app. I use it to tag my movies and TV shows to be watched with Front Row on my Mac Mini connected to my TV.

I like it better than MetaX. VideoDrive is smarter about grabbing movie and TV descriptions. It supports multiple video file types and it has many tweakable options to match the type of meta-data tagging you want to do.

Development has been rapid and bugs seems to be quickly fixed. I like the interface but the app doesn't yet have drag 'n' drop capability. This feature definitely needs to be added.

Overall, this is a very promising and useful app.  
(Version 1.3)