Convert music, videos, pictures and ISOs with Format Junkie, powerful all-in-one utility

Submitted by razvi on November 9, 2012 - 19:11

The internets are filled with numerous file formats, such as images, video clips, music tracks, etc, items that can be dealt with (in the sense of playing them) via various file handlers, like VLC, Eye of GNOME, Rhythmbox, etc.

Nevertheless, in our rich content world, the user is sometimes faced with situations demanding the same content, yet in different "shapes", essentially, "demanding" a converter application.

Ubuntu Software Center contains various tools, necessary to convert files (usually via one-sided utilities), such as audio converters (useful to convert audio files), image converters (needed to convert images), video converters (suitable to convert video clips), etc.

Format Junkie is a versatile file converter, presenting itself as a global all-in-one converter, basically, gathering, under a singular "roof", four different file converters.

Essentially, the handy utility contains audio, video, image and ISO converters, functionalities exposed on its toolbar.

Opening Format Junkie, presents the user a clean double-centered interface: on the top area, there is the toolbar (properly exposing its categories with big-sized colored icon) and, on the main area, the conversion progress is displayed, areas strengthened by the right-side "helper" (featuring commonly accessed buttons).

Format Junkie's usage is as simple as identifying the needed action type (such as image or video conversion, etc) and clicking its related category, followed by clicking the Add button (in order to select a specific file) or Add Folder (useful to select a folder, containing multiple files, files simultaneously converted, without extra per-file clicks); finally, set the Output Format and hit the Start Converting button.

The just-converted files can be 1-click away accessed under the FJOutput folder (clicking the bottom-left /home/...,FJOutput button, opens the FJOutput folder).

The supported file formats are:

  • Audio: mp3, wav, ogg, wma, flac, m4r, aac, m4a, mp2
  • Video: avi, ogv, vob, mp4, 3gp, wmv, mkv, mpg, mov, flv, webm
  • Image: jpg, png, ico, bmp, svg, tif, pcx, pdf, tga, pnm
  • ISO: files-to-ISO, ISO-to-CSO, CSO-to-ISO

The above mentioned file formats bear a viceversa approach, meaning, Format Junkie supports converting an mp3 to aac, an aac to mp3, etc.

By default, Format Junkie, after a file is selected and the Start Converting button is pressed, only converts the file (without extra post-conversion actions), nevertheless, clicking on the After Conversion area, summons a group of useful actions, such as Shutdown, Restart, Close Program, etc.

Along with the mentioned intuitive interface and rich toolbar, the useful conversion utility comes with a filled-with-functionalities Preferences dialog, consequently, navigating to Format Junkie-->Edit-->Preferences, exposes a categorized window, featuring:

  • General (option to automatically open the output folder, quality of conversion, --value 100 by default--, change the output folder, enable/disable desktop notifications, countbadge, Unity launcher progressbar, etc)
  • Audio (support to adjust audio bitrate, sample rate, audio channels, volume, terminology clearly explained with easily-graspable terms)
  • Video (ability to modify video bitrate, frame rate, crop width and height, resize, terms explained, too)
  • Image (in-depth tweaking of width, height, number of colors, comment, crop width and height)

Unity integration is definitely a part of Format Junkie, meaning, the tool comes with enhanced Unity launcher quicklist, Unity launcher progressbar (displaying the progress of the in-progress converted file), Unity launcher countbadge, desktop notification (notifying when a conversion is completed) and full HUD support (hitting the keyboard's Alt key and typing, for instance, add, displays useful Format Junkie actions).


The mentioned features are available by default, yet, under the Advanced category, the user is able to add subtitles to AVI files (in order to benefit the subtitle approach, mencoder must be installed, available via Ubuntu Software Center)

How do we install Format Junkie 1.07?
Add the following official PPA (Precise, Quantal, Raring)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:format-junkie-team/release

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install formatjunkie

Bugs can be reported on https://bugs.launchpad.net/format-junkie

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