{rw_text}Software reviewed in this article:

Gold Audio Extractor by SuperEZ Media

Version reviewed:

v5.2.9

Supported OS:

Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win7

Price:

$29.95 (USD) but you can get it for free for a limited time at Giveawayoftheday.com!

Software description as per the developer:

Gold Audio Extractor is a one-for-all solution to convert video files of MPEG, AVI, MP4, SWF, FLV, WMV, RMVB, ASF, MOV, 3GP, etc. into MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG AAC, M4A, FLAC and MP2 files. In order to bring you most convenient format settings, the program provides all commonly used presets to easily customize the output quality. Batch conversion is also supported to save you much time. With the advanced audio converting engine, Gold Audio Extractor processes conversion of the highest speed and quality.

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• Straightforward and easy to use.
• Can do video and audio conversions.
• Supports multiple input and output formats.
• Supports multiple electronic devices, such as the iPad.
• Supports batch processing and drag + drop.
• Noticeably fact conversion speeds.

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{rw_bad}

• Users are unable to manually customize output file settings.
• Users cannot resize program window.
• Users cannot “pause” file conversions.
• No ability to make use of multiple CPU cores (if applicable).

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{rw_score}
{for=”Ease of Use” value=”7″}The program itself is fairly easy to use but there are multiple annoyances such as not having the ability to manually customize output file settings, not being able to resize the program window, not being able to “pause” file conversions, and the developer is not too clear on all the supported input formats.
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{for=”Performance” value=”9″}Conversion quality is fairly good and conversions are fairly fast. The only real problem is the program can’t make use of dual cores (if applicable) so it lacks in conversion speed compared to other programs that do make use of dual cores (if applicable).
{/for}
{for=”Usefulness” value=”7″}I can see a good amount of people finding this useful.
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{for=”Price” value=”7″}$29.95 is not bad of a price. However, the developer should consider pricing the product at $20-25 to be more competitive against more feature filled rivals.
{/for}
{for=”Final Score” value=”7″}
{/for}
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{rw_verdict}[tup]
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Although the developer markets the product as an “audio extractor”, Gold Audio Extractor is a program that can be considered a video and audio file converter – it can do video -> video, video -> audio, and audio -> audio conversions.

This is what Gold Audio Extractor’s main program window looks like:

Using GAE (Gold Audio Extractor) is very easy:

• Add the file you want to converter (GAE supports video and audio files as input since it can do video -> video, video -> audio, and audio -> audio conversions). Batch processing and drag + drop is supported.
• Select the output file format you want to convert your files to. (If converting multiple files note that all the input files will be converted to the selected output file.)
• Select from the preset output file settings.
• Start converting.
• Wait.
• Profit – enjoy.

Unfortunately, the developer is a little bit vague on all the supported input formats. The best information I could find on supported input formats was from GAE’s homepage:

Supports input video formats of MPEG, AVI, MP4, SWF, FLV, WMV, RMVB, ASF, MOV, 3GP, etc. Supports input audio formats of WAV, MP3, MP2, WMA, OGG, AAC, M4A and FLAC. Supports output audio formats of WAV, MP3, MP2, WMA, OGG, AAC, M4A and FLAC.

These are all the supported output formats/profiles:

When selecting output formats/profiles, you are given the ability to select from preset output file settings:

These preset settings allow you to control things like bitrate, codec, video resolution, audio frequency, mono/stereo, etc. Unfortunately, however, unlike other converters where you are typically allowed you manually change the output file settings, with GAE you are not allowed to manually change the output file settings – you can only use what is available via the preset settings. The good thing is, though, there are quite a few preset settings to select from; however the amount of preset settings doesn’t make up for the lack of manual customization abilities.

Once you start converting, you have the option to set your computer to automatically shutdown after conversions have finished, so you can leave GAE to convert overnight or while you are away if you wish.

In terms of performance, GAE pleasantly surprised me. The computer resource usage were about average (~50% CPU, ~50 MB RAM) so that was not what surprised me. Rather, the conversion speed is what surprised me. I ran a little test, and GAE was doing the same file (a WMV -> MP4) conversion 2-5 minutes faster than iWisoft Video Converter and FormatFactory. I was so surprised at this result that I went back and double/triple checked it and the results were the same.

Last but not least, I think GAE can be improved drastically if the developer adds more features to it. In other words, as a simple converter it does just fine, but other converters reign supreme to GAE because they have more features like editing, trimming, ability to manually customize output settings, ability to pause conversions, etc.

This review was conducted on a laptop running Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. The specs of the laptop are as follows: 3GB of RAM, a Radeon HD 2600 512MB graphics card, and an Intel T8300 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor.

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{rw_verdict2}Gold Audio Extractor is a good program – thumbs up. However, the only real advantage GAE offers over other rival programs is conversion speed; otherwise other software like iWisoft Video Converter and FormatFactory are more mature and will serve you better. So consider what you value the most in a converter and pick the one you like – personally I would still stick to iWisoft Video Converter or FormatFactory.
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