okay, tried Video Monkey, Adapter and Handbrake.
Handbrake still provides superior quality and better file sizes.
I think I like VideoMonkey's UI better in that it makes it quite clear with the slider how big your end file will be (size), but I didn't like having to type in the frame size since it doesn't have a way to automatically jump to native resolution in the event you want a 1080p file that is iOS compatible (say, for a new iPad). The default settings for iTunes formats max out at 720p no matter how far you drag the slider, and discovering the optimized frame size requires selecting a non-iTunes format....then dragging the slider to see what the frame size should be...then going back to an iTunes format and manually typing that frame size in. Whereas, Handbreak defaults to native resolution in its default setting "Normal". I set the Average bitrate to 3500-4000kbps and hit Start and I'm done.
I was able to create a conversion of one of my videos with the same perceived video quality in a roughly 20% smaller file because there is more control over the process in Handbrake.
Also, Handbreak took about 60% less time (1.5 hours compared to 3.5) to do the conversion (both apps mostly maxed out the quad cores, though VideoMonkey's ffmpeg worked my CPU harder for some reason). VideoMoneky requires more steps and takes longer to create the file, which visually bore no superiority to the Handbrake conversion. I think the winner is clear.
As for Adapter....it said the same video file that was fine in Handbrake and VideoMonkey was "Incompatible". That said, it had all of the right encoding settings and options..though they were buried under some rather ugly drop down menus. I couldn't test the speed because of the incompatibility error, so I can't comment on how fast it would have gone. All things being said, I'll try a couple more conversions, but I suspect that I'll be sticking with Handbrake and I'd recommend others do the same.
