Simple Media Encoder icon Simple Media Encoder

Convert audio and video on your Mac

Drop files, pick format and quality, get a new file. macOS 14 or later.

Download v2.748

Universal (Apple Silicon and Intel). Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. About 3 MB.

  1. Download the zip and unzip it.
  2. Drag Simple Media Encoder into Applications.
  3. Open it from Applications or Spotlight.
  • Audio and video conversion with a batch queue
  • LUFS and dBFS targeting for broadcast and streaming
  • Presets, metadata, and Finder Open With
  • Writes next to the source file, or any folder you can write to

Core capabilities

Audio conversion

Output WAV, AIFF, CAF (PCM), or M4A (AAC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2, ALAC). MP3 is input-only.

Video conversion

Output MP4 or MOV with H.264, H.265, or ProRes. ProRes is MOV-only. Frame rates from 23.976 to 60, including 29.97 and 59.94.

Professional audio

Integrated LUFS (−40 to −10) or dBFS peak (−20.0 to −0.2), ITU-R BS.1770 K-weighting, brick-wall near −0.2 dBFS.

Smart handling

Drag & drop support, multi-file processing, and seamless Finder integration.

Batch processing

Queue multiple files for background conversion with progress tracking.

Metadata handling

Preserve or modify file metadata, creation dates, and filename conventions for professional workflows.

Native performance

Swift 6 + SwiftUI + AVFoundation. Sandbox off — output can go anywhere your Mac account can write.

Supported formats

Audio input

Containers the app accepts
WAV AIFF M4A MP3 FLAC CAF AAC
Decode uses macOS AVFoundation. Other audio files the system can open may also work.

Video input

Containers the app accepts
MP4 MOV M4V AVI MKV
M4V is input-only. Decode uses AVFoundation (H.264, H.265, ProRes, and whatever else the system can open).

Audio output

WAV (PCM) AIFF (PCM) CAF (PCM) M4A (AAC / HE-AAC / HE-AAC v2 / ALAC)
No MP3 encoder. AAC and HE-AAC are capped at 48 kHz.

Video output

Containers
MP4 MOV
Codecs
H.264 H.265/HEVC ProRes 422 ProRes 4444
ProRes is MOV-only. H.264/H.265 output is progressive. Quality is CRF 5–35 (hidden for ProRes).
Constraints that matter: MP3 is input-only. ProRes cannot go into MP4 — the app switches to H.264 if you try. AAC / HE-AAC / HE-AAC v2 will not encode at 96 kHz (clamped to 48 kHz). There is no YADIF deinterlace pass; interlaced sources are field-blended on decode.

How it works

  1. Add one or more audio/video files (drag & drop or Finder → Open With).
  2. Choose container, codec, CRF or audio settings, and where to write (next to the source, or a folder you pick).
  3. Click Convert. Files queue in the background; you can stop a job mid-run.
  4. Open the converted files when done.

Technical specifications

Audio processing

  • LUFS: −40 to −10 (1 LU steps). Presets: EBU R128 −23, ATSC A/85 −24, Talkover Bed −33, Spotify −14, YouTube −13
  • dBFS: Peak target −20.0 to −0.2 (0.1 steps). Brick-wall limiter near −0.2 dBFS
  • K-weighting: ITU-R BS.1770 (≈38 Hz high-pass + 1681 Hz high-shelf)
  • Gating: Absolute −70 LUFS and relative −10 LU below ungated

File handling

  • Input: Drag & drop, file picker, Finder Open With (multiple files)
  • Output: Next to each source, or a folder you choose. Overwrite warn before replacing a source
  • Metadata: Title, artist, album, and creation-date options applied to the output
  • Sandbox: Off. Writes anywhere your Mac account can write

Requirements

  • OS: macOS 14 Sonoma or later
  • CPU: Universal — Apple Silicon and Intel
  • Engine: AVAssetReader / AVAssetWriter only
  • Batch: Queue with progress; Stop cancels the current job

Video

  • Frame rates: Source, 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
  • Conversion: Duplicate or drop frames. No optical-flow interpolation
  • Scale: Exact source aspect ratio. No crop, letterbox, or pillarbox
  • Resolution: Source, 720p, 1080p, or 4K

Get started

Download v2.748 Install guide

Unzip, drag to Applications, open. Signed and notarized — Gatekeeper should accept it.

SHA-256 of the v2.748 zip: 6819a9030172fb9639f47f377bd3148bfafa3cde3d6bf7ddbc59ea7ba4999342. Check with shasum -a 256 "Simple Media Encoder.zip". Signed with Developer ID, Team ID 5UYT7J7LZ2.

Free to use under a proprietary license. Resale and redistribution are not permitted. Read the license