ByteShift Media Converter

A screen reader-friendly desktop application for converting audio and video files between different formats. Built with Python and wxPython, using FFmpeg for media conversion.

Features

• Convert between a wide range of video and audio formats
• Native Windows controls for optimal accessibility
• Universal screen reader support
• Keyboard shortcuts for all major functions
• Detailed format descriptions and guidance
• Progress tracking during conversion
• Error handling with accessible notifications
• Help system with keyboard navigation guide

Supported Formats

Video Formats

• 3GP (.3gp) - Mobile device video format
• AVI (.avi) - Microsoft's Audio Video Interleave format
• FLV (.flv) - Flash Video format
• M4V (.m4v) - Apple's video format
• MKV (.mkv) - Matroska Video format
• MOV (.mov) - Apple QuickTime movie format
• MP4 (.mp4) - Most widely used video format
• MPEG/MPG (.mpeg/.mpg) - Standard video format
• TS (.ts) - Transport Stream format
• VOB (.vob) - DVD Video Object format
• WEBM (.webm) - Open web video format
• WMV (.wmv) - Windows Media Video format

Audio Formats

• AAC (.aac) - Advanced Audio Coding format
• AC3 (.ac3) - Dolby Digital audio format
• AIFF (.aiff) - Apple's uncompressed audio format
• AMR (.amr) - Adaptive Multi-Rate audio
• FLAC (.flac) - Free Lossless Audio Codec
• M4A (.m4a) - AAC audio in MP4 container
• MP2 (.mp2) - Broadcasting audio format
• MP3 (.mp3) - Most popular compressed audio format
• OGG (.ogg) - Free and open-source audio format
• OPUS (.opus) - Modern audio format for streaming
• WAV (.wav) - Standard uncompressed audio format
• WMA (.wma) - Windows Media Audio format

Installation

Option 1: Download Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

1. Go to the Releases page
2. Download the latest release:
   • ByteShiftMediaConverter-setup.exe for a full installation
   • ByteShiftMediaConverter-portable.zip for portable use

Option 2: Build from Source

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Orinks/ByteShift-Media-Converter.git
cd ByteShift-Media-Converter

2. Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended):

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install the required dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Install FFmpeg:
   • Windows: Download from FFmpeg website and add to PATH
   • Linux: sudo apt-get install ffmpeg
   • macOS: brew install ffmpeg

Usage

1. Launch ByteShift Media Converter
2. Select an input file using the "Browse" button or press Ctrl+O
3. Choose the desired output format from the dropdown menu
4. Review the format description for compatibility information
5. Click "Convert" or press Ctrl+C to start the conversion
6. Select the output location when prompted
7. Wait for the conversion to complete

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+O: Open file selection dialog
• Ctrl+C: Start conversion
• F1: Show help with keyboard navigation guide
• Tab: Navigate between controls
• Space/Enter: Activate buttons and controls
• Escape: Close dialogs

Accessibility Features

• Native Windows controls for optimal screen reader compatibility
• Full keyboard navigation support
• Clear focus indicators
• Descriptive format information
• Detailed status announcements
• Help system with navigation guide
• Standard Windows keyboard behavior

Requirements

• Windows 10 or later
• No additional software required - all codecs included!

Project Structure

media_converter/
├── converter.py     # Core conversion logic
├── gui.py          # User interface implementation
├── main.py         # Application entry point
└── requirements.txt # Project dependencies

Error Handling

The application includes comprehensive error handling for:

• Unsupported file formats
• Invalid input files
• Failed conversions
• FFmpeg errors

All errors are reported through native Windows dialogs for optimal accessibility.

License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

You are free to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under the following terms:

• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
• NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

For more details, see the LICENSE file or visit the CC BY-NC 4.0 license page.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. Make sure to read the license terms before contributing.

Acknowledgments

• FFmpeg for media conversion capabilities
• wxPython for the accessible GUI framework