AWS MediaConvert is AWS's current-generation video transcoding service — recommended over Elastic Transcoder for all new projects. It supports broadcast-grade features: HDR (HLG, HDR10, Dolby Vision), advanced audio (Dolby Atmos), closed captions, SCTE-35 markers, DRM, and frame-accurate cutting. It's designed for media companies, OTT platforms, and teams with serious encoding requirements.
ChangeThisFile is designed for the other 95% of use cases: a developer who needs to convert a MOV to MP4, extract audio from a video, or output WebM for browser compatibility. Zero AWS infrastructure required. POST a file to a single endpoint, receive the converted file. Works from the command line or any HTTP client without an SDK.
Quick verdict
Building media infrastructure on AWS with HLS, HDR, DRM, or closed caption requirements? MediaConvert is purpose-built for this. ChangeThisFile doesn't support these features.
Need to convert MP4 to WebM, normalize camera uploads, or extract audio? ChangeThisFile — the setup is one API key, the integration is one POST request.
Outside the AWS ecosystem? ChangeThisFile requires no cloud provider account. MediaConvert requires AWS credentials, IAM, and S3.
Prototyping or budget-constrained? ChangeThisFile's free tier is 1,000 conversions/month with no credit card. MediaConvert charges from first use with no free tier.
Pricing comparison
| Plan | ChangeThisFile | AWS MediaConvert |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1,000 conversions/month (no card) | No free tier |
| Entry paid | $29/mo — 10,000 conversions | ~$0.0075–0.024/min (Basic tier; Professional higher) |
| $99/mo equiv. | $99 Startup — 50,000 conversions | ~4,100–13,200 encoding minutes |
| High volume | $499 Scale / $1,999 Growth | Per-minute pricing scales linearly |
| Billing model | Per conversion (flat) | Per output minute (Basic vs Professional tier) |
| Additional costs | None | S3 storage, S3 data transfer, CloudFront egress |
MediaConvert has two pricing tiers: Basic (standard codecs) and Professional (HEVC, HDR, Dolby). Professional rates are 3–4x more expensive per minute. ChangeThisFile is flat per conversion regardless of duration or codec. For a workflow with variable-length videos in standard formats, ChangeThisFile is predictably cheaper. For broadcast-quality HEVC or Dolby Atmos output, MediaConvert is the only option.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ChangeThisFile | AWS MediaConvert |
|---|---|---|
| Free API tier | Yes — 1,000/mo, no card | No |
| AWS account required | No | Yes — plus IAM, S3 |
| HLS/DASH output | No | Yes |
| HDR (HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG) | No | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos / Dolby Digital | No | Yes (Professional tier) |
| Closed captions (SRT, TTML, etc.) | No | Yes |
| DRM (SPEKE) | No | Yes |
| Format conversion (MP4↔WebM, etc.) | Yes — 690 routes, FFmpeg-backed | Yes |
| Audio extraction | Yes | Yes |
| Synchronous API | Yes — file returned immediately | No — async, S3 output |
| SDK required | No — curl/fetch/requests work directly | AWS SDKs required |
| Non-video file types | Yes — 530+ routes for images, docs, etc. | No |
API and developer experience
ChangeThisFile has no SDK requirement. One endpoint, one POST, file back.
curl -X POST https://changethisfile.com/v1/convert \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ctf_sk_your_key" \
-F "file=@input.mov" \
-F "target=mp4" \
--output output.mp4
Source format is auto-detected from the filename. The response contains the converted file directly.
AWS MediaConvert is a sophisticated API with significant setup requirements. Before running your first job: create an AWS account, configure IAM with appropriate MediaConvert permissions, create an S3 bucket for inputs and outputs, upload your input file to S3, create a job template (codec, container, output settings), submit the job via SDK or CLI, poll for job completion, then download output from S3.
This setup is appropriate for a production media pipeline. For a developer who just needs a file in a different format, it's weeks of setup overhead.
When to choose which
| Use case | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Broadcast/OTT with HLS, HDR, DRM requirements | AWS MediaConvert |
| Closed captions or subtitle handling | AWS MediaConvert |
| AWS-native pipeline with S3/CloudFront | AWS MediaConvert |
| Dolby Atmos or Dolby Vision output | AWS MediaConvert |
| Frame-accurate video cutting | AWS MediaConvert |
| Convert MP4 to WebM for web playback | ChangeThisFile |
| Normalize camera uploads to MP4 | ChangeThisFile |
| Extract audio track from video | ChangeThisFile |
| Non-AWS stack | ChangeThisFile |
| Free tier or low-volume prototyping | ChangeThisFile |
AWS MediaConvert is genuinely excellent for what it does — broadcast and OTT-grade video encoding with deep codec control and AWS service integration. If you're not building a media company on AWS, it's massive overkill. ChangeThisFile handles format conversion with one POST request, a free tier, and zero cloud infrastructure. Get your free API key and run a conversion today — no AWS account needed.