Curlew is an open source graphical application built around the well known FFmpeg/avconv and Mencoder command-line video/audio conversion utilities to provide users with an easy-to-use video conversion tool.

Key features include the ability to remove or skip certain files while the conversion operation is active. Advanced options are there, but hidden by default to not scare newcomers. They will allow experienced users to set audio bitrate, frequency, channels, volume and codec, set video bitrate, FPS, size, codec, ratio, 2-Pass encoding, or video only conversion, as well as to set font, position, encoding type, delay and harddup options for subtitle files (SSA and ASS are also supported).

You can crop or pad files, split or use copy-only mode, set threads, specify a converter, use source quality, suspend or shutdown the computer after the conversion process, delete or rename files after the conversion process, and many other aspects. The program can also display various information about a multimedia file, such as progress value, duration, estimated size and remaining time, display file previews before the actual conversion, convert only a specific part of a file, add subtitles to video files, and display error details.

Thanks to its clean and straightforward user interface, you can use this application to effortlessly convert video files from one format to another. It can convert between more than 100 different multimedia formats. Curlew is written in Python and GTK+, which means that it will run on any Linux-based operating system that includes these two requirements. It is licensed under the Waqf Public License.

Supported formats include 3GP, AVI, AC3, DivX, Flash video, Blackberry videos, Google WebM, Google Android, H.264, MP4, MPEG2, OGG, Nokia videos, DVD-Video, Neuros videos, PS3 and PSP formats, WMA, iPod format, XviD, Raw DV, Quicktime, WebM, MP3 audio, LG Dare, LG Chocolate, MPEG-4 H.264, Matroska (MKV), and many others.