Microsoft is bringing a powerful media transcoding feature to Advanced Paste in PowerToys v0.89

Fast-paced and innovative development is at the heart of PowerToys, and it’s something we see time and time again when new modules are added -- such as the new ZoomIt tool in the recently released PowerToys v0.88.0.

But it is not just the new PowerToys modules that are noteworthy, there are major updates frequently made to existing utilities. On the cards for PowerToys v0.89 is a significant addition to the Advanced Paste tool which will enable the transcoding of media files.

See also:

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• Microsoft releases KB5050094 update to fix audio issues caused by earlier update
• Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.88.0, killing off Video Conference Mute to make way for a new utility

Advanced Paste has already proved its worth and it has numerous tricks up its sleeve in its current state. But the addition of new media transcoding paste actions will bring new capabilities when working with audio and video that will be warmly and excitedly welcomed by many.

Over on the PowerToys GitHub repository there is a description of the two upcoming new paste actions to Advanced Paste that work with media files:

• Transcode to .mp3 -- Works against both audio and video files. Extracts the audio channel and saves it as an .mp3 file.
• Transcode to .mp4 (H.264/AAC) -- Transcodes video files to use the H.264 video codec and AAC audio codec (if audio is present) and saves the streams to an .mp4 file.

Additionally, metadata will be preserved and -- as far as is possible -- the quality settings of the source media will be maintained.

The feature uses Windows.Media.Transcoding as its backend, and developers envision a couple of potential uses at the moment:

• Extract audio from combined audio/video files to save disk space and to work with audio-only devices.
• Use a more standard container format, video codec and audio codec to allow for compatibility with a wider range of devices.

It is hard to say just when this incredibly useful boost to Advanced Paste will be available to play with, but it is earmarked for inclusion in PowerToys v0.89. You can see more details here.