vhupdaterTechspansion, Tyler Loch's now-defunct company that created VisualHub, has released a small update to the software to allow it to run properly -- for the moment -- under OS X Lion.

VisualHub was a very popular OS X application to convert video files to any number of formats, including optimizing video for iTunes, WMV, or Flash. In 2008, Tyler closed the company and stopped selling or supporting VisualHub or Techspansion's other products.

When VisualHub broke with the release of Lion, Loch released a very slight tweak that would allow VisualHub to work once more, but required some technical knowledge to implement. Techspansion's old payment processor, Kagi, began selling a $5, unauthorized, Lion updater for VisualHub that implemented the same fix, but in a much more user-friendly manner.

Loch was very upset with this unauthorized use of his code, and was especially displeased because Kagi used his old customer records to email every user who had purchased VisualHub through them. Once Loch expressed his unhappiness, Kagi stopped selling the update and Loch released the last official update for VisualHub on his website, with this note:

It's been nearly three years since Techspansion closed and these programs were last maintained.

VisualHub and AudialHub are no longer supported. And they won't last forever. Whatever breaks from here on out will be the end, sadly. I hope this update squeezes a little more life out of these two apps for you.

Loch does continue to write Mac apps, with his app FlashFrozen, which notifies users when Flash uses too much of their CPU power, available on the Mac App Store for $0.99.

Top Rated Comments

kolax Avatar
176 months ago
The drag drop and no fuss with VisualHub is why I still use it. I dislike HandBrake's queuing system, and its clunky interface.

Never had audio sync issues with VisualHub either. I wish he'd keep working on it..
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pspwesty Avatar
176 months ago
any recommendations to video converters that are still being maintained & updated that actually work well? handbrake also stopped @ v.0.9 something

=/

Handbrake is still actively being developed. They have released nightly builds for a good bit of time now. These come w/ the caveat of not guaranteed to be stable, but I've had no issues w/ using them. Here's the build history: https://build.handbrake.fr/builds and here is the download page for the nightlies: https://build.handbrake.fr/
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mscriv Avatar
176 months ago
So instead with other phones, mp3 players & tablet, you need to convert every movie first to copy & play on an iOS device , but there is no software on osx to do that?

There's plenty of software to do that. VisualHub just happens to be a program that several people like using as it has a great UI and is fairly simply. Unfortunately, the programs creator decided to move onto other things and thus will not be supporting it any more. As others have mentioned in the thread Handbrake is another popular program that is still being developed and there are countless other options too.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mike457 Avatar
176 months ago
Handbrake does get regularly updated if you go for the nightly builds (https://build.handbrake.fr/). While these are not officially supported, they work well and often add features. I only download when the sun is present! :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeekLawyer Avatar
176 months ago
That's really decent of him to offer the fix.

I've found nothing (yet) that replaces the ease of use and functionality of VisualHub. Though, to be honest, with it working so well until Lion, I haven't needed to.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...