Still, open source is just as great as it is terrible. The Xvid4PSP utility bundle, which I use to encode video for the blog, can collectively do things that would cost a few thousand bucks, if not tens, in commercial alternatives.
The only catch is that the package's stability is pretty shaky, and all the separate programs have a command-line interface or involve editing text configuration files. It's tough, but it's worth it. Sometimes.