There are several apps available, such as HandBrake, Super etc, which will let you transcode video for different target profiles. Be carefull when installing any "free" app as some of them come with "candy" freebies in form of adware.
i just copy and paste them onto my phone through the pc itself. connect with usb and it adds it like any other drive to windows.
Wouldn't it depend on how the original video files were encoded, and whether your phone has the ability to play back that type of file? Also recorded HD TV files can get really large. I may give it a try as I record quite a lot of TV programs using Windows Media Center for later viewing on the computer.
there are plenty of players that will play any file. even ios type mp4 files. so that's not a problem.
size is obviously a concern but that is not what he asked about i have a 128gb sd card so i drop blueray rips on my phone all the time at 4-6 gb. but i got plenty of space to watch and delete as i go. i have numerous seasons of tv shows as well. plus kids movies to keep the children occupied when out and about. but to simply get the files onto the phone, only needs to connect it to the pc and copy and paste.