Tip # 18

Tech Tip # 18- You gotta see this…… BACK to tips page

Here is a tip for more advanced users. Have you ever seen a great video on YouTube that you want to show in your class, only to be blocked here at school? Here are two ways to get a copy of it while you are home. You can then bring it here to show in school and keep it forever!

Method #1 www.zamzar.com

This is a free web service (they do have a pay version, but you don’t need it.) that will convert the video file from YouTube into several different movie formats. Here are the steps:

1. Go to www.zamzar.com.

2. Click on the Download Videos tab.

3. Go to the YouTube video you want to keep and copy the URL (example: http://youtube.com/?v=MtbQ4J3RfQ8).

It is best to cut and paste (see Tip # 4).

4. On the Zamzar page, paste the URL in the box under Step 1.

5. Under Step 2, click on the check mark to access the drop down menu. This will give you many format choices for the video. Here are the formats you should know:

a. avi and wmv will both play with Windows Media Player. These can be embedded into a PowerPoint presentation without having to leave the program to run them. They will also have the best video quality and can be played full screen without much distortion.

b. flv will play with Realplayer (www.real.com/realplayer/free-media-player) or any other free flv player, as well as the adobe player in CS4. This will not have quite the same quality of an avi or wmv format, but can still be played full screen without much distortion. The advantage to this format is the size of the file will be about ¼ the size of the other two, but it will not embed into PowerPoint. Microsoft does not play nice with others!!!

c. mp4 will play with Quicktime (www.apple.com/quicktime/download). This is a higher quality format but I rarely use it, so I can’t say much about it other than it is another option. It will allow the video to be stored in your iTunes since it is from Apple.

6. After choosing the format you want for the video, Step 3 asks for your e-mail address. Please don’t use your dunmoreschooldistrict.net address. This is where spam originates (see Tips #10 and #11). I use my hotmail account for this.

7. Click convert and this will pop up:

8. Click OK and the file will upload to the Zamzar website. Once the upload is complete, they will convert the file to the format you requested and send you an e-mail with a link to follow to download your movie. This e-mail will take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to show up, so be patient. It is free after all. They will also offer you their pay services. It is OK to tell them NO THANKS...

Method # 2: www.keepvid.com

This is another free service and you don’t have to rely on anyone else to send you an e-mail. You can directly download the movie yourself, but only in the flv format.

1. Go to www.keepvid.com.

2. Go to the YouTube video you want to keep and copy the URL (example: http://youtube.com/?v=MtbQ4J3RfQ8). It is best to cut and paste (see Tip # 4).

3. Paste the URL and click download.

4. Below the Download Links text you will see this:

5. You can choose to download the flv or mp4 format by right clicking on download and choosing “save link as”.

6. This will bring up the save as box with the name video.flv OR video.mp4, depending on which format you chose. You can change the name to whatever you want to call it, but you must leave the .flv or .mp4 ending.

7. Here is keepvid’s free flv player: applian.com/flvplayer/#keepvidPlayNB. You will need Quicktime to play the mp4 format.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there are any other tips you are looking for or you would like to share with everyone.

Jake BACK to tips page