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Q.  How can I download videos from online websites like Youtube, Dailymotion, Metacafe, Veoh, and others, and then convert them to my iPod, iPhone, Zune, Nokia, or Blackberry mobile devices?  By the way, it must be free and legal too.
A. We’ve found the easiest and best way to download files from these popular video sites and to convert them free and legally to your mobile devices.

The conversion tool is called RealPlayer Converter and it comes free with the RealPlayer suite of tools that you can download from their website (link at bottom of article).

How does it work? (…and is it legal?)
RealPlayer has been around for over 15 years. Along the way, they’ve refined their core online video player to include just about every imaginable feature and tool. The RealPlayer suite of tools is free and includes possibly the best-looking video player, a unique download plugin that makes downloading videos from your favorite online sites a snap, and a conversion tool that really takes the guesswork out of converting and copying the downloaded files over to your mobile player.  RealPlayer’s technology has been challenged in U.S. courts and has been deemed to be fully legal. If you search for “RealPlayer Legal” on Google, Yahoo, or Bing, you’ll see several in depth articles from respected publications who discuss this issue in detail and concur with RealPlayer’s claim that this tool is completely legal (Note: We are not legal experts and do not condone using any tools that infringe on proprietary rights.  The contents of this article are for informational purposes only.  Your decision to use this product is solely yours!).

Tutorial Instructions – Three Easy Steps:

	1. Download an install the RealPlayer, make sure you accept the Firefox or IE plugins during the installation process. The next time you go to your browser, visit a video site that uses a flash player (like Youtube, Metacafe, and all the others), and you’ll see a little button appear above the player that prompts you to download this video to your local computer.
	2. Convert the video files to the format of your mobile device (iPod, iPhone, Nokia, Palm, Blackberry, etc… see the full list from the player, over one dozens players are supported, including a custom player to fit any device not on the supported list).
	3. Copy the files to your player and enjoy!

Converting from Linux:
RealPlayer’s conversion tool is intended for use with the Windows OS, however, we’ve heard of users running RealPlayer in Wine (A Windows emulator). Although that’s beyond the scope of this article, it’s worth experimenting, since RealPlayer’s toolset is very rich and easy to use. Here’s a tutorial on how to user the conversion tool in Mass Storage Mode, which is required for the Linux (Ubuntu and most other distros) OS.

Application Features:
It’s free! That’s a feature in my book, considering that so many software tools purporting to do the same conversion will you cost you money.

The tool itself works pretty much in auto-pilot. There aren’t too many buttons to press other than to cancel or pause the conversion. Once the conversion is completed, you’ll have the option to transfer (or drag the file) to your iPod/iTunes.
Check out the images in the gallery below to see how simple it is to use this tool.

Drawbacks:
This conversion tool is a big Processor Hog. I’m running Vista 64bit with 4GB Ram on a Dell Studio Notebook, and it takes about 1 minute to convert every 1 minute of video. A typical 10 minute Youtube video TV episode segment will take between 8 to 12 minutes to convert to the iPod format. Meanwhile, the conversion tool while it is running tries to grab as much processor power as your operating system will allow. You can assume that your computer will be mostly tied-up while you are in the conversion process. Maybe things will improve with Windows 7. I’m planning to upgrade next month, so I’ll update you when I’ve had a chance to test on the newer Windows OS.

Supported Formats:
One of the nicest features of the RealPlayer Converter is that it works with many different devices. The Apple iPod in Apple h.264 format is the standard default player. RealPlayer Converter supports all of these devices too:

Apple iPhone 3GS
Apple TV
BlackBerry
Mac
Nokia N97
Nokia e71
Palm CentroPalm Pre
PC
PlayStation 3
Sony PSP
T-Mobile G1
T-Mobile Sidekick
Xbox 360
Zune Custom – If you can define the source and format required, RealPlayer can probably convert to that device as well.

Screenshot Gallery:

Conclusion – Download Link
We really love RealPlayer’s set of tools for downloading and converting online video files. Everything mentioned above is free with their basic download.  You can simply download the free version, or you can sign up for the 14 day Free SuperPass which includes many online movies, sporting events, and more.

Download your free copy of Realplayer here which includes an offer to Get Movies Online With SuperPass – 14 Day Free Trial