I have had many people ask me how to download video from sites such as YouTube, and the simplest way I have found is to enter them in KeepVid.com. Once entered, right click and choose save as on the link provided (make sure to enter a unique filename and change the extension to .FLV)
The video will then be downloaded in the FLV (Flash Video) format. This is a format of compressed video that is designed for the web. FLV is not the most ideal format to work with as it has been compressed and resized for fast loading on YouTube - meaning it is a last resort if you would like to view the video on DVD. Always search sites such as Google Video to see if there is a higher quality version available (often YouTube videos are appropriated from other sources, so look around!) I would also recommend searching Torrent sites such as ThePirateBay.
Once you have downloaded the video at the best quality you can find, it is now time to convert the video. You have two options here - the first being trial and error with Super(C), which is a freeware tool for PC that will convert most video and sound formats. Try converting the FLV video into an MPEG or AVI file, and test the quality of the conversion. Once the file is converted, you will need a video authoring program such as Roxio MyDVD to burn the file to a DVD disc.
The second option is to consult a site like VideoHelp.com which has many guides detailing step-by-step instructions to convert virtually any format to DVD. Visit the guides section, select the format you wish to convert from and to (ie AVI to DVD) and search. The guide usually will refer to freeware programs to get the job done, and will provide URLs of where to get them.
There are a number of Firefox Addons available to help with the job of downloading the videos, you can peruse the list here to choose one that suits your needs best.
How to download YouTube videos to DVD
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Div Layouts for Myspace
I'm not the biggest Myspace user, but I have had requests to design and build CSS layouts for Myspace before. These initially were a challenging and demeaning task, but then I discovered some helpful sites on the web to assist with this process.
By the way, if you are not familiar with Myspace CSS layouts, they are layouts that use modified CSS code to change the default behaviour and look of a Myspace profile layout. The best starting advice I can give is to learn some of the MySpace custom CSS codes which will help you understand the code you will be generating later on.
Then you should visit Div Overlay Generator which is a graphical generator which will allow you to create the beginning of your customised myspace profile. Once you have the basic parts such as the header image, font and background images set up, you are now free to save and edit the code to adjust the look how you want. Be warned, the CSS is often tricky and confusing, and it is recommended to save often while experimenting with the code.
Here are some other recommended sites in relation to this topic:
Customise the way Facebook looks on your browser
I was recently searching for ways to customise my Facebook profile and have found that most of the CSS hacks (etc) have been disabled to keep Facebook layouts uniform across all profiles.
There is, however, a Firefox Addon called "Boost" by StudioLD which allows you to customise the appearance of Facebook client-side, which means that it will appear differently in your browser only. It also adds some useful features, such as a feature that expands thumbnails when you roll over them, and also allows you to auto-login, avoiding the need to login to Facebook multiple times in a single session.
How to embed an MP3 player on your site for free
CreativeTechs Tips - Here's an article I found that describes the process of adding a flash MP3 player to your website or Myspace profile. On the same vein, below are some free MP3 and file hosts:
- FileDen File hosting service (not just MP3s)
- FileFreak File hosting
- MySpace Music Player
Improve your Search engine ranking
There are a number of ways to increase the traffic through your website, the primary one being to improve your SEO (search engine optimization.) Through the use of a meta tag generator you can list relevant keywords and output them to be pasted in the HTML code of your website.
The best way to attract new visitors to your website is to use terms that are current and popular. You can track these by visiting websites such as Google Trends which list the most commonly searched terms and divides them by region, city and language. Alexa is also another SEO resource, which will allow you to check on the rating of your website in comparison to the rest of the web. (Update 21/1/08) It has been brought to my attention (thanks to the anonymous commenter!) that Alexa bases the statistics solely based on the amount of traffic generated by Alexa toolbar users, which may skew the reliability of the statistics provided.
Other recommended links below:
- Submit Corner Meta Tag Generator
- TheSiteWizard SEO tips
- OpenTracker Google SEO article
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