Download & Convert YouTube Videos for iPod with DVDVideoSoft

iPod’s are the most popular of all portable media players available today. YouTube is the most popular internet video service today.

Despite both services prominence, when I first got my iPod I was a video-deprived user. I didn’t want to buy videos that I would only watch once, and downloading them from file sharing programs is highly risky given the amount of viruses circulating on them, not to mention falsely named files that waste your time.

As time went on, I just kind of abandoned the video function on my iPod and used it mainly for listening to music. However, every now and again such as when I was going on a plane journey or just bored around the house, I would wish I had a few short videos to keep me busy. Around eight months ago I discovered DVD VideoSoft promising YouTube to iPod video. I was sceptical.

A little while ago, Jeffry wrote How To Get YouTube Videos On Your iPod that posts already covers everything you need to convert Youtube videos for iPod but DVD VideoSoft in my opinion makes the whole process a lot faster and simpler.

Surely it would be like the other programs that want credit cards, leave watermarks or which are limited free trials, I told myself. I took the chance anyway. As it happens, it overcame the two main problems that you encounter when trying to download YouTube videos onto your Apple iPod.

Firstly, there is the problem of downloading a video off the internet since YouTube does not generally provide a download service. Secondly, the file must be converted into a format which the iPod can understand and play.

Once you have downloaded DVD VideoSoft, select your language and allow the program to initialize for the first time. When this is done, it will load and you will see the screen pictured here.

You will be asked for the Youtube URL so go to YouTube and locate the video. Once you have it, copy it into the space provided in the DVD VideoSoft screen.

Below this, there is another text entry box that says ‘Output File’. Click ‘Browse’ and select the folder you want the video to be saved in, for example ‘My Videos’.

Having done that, you will see a drop-down menu at the bottom of the window. From this, select Apple iPod. To the right of this there is another drop down box. Select ‘iPod High Quality’ from this. You can select a few other video formats such as PSP or for your mobile phone.

When you are satisfied with all of your information, click ‘Download’. This may take a few moments depending on the size and quality of the video. What this is actually doing is downloading the YouTube video and then converting it into .mp4, a format which the iPod can play. Once this is done, a pop up will appear informing you that it’s completed. Click ‘Output Folder’ in this box.

This will open the folder where you saved the video. You should see your video in an mp4 format.   Now we just need to move it over to your iPod.

Open your iTunes Library and click ‘Movies’. Drag the new movie into this Library. Then simply connect your iPod via the USB connector that came with it. The sync process should start automatically. When it has finished syncing, disconnect your iPod and your video will be under videos.

If you use another piece of software to sync your iPod such as SharePod, the procedure is much the same. Open up the syncing screen and drag the files into it from Windows Explorer. Click ‘Sync‘ or other relevant button (in SharePod its marked ‘Copy to iPod‘) and it will transfer.

Note : DVDVideoSoft will only work for when you want to download YouTube videos onto your iPod and will not work for any other video sites such as MetaCafe. You must also be connected to the internet until the video is finished converting and is saved on your computer.

Do you know of any better and / or faster alternatives to DVDVideoSoft that let you download and convert Youtube videos for iPod? Let us know in the comments.

Image Credit :  Orange_Beard