How To Get Youtube Videos On Your Phone

Youtube On The Move

Youtube has taken the world by storm to the extent that now it’s hard to remember what we used to do before we could just jump online and see a video for whatever it was we were thinking about at the time!

Until recently you’d have to be carrying a bulky laptop or netbook in order to log on to the web and start up Youtube to see your favourite videos, so it wasn’t convenient. However, with the advent of large-screen mobile phones, it’s now possible to take these videos from the internet, load them onto your phone and watch them anywhere!

Woah, Sounds Technical!

Like any type of files used on electrical devices, Youtube videos have a certain kind of format, named FLV. Phones, however, usually play different kinds of videos, namely 3GP or MP4. You can’t play and FLV file on a phone, so it has to be converted into an MP4 for example.

Think of it in this way, it’s like trying to put a square peg into a round hole.

Convert, My Child!

Right, so you’ll be needing a converter tool then. They’re pieces of software readily available from the internet which will take files of one format and convert them into a different one. They can be easily found by simply searching for ‘Free File Converters’ or something similar in a search engine:

Internet Search For Free File Converters

You don’t want to pay of course, so you’ll want a free one. Check these out:

formatoz.com
downloadvideos-convert.com/
zamzar.com

There are many, many more too so just have a look for one that suits you. Be aware. Some aren’t free, so try to select a free one. Also, some only give you a free trial for X number of days or a free trial version that will only have some of the functionality, not all. I personally went to ‘downloadvideos-convert.com’, downloaded the software for free in about 5-7 minutes and then was converting happily within a couple of minutes.

It’s Time To Convert Videos!

In this case I used Video Download Studio, but others are available. Open your converter and select the URL of the video you wish to convert and paste it into the right box. Notice that the converter is telling you that it’s going to save this downloaded file to, in this case, C:\My Videos\Download (but you can choose anywhere you like). You’ll need to grab it from here later to convert it to the new format.

This video will then download onto your computer in its original format from wherever it is on the internet, for example, a Youtube video here in FLV format.

Once it has downloaded you need to convert it, so go to the convert section of your converter software and add the video you’ve just downloaded. Find it in the folder mentioend earlier, here – C:\My Videos\Download.

Select the correct format that you want to convert it to from the pop up list called, in this case, ‘Profile.’

Once you’ve selected the format you desire your Youtube video to be converted into, just click convert and the video will be converted. In this case I chose MPEG4.

To find your converted video and then copy it onto your phone’s memory card (or anywhere you like), check the ‘My videos/convert’ folder (or similar location depending on which software you’re using). Job done!

The Hardware

Ok, now you can convert Youtube videos to your phone, but which type of phone is good for watching videos? Here are a few of Chinavasion’s cheap mobiles which you’ll find just perfect for watching videos and at a great price!