Have you ever seen a movie you really like at the video store, on YouTube or anywhere else? This egg is a complete guide that explains step-by-step method to get any movie/video you want from almost anywhere to play on any device you want (PSP, computer, PDA...), with only free and open-source programs!


PART 1 - Getting a movie

1- DVDs
If you ever explored a DVD folder on your computer, you’ll see it’s made with tons of strange files your computer can’t read. You will need to convert it if you want your computer to read them without the DVD. Video files are large tho, so you will either need to burn the movies on a CD or a DVD or put them on a large hard drive. Most movies will take around 3GB at full size and 500MB in 320x240 (PocketPC screen size)

To rip to them on your computer with a common video format (mpg, mp4, wmv...), you will need FairUse Wizard, a free program that will convert your videos to the format, size and quality of your choice.

A shareware (not free) version is also available but the free version is complete and never begs you to buy the full FairUse.

FairUse Wizard website
FairUse Wizard direct download
FairUse Wizard guide (how to use it)
FairUse Wizard screenshot

Click on the link to the manual to see a tutorial with pictures. When you come to Step 7, just choose the settings that fit the device you are using and the quality needed.

When done, you will have a video file you can read on Windows media or other video players.


2-Youtube, Google video...

Youtube and other video sharing websites use the ".flv" video format. It is readed by Macromedia Flash Player, just like the ".swf" format.

Download them, you will need Mozilla’s well-known web browser, Firefox. When you have firefox installed and running, go to their website and get Video Downloader. It will allow you to get videos from many websites, as long as they use ".flv" and ".swf" formats.

Get Firefox
Video Downloader (firefox add-on)

Once you downloaded your video to your computer, you will need to convert it to something more "universal". That’s where SuperC comes to the rescue! This little baby will convert anything to anything in a matter of time. I’ve been using it flawlessly for my smartphone and it’s highly recomendable! I suggest you don’t use it to change the video’s resolution as it will often make the audio come late after the picture (bad timing).

Super(c) direct download
Get VLC (Media player with ".flv" support)

Now you have the .flv video converted to a standard format, please keep reading to see how to resize it and put it on your multimedia device.


PART 2- Resizing your video

Even if most video-capable handhelds will automaticaly resize the movies, a video with 1024x768 resolution will take a huge load of memory and will probably lag on some devices (like PDAs). That’s why reducing them to the device’s screen size is useful. Only 1 episode of brothers in arm took 600MB and I was able to reduce it to 300MB when I cropped it to 320x240 format. The program I used was VEMoDe, dedicated to cropping videos to the size of handhelds size. Also, it was made by the developpers of the most loved video player for Palm PDAs.

All you have to do is to download it and select your devices. THe options will then be optimized to the device you choosen and it will quickly convert it without destroying the timing between audio and video (like SuperC sometimes does).

Get VEMoDe

Screen resolutions (for cropping)

PSP - 480x272(16:9)
PalmOS - 160x160 (not supported), 320x320, 480x320
Pocket PC - 320x240, 640x480, 240x240 (Treo 700w)


PART 3- Transfering

Now you have it, let’s tranfer it!

On a Palm device:
If you have a card reader on your computer, just drag and drop it on your file. Else get Softick Card Export ($), or Palm File Browser (free) to access your memory card in your device via usb. Then read them from the device using TCPMP, the free video player.

Get Card Export 2
Get Palm File Browser (need to log in)
Get TCPMP


On a PSP:
I have no PSP, so I let you a link to some eggs and guides...
HOWTO#1 (from engadget)
HOWTO#2 (gamespot)



PART 4- Other sources

I included some more sources to get movies and videos...

PocketMovies.net
Free movies (old movies)
Free Movies and Documentaries (Google video format)
I hope the freeware files listed there helped you.

The last website has the full "Battle Royale" and the brand new Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift available!!!


-----


If you didn’t like this and voted a "0", please leave a constructive comment instead of a "STFU U FUKFAGOTQUEER".