Ive decided to put this up for people to contribute something theyve come across or ask those small niggly questions that may not warrant its own thread.
Feel free to ask any question, but be aware that Mac and Linux experts are around, but relatively scarce :)
Im just starting with listing the most common ones I get asked ALL the time by friends, relatives, pets etc.
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How to save YouTube videos
Sites like YT etc use flash video to display their clips. It is possible to save these files - there are several ways to do so - heres one(very quick) way to do it!
Requirements.
1. Firefox browser
2. Unplug extension
In Firefox - go to:
*Tools > Add ons (brings up the FF extensions manager) > click get extensions
*It takes you to FF extensions page - here it is just in case youd like to bookmark it for future use:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:1)
*Search for the 'unplug' extension > install it (you'll need to restart firefox for it to fully install)
*Now go tou youtube, find a vid you like - allow it to play all the way through
*Go to 'Tools' > select 'Unplug' it and it will open up a page where it shows the objects/urls on the page. Under a couple it will say "this is the one you probably want" > click 'Save' rename the video whatever you want, but put the ".flv" onto it and click save.
eg. it will usually come up in the save box as 'getvideo.htm'
>> rename to 'starwars.flv' for example
Thats it! ....Now to play it !!
How to play Youtube vids(FLV)files
Some like standalone players like FLV player (
http://www.download.com/FLV-Player/3000-2139_4-10467081.html) Riva FLV Encoder/Player is another freeware one.
If you dont like playing with registry settings etc, this is the safest option.
If you'd like to open FLV files in Windows Media Player it can be done by installing a relevant media filter and a registry tweak. But...
PLEASE BEWARE !!
If you do not feel confident editing registry settings - please dont use this method !
(This method works in WMP, I havent been able to get it to work in quicktime player, and havent bothered testing anything else. As I use vista media center - getting these to play in WMP was quite important!)
Requirements.
1. saved '.flv' video
2. wmp 9 onwards
3. FFDshow Codecs (
http://www.download.com/FLV-Player/3000-2139_4-10467081.html) These are a ever changing set of codecs and DirectShow filters that will allow you to play divx/xvid, audio formats etc. You can pick what you want it to handle when you install it.
For this example - once downloaded, install but select ONLY the "FLV" option when it asks you what formats you'd like ffdshow to handle.
Now the slightly tricky bit:
1. Open your registry Go to Run> Type Regedit
2. Expand 'HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT'
3. Scroll down til you get to .flv and select >It will display the registry keys for this filetype in the right pane. Depending on what other proggies you have installed - this will vary. If you use Macromedia Flash etc I would recommend you DONT do this as MM has its own flash player anyway(but if you are a regular MM user - you'd surely know that!!)
4. Right click on the right pane> Select 'New' > 'String Value'
A new string value will appear in the pane, allowinf you to name it, you MUST name it "PerceivedType" (without the quotation marks but in that case, and without the space!)
5. Once the key is renamed > Double click it and it will bring up an 'edit string' box. On the top it has "Value Name" - this should already be what you named it(ie. Perceived Type)
>>Under "value data" type "video" (without quotation marks of course and all in lower case)
6. Press OK and exit registry editor
Now, set WMP(etc) to play the filetype.
7. Right click your saved .flv file - select 'open with'. Select WMP(etc). If no option is there - go find the program in C:\Program files (or wherever your program files folder is if its not on C drive) for WMP, it has a folder in 'Program Files' that can be located pretty easily > Select and check the box that says 'always use for this filetype'
NB. Windows will give a warning message that it doesnt recognise the extension - just select to play anyway, and 'dont ask this again'.
WMP should now start playing your youtube vid ! It is much easier to resize in WMP, as opposed to the standalone FLV players. (if you have used FFDshow, when you first play an FLV a box about who wrote teh filter will come up, just check 'do not show this again' to get rid of it)
This above method can be done with any filetype basically. Please note for quicktime and realplayer files, you still need the quicktime and realplayer programs installed to provide the relevant filters WMP(etc can use). There are alternate filters available(eg. QT alternative) but Ive found them to not work as well as the actual filters themselves. Since applying this to my media center pc, I finally dont have to convert any vids ever agaon to be able to watch them in WMP/windows media center. Very handy. Given that you can network/stream shared media very easily across multiple pcs using WMP 11, its a very handy little trick - even for those with just WMP11 and not Vista or XP Media Center.
I have a few more to do - but Im tired atm - be back later !!
mtfbwya