Part 1. How to download videos from YouTube?

I’d like to recommend using the online YouTube downloader called GrabTube to download videos from YouTube. With this online converter, you can download and convert YouTube video to MP3, 3GP, AVI, FLV or MPG. It is as easy to use as:

1. Browse on over to http://www.grab-tube.com/converter where the converter lives and you will see a screen that looks like this:

2. The URL bar at the top of the screen lets you simply paste a URL of the YouTube video to download. Drop down the format next to it and hit the download button.

3. You will see the next screen with links to download the file to your computer. With the file, you can then use the service to convert it to another file type.

Part 2. How to convert YouTube videos to AVI/WMV for Windows Movie Maker?

The videos downloaded using GrabTube are in MP4/3GP/FLV format. In order to put them onto Windows Movie Maker, you still need to convert the videos to AVI/WMV format. I always use Clone2Go Video Converter to convert between common video formats including AVI and WMV. Apart from a video converter, this piece of software can also be used to download videos from YouTube. So, back to Part 1, if the size of the video you are going to download from YouTube is larger than 40 MB or if you failed to get a high Internet connection, you can just give this video converter a shot.

Note: Windows Movie Maker needs external codec to decode mp4, xvid and mpeg2 video. To skip this trouble, please select “Customized AVI Movie(*.avi)” profile and adjust “video codec” to “msmpeg4v2″, “video size” to “Original” to get AVI video accepted by Windows Movie Maker.

Part 3. How to put YouTube videos to Windows Movie Maker?

After you get the output video clip downloaded and converted from YouTube, now you can begin to put it into your Windows Movie Maker.

Click on “File”. Then click on “Import into collections”. A window will appear. In the window, navigate to the video clip you downloaded and converted from YouTube just now. Then double click on the file. You’ll see the icon for the file in your Windows Movie Maker “Collections”.

About Windows Movie Maker:

Windows Movie Maker is a totally free program that comes with Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Vista (also called Windows DVD Maker). Below are the media formats accepted by Windows Movie Maker:

Video files: .asf, .avi, .wmv
Movie files: MPEG1, .mpeg, .mpg, .mlv, .mp2
Audio files: .wav, .snd, .au, .aif, .aifc, .aiff
Windows media files: .asf, .wm, .wma, .wmv
MP3 format audio: .mp3

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

How to Put YouTube Videos into Windows Movie Maker?

Aimersoft Music Converter

Key features: DRM Music Converter + Audio Extractor + Music File Converter.

Conversion theory: Advanced recording technique.

The edge: Support various protected video/audio formats, compatible with 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows 7.

The bad: Unable to output video

Free download

Tunebite

Key features: Removes DRM from audio/music and video/movie files + Video Converter + Audio Converter.

Conversion theory: Records music, films and videos from the Internet, subscription services and online video stores.

The edge: Includes 100 playback formats and an editor to customize settings for every at home and portable device.

The bad: The conversion speed is a little bit slow.

Free download

Daniusoft Media Converter Ultimate

Key features: DRM Removal + Video Converter + Audio Converter + DVD Ripper + DVD Burner + Media Transfer.

Conversion theory: Records play and save the recording.

The edge: Allows you to burn DRM protected video/movie files to DVD.

The bad: Too many features may be very confusing.

Free download

NoteBurner Audio Converter

Key features: DRM Music Converter + Audio Converter.

Conversion theory: The generated virtual CD drive.

The edge: The smart virtual CD burning technique.

The bad: Unable to input DRM video, unable to ouput video, incompatible with 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows 7

SoundTaxi Pro+VideoRip

Key features: DRM Removal + Audio Converter + Video converter.

Conversion theory: Recording.

The edge: Output video/audio copy to iPod feature.

The bad: Very limited output video/audio formats.

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

2010 Top DRM Removal Software Tools Review

Clone2Go Free YouTube Video Downloader and Converter for Mac is a piece of free software specially designed for Mac OS X users to download and convert online YouTube videos as FLV, 3GP or MP4 files. You can follow the steps below to learn how to download YouTube videos to iPod nano, iPod classic, iPod touch on Mac OS X for free with the help of this freeware Mac YouTube Downloader.

Step 1. Download Clone2Go Free YouTube Downloader for Mac, install and run it.

Note: This Free Mac YouTube Downloader is compatible with Intel based Mac OS X 10.5 or above. Below is its main interface:

Step 2. Add YouTube videos

Visit YouTube.com and open the YouTube videos you’d like to play on your iPod. Copy the video link from the address bar of your browser.

Paste the link to the “Video Link:” box and click the “+Add” button, then it will be added to the manager panel at the top of the interface. To add more videos, just copy and paste the link to the the box and click the “+Add” button again. Then there will be a list of URL of Videos showing in the manager panel.

Note: You can click the “-Remove” button to remove the links you don’t want.

Step 3. Specify output format and output folder

To download YouTube videos for viewing on iPod, choose “MP4″ from the “Output Format” options. Tick the “HD MP4 if it is available” download YouTube HD videos as HD MP4 files for your iPod.

Click the “…” button to locate to the folder you want to output the downloaded YouTube videos to.

Note: After the downloading and conversion process, you can click the “Folder” button to locate this folder and get the output videos.

Step 4. Start to Download

Click the “Download” button to start downloading and converting YouTube videos to iPod. When the downloading begins, the downloading process is clearly shown in the manager panel. You can also get the video information such Title, Duration, File Size, etc from the manager panel. You can also terminate the downloading and converting process by clicking the “Stop” button.

Note: The video size of the output files may not fit the screen of your iPod. In this case, you can upgrade Clone2Go Free YouTube Downloader for Mac to Clone2Go Video Converter Professional for Mac and import the output videos into the program. From the “Profile” drop-down list, choose “Apple iPod Nano/Classic MPEG-4 Movie (*.mp4) as the output format to convert the output video files for playback on iPod.

Step 5. Sync output video files to iPod

Launch iTunes. Click “File -> Add to Library…” to import the output video files to iTunes libary. Then you can sync them to your iPod.

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

How to free download YouTube videos to iPod on Mac

What’s Digital Scrapbooking Kits

A digital scrapbooking kit is a collection of scrapbooking elements such as papers, tags, buttons, ribbons, alphabets, etc. Most of them are in png formats. You can use all or part of the kit, adding your photos, to create a personalized digital scrapbook or photo collage. Kits are most often offered for download in zipped folders. Search “digital scrapbooking kits” from Google, and you will find various digital kits for purchasing or presenting.

The upper kit includes 4 papers, 4 ribbons, 2 bowknots, 2 flowers, 2 frames, 8 buttons, 1 tack and other elements.

Use digital scrapbooking kits in Photo Collage Studio

If you are familiar with Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, all you need to do is open a background, drag over some photos, scrapbooking embellishments, and save! But for those without basic knowledge of PS or PSP, the best choice is to select one small “scrapbooking” program. Here is a short guide to teach you how to use digital scrapbooking kits in Photo Collage Studio ( an easy and fun photo collage and scrapbooking tool step by step).

Step 1: Download and unzip digital scrapbooking kit

Here is a Spring Green Kit from Scrappin Texas Style Freebies/Shop. Download Now. Unzip the kit and you will get a file including every elements displaying on the upper kit snapshot.

Step 2: Download Photo Collage Studio and install

Go to http://www.photo-collage-software.com/download.html and type into your email address to download trial version of Photo Collage Studio. Complete installing according wizard.

Step 3: Create digital scrapbooking from a blank page

The program offer you two ways to make a digital scrapbook: one is from blank page, the other is from collage template. Here choose “Create blank collage” button and a blank page will be generated on the workspace. If you are unsatisfied with default of collage setting, click “Set” button and customize collage size, orientation and background in the pop-up window.

Step 4: Add and edit your photos

Simply drag and drop your photos from left panel to the collage. If needed, make use of photo edit tool to do some basic operations for your photos such as adding shadow, crop, flip, rotate, lock, etc.

Step 5: Import digital scrapbooking elements from the kit and decorate the collage

Simply drag and drop your photos from left panel to the collage. If needed, make use of photo edit tool to do some basic operations for your photos such as adding shadow, crop, flip, rotate, lock, etc.

Switch to “Decorate Collage” and find “Clipart” tab. There are eight clipart types in list box. You should select the “Customize” type. Now you can add digital scrapbooking elements that you prepare to use from the unzipped kit through the “Add…” button at the bottom of clipart tab. Check that your imported elements will be showed at left panel. To apply the elements to your created collage, just drag and drop to the position you want. Look!

The scrapbooking is decorated with one bowknot and four ribbons from the Green Spring Kit. In order to indicate the theme of the collage, here make use of the “Text” tab to add the caption “Hugs for spring”.

Step 6: Save collage as picture formats or directly print

After completing the collage, you can save it as different picture formats such as jpg, png, bmp, tiff, etc. or directly set it as your wallpaper. Using “Print Collage” button, the fabulous photo collage will be delivered to you immediately. If you like the layout your designed, just take advantage of “Save project” or “Save as project” in “File” menu to get project file for next use.

Free Try Photo Collage Studio Now

Get some inspirations from these scrapbooking freebies
http://digitreats.typepad.com/creativeteam
http://nbk-nicnic.blogspot.com
http://denisegdesigns.blogspot.com
http://boutiquefreebies.blogspot.com/

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

digital scrapbooking kits

A digital scrapbooking kit is a collection of scrapbooking elements such as papers, tags, buttons, ribbons, alphabets, etc. Most of them are in png formats. You can use all or part of the kit, adding your photos, to create a personalized digital scrapbook or photo collage. Kits are most often offered for download in zipped folders. Search “digital scrapbooking kits” from Google, and you will find various digital kits for purchasing or presenting.

The upper kit includes 4 papers, 4 ribbons, 2 bowknots, 2 flowers, 2 frames, 8 buttons, 1 tack and other elements.

Use digital scrapbooking kits in Photo Collage Studio

If you are familiar with Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, all you need to do is open a background, drag over some photos, scrapbooking embellishments, and save! But for those without basic knowledge of PS or PSP, the best choice is to select one small “scrapbooking” program. Here is a short guide to teach you how to use digital scrapbooking kits in Photo Collage Studio ( an easy and fun photo collage and scrapbooking tool step by step).

Step 1: Download and unzip digital scrapbooking kit

Here is a Spring Green Kit from Scrappin Texas Style Freebies/Shop. Download Digital Scrapbooking Kit Now. Unzip the kit and you will get a file including every elements displaying on the upper kit snapshot.

Step 2: Download Photo Collage Studio and install

Go to http://www.photo-collage-software.com/download.html and type into your email address to download trial version of Photo Collage Studio. Complete installing according wizard.

Step 3: Create digital scrapbooking from a blank page

The program offer you two ways to make a digital scrapbook: one is from blank page, the other is from collage template. Here choose “Create blank collage” button and a blank page will be generated on the workspace. If you are unsatisfied with default of collage setting, click “Set” button and customize collage size, orientation and background in the pop-up window.

Step 4: Add and edit your photos

Simply drag and drop your photos from left panel to the collage. If needed, make use of photo edit tool to do some basic operations for your photos such as adding shadow, crop, flip, rotate, lock, etc.

Step 5: Import digital scrapbooking elements from the kit and decorate the collage

Simply drag and drop your photos from left panel to the collage. If needed, make use of photo edit tool to do some basic operations for your photos such as adding shadow, crop, flip, rotate, lock, etc.

Switch to “Decorate Collage” and find “Clipart” tab. There are eight clipart types in list box. You should select the “Customize” type. Now you can add digital scrapbooking elements that you prepare to use from the unzipped kit through the “Add…” button at the bottom of clipart tab. Check that your imported elements will be showed at left panel. To apply the elements to your created collage, just drag and drop to the position you want. Look!

The scrapbooking is decorated with one bowknot and four ribbons from the Green Spring Kit. In order to indicate the theme of the collage, here make use of the “Text” tab to add the caption “Hugs for spring”.

Step 6: Save collage as picture formats or directly print

After completing the collage, you can save it as different picture formats such as jpg, png, bmp, tiff, etc. or directly set it as your wallpaper. Using “Print Collage” button, the fabulous photo collage will be delivered to you immediately. If you like the layout your designed, just take advantage of “Save project” or “Save as project” in “File” menu to get project file for next use.

Free Try Photo Collage Studio Now

Get some inspirations from these scrapbooking freebies
http://digitreats.typepad.com/creativeteam
http://nbk-nicnic.blogspot.com
http://denisegdesigns.blogspot.com
http://boutiquefreebies.blogspot.com/

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

Use digital scrapbooking kits when making photo collages

Now the following 2 parts will show you how to use the software above.
Part 1: How to rip DVD and edit DVD on Windows
Make preparation: Download and install Tipard DVD Ripper
Step 1: Click “Load DVD” button to load your DVD.
This professional DVD Ripper can load three DVD source, you can load your DVD from DVD drive, DVD folder in your PC and also IFO file.

Step 2:Select the output video format you want from the “Profile” drop-down list.
By cicking the “Settings” button, you can set the video and audio parameters. And this DVD Ripper also enables you to select *Audio Track, Subtitle*
Step 3:Click the “Start” button to begin your conversion.
You can have a coffee or have a walk now ! In a short while the conversion will be finished.

Some powerful editing functions such as “Trim, Crop, Effect, Merge, Snapshot” are also available.

*Watermark*
By clicking “watermark” you can add text or picture watermark for your video according to your need.
*Effect*
Click “Effect” button you can do these actions: adjusting brightness, contrast and saturation of the video. You can easily adjust the video through two windows in the same interface.
*Trim*
If you just want convert a clip of your video, then you can use the “Trim” icon to set the Start time and End time of the clip or you can directly drag the slide bar to the accurate position.
*Crop*
By using the “Crop” function you can crop the black edge of your video and you can also drag the line around the video image to adjust your video to your Google Phone.

Part 2: How to rip DVD and edit DVD on Mac
Make preparation: Download and install Tipard DVD Ripper for Mac
Step 1: Click the “Load DVD” button, find the DVD folder of the movie you want to add from your DVD-ROM, and Click “Open”.

Step 2: Select the output video format you want from the “Profile” drop-down list.
Click “Settings” to set the exact video and audio parameters to meet your need.
Step 3: Click “Start” button to start your conversion
The conversion will be finish soon when you enjoy your leisure time.

The basic editing funtions such as “Merge, Effect, Trim, Crop, Snapshot” is also very powerful.

You will love to use it after you have a try!

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

How to rip and edit DVD(For Windows and Mac users)

This software can remove DRM of movies and songs from iTunes, Microsoft Media Center, Napster, Pandora, Spiral Frog and other DRM protected media center legally, then convert iTunes movie, video, and songs to common formats.

1. Import target files by clicking “Add” or directly drag-drop them into the main window. The default set makes it works well with your PC without any extra configuration.

2. Click “Settings” to choose output format of audio or video according to your digital player’s need and set the video parameters or audio parameters if you have higher requirement for the output quality.

3. Click “Start” button.
Part 2: Burn iTunes Movies to DVD

After the iTunes DRM protection is removed, you can use Wondershare Video to DVD Burner to convert and burn the DRM-removed iTunes movies to DVD disc.

Step 1. Load DRM-removed iTunes video or movie

Run Video to DVD burner, click “Load Video” or select “Load Video” under the “File” drop-down menu to import iTunes videos. If you want to organize a slideshow of iTunes video, just drag and drop loaded videos to storyboard below.

Step 2. Add Slide, edit video effects

Right click mouth in the left area of the storyboard, select “Add Titleset” to add a slide, and you may load other iTunes videos to this slide just as the first step.

Select a video file in the storyboard, and click “Edit selected video file…”. A window will pop up for you to adjust video effects, crop video size, trim the length, etc.

Step 3. Customize iTunes DVD menu

Click “Menu” to customize iTunes DVD menu. There are different styles of built-in templates, frames and buttons for your choice. You can even add text, background music and background image to customize the menu.

Step 4. Set transition effects, and preview

Click “Transition”, which can help you display the transition effect in right window. Just drag and drop the one you like to the middle of two iTunes videos in the slideshow storyboard to apply the effect.

Then click “Preview” to preview your iTunes slideshow. This step is to help you decide if everything is what you have expected. If not, you can go back to any of the previous steps to make changes to your project.

Step 5. Start burning DVD

Click “Burn”, then a window will pop up for you to set the disc label, output target, TV standardt, aspect ratio and DVD drive (if you have multiple DVD drives). Click “Start”, then the program will automatically burn iTunes movies to DVD.

Tips: this guide also helps when you burn MPEG to DVD, MKV to DVD and burn MP4 to DVD.

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This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

Guide:Remove iTunes DRM and burn itunes movies to dvd

Step 1. Launch DVD Ripper for Mac and add DVD Movie ( free download Intel Version | Power PC Version )

It is recommended that you choose iMedia Converter for Mac if you want to both rip DVD and convert video on your Mac machine.

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

How to rip DVD to sorts of video/audio formats on Mac (Snow Leopard)

This Mac DVD to BlackBerry Converter actually combines three main features into one program: DVD to BlackBerry Converter for Mac, Video to BlackBerry Converter for Mac and YouTube Video Downloader and Converter for Mac. To convert DVD, video and YouTube video to BlackBerry on Mac, just follow the steps below:

Step 1. Download Clone2Go DVD to BlackBerry Converter for Mac, install and run it.

Step 2. Add DVD/Video/YouTube Video

1. Click the “Open DVD” button to load the DVD movie you are going to watch on your BlackBerry. After the movie is imported, there is a list showing each DVD chapter/title. From the table, you can know about the Name, Duration, Video Size, etc about the DVD movie.

Note: Check out the longest DVD chapter/title, which is usually the main content of the DVD movie.

2. Click the “Add Files” button to import video files from your Mac HDD.

3. Click the “YouTube” button to open the “Clone2Go YouTube Downloader” window. Then you can start to download and convert YouTube videos simply by copying/pasting the URLs of them. Learn more about how to download and YouTube videos on Mac.

Step 3. Choose Output Format

After loading DVD movie, video files or YouTube videos, go to the “Output” panel. Click the “Profile” drop-down list to choose the output format that best fits your needs. To convert DVD/video/YouTube video to BlackBerry Video/Audio on Mac, choose the “BlackBerry” category from the list. From the subcategory, choose “BlackBerry Tour 9630 MP4 series (*.mp4)” if you want to convert DVD/video/YouTube video to video file for viewing on your BlackBerry Tour 9630.

Step 4. Start Converting DVD/Video/YouTube Video to BlackBerry on Mac

After making all necessary settings, click the “Convert Now” button to start to convert DVD/Video/YouTube Video to BlackBerry on Mac.

There are a few Tips and Tricks while using this DVD to BlackBerry Converter for Mac to convert DVD/Video/YouTube Video to BlackBerry video/audio format for syncing to BlackBerry Tour, BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Pearl, etc.

Tips 1. Trim DVD Title or Chapter

If you only want part of the DVD movie for viewing on your BlackBerry, you can trim the DVD movie in either of the following two ways:

Method 1. Specify the “Start Time” and “Stop Time” under the manager panel within the accuracy of second.
Method 2. Trim the movie while previewing it. You can click the “Trim Begin” and “Trim End” buttons to get the certain part of the movie/video while playing it back.

Tips 2. Customize Profile

If you fail to find the most appropriate output format from the “Profile” list for your player, you can click the “Customize…” button next to it to customize a profile. In the following “Profile Settings” Window, you can adjust Video Size, Frame Rate, Encoder, Bitrate; Audio Sample Rate, Channels, Encoder, Bitrate, etc to meet your specific needs.

Tips 3. Select DVD Subtitle/Audio Track

A common DVD movie has several DVD subtitles and audio tracks. You can select any available DVD Audio Track and Subtitle to convert. Just extend the “DVD Audio” and “DVD Subtitle” drop-down menu and choose your favorite audio track and subtitle.

Note: If you want to remove DVD subtitle, just select “None” from the drop-down list. Likewise, if you want to rip DVD without audio, you just choose “None” from the “DVD Audio” menu.

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

How to Convert DVD/Video/YouTube Video to BlackBerry on Mac

Many popular video formats such as M2TS, AVI, WMV and FLV are not supported by iMovie. To import these videos to iMovie, you need to convert them to iMovie compatible format. The following step by step guide focuses on how to convert M2TS to MPEG-4 for importing to Apple iMovie project using Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac.

Step 1. Launch Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac. Load M2TS video.  ( free download )

Step 2. Select “MPEG-4″ from output format list

Tips 1. Trim video files

If you want only part of the video to be imported to iMovie, click the ‘Trim’ button to open the Trim window, then set the start time and end time by dragging the start time and End Time slider to convert a clip from the video.

Tips 2. Crop Movie Video

If you want to remove the black edges or just convert part of the video area from your video file, you can click the “Crop” button and specify an area either by dragging the frame around the video or setting the crop values.

Tips 3. Video Effect

If you want to adjust the video effect of your movie, you can click the “Effect” button and drag each effect adjustment slider to set the video brightness, contrast, saturation and video volume. You can also choose a special effect from the Effect drop-down list to apply to your movie.

Step 3. When the setting is done, start converting by clicking “Convert”.

Step 4. When the converting is done, launch iMovie, go to “file > import movies”. Select the converted MP4 video then click “import”.

That’s it! Now you can edit M2TS videos in iMovie. Enjoy making your own movies!

This post originally appeared At The Family Place.

How to Import M2TS Video to Apple iMovie Project