realplayer now has a function to download any streaming video as an .flv. I'm having a devil a time converting these .flv files into other formats. one of my converting programs won't recognize the files at all. My VLC player has internal conversion but the files come out really weird.
I'm wondering if this is a general problem with realplayer downloading and i should find another program to facilitate downloading, or if something else is going on.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
The Firefox add on "DownloadHelper" works pretty well for me. There's an additional conversion plugin that lets you convert after capture automatically. (Note that I am not picky about video quality and haven't really evaluated the quality of the conversions.)
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
DownloadHelper also allows you to download most Youtube videos directly as mp4 files which I use to put them on my iPod.
I've never used Realplayer for this purpose.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
I use realplayer. I think it was Lisa who recommended SUPER to me a long time ago.
I still use it. It works great. It does seem buggy or slow to load, but I am happy with the results and have used it for many different types of conversion.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
hmmm...i used to use download helper but lost it in a firefox update i think. didn't realize that had updated to a new version that works.
Awesome! thanks. i mostly want to convert some talks and lectures over to mp3 format to put on my iPhone, but I like to be able to download videos in general as well. I have some good conversion software, but it's nice to know these programs are doing it all themselves now.
The frustrating thing was that I was able to play the .flvs fine with realplayer, they played both in realplayer and in vlc, but couldn't convert them. This will simplify things.
[ July 31, 2009, 02:52 PM: Message edited by: Strider ]
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
when i use downloadhelper and it brings up the 4 different version to download, how do I know which mp4 or flvs are the higher quality ones, besides starting the download and seeing which file size is larger?
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Right now on my laptop it displays the filename with extension when I click the little dropdown icon by the address bar. This is the first time I've noticed that particular behaviour. I don't usually use my laptop much though.
On my other machines, usually one is labeled as HQ18 and this one is an mp4 (the other HQ one is an flv). Other than that, I'm not sure how to tell other than to start the download.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I also just noticed that there is a widget that appears to the right of the video title and when you click that it gives options to download and convert - this allows you to select several formats. I've never used this tool though.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
Realplayer is dead to me ever since it tried to install a bunch of spyware and hidden garbage last time I tried to install the player to watch a movie.
Posted by natural_mystic (Member # 11760) on :
try replay media catcher.
Posted by natural_mystic (Member # 11760) on :
It used to be even better, before its dispute with Adobe:
"As of January 28, 2009, any newly installed copy of Replay Media Catcher does not support Adobe Secure RTMP Measures. We have resolved a dispute with Adobe Systems Incorporated, without admitting any wrongdoing or liability, by agreeing not to circumvent any Secure RTMP Measures developed by Adobe.
While these Secure RTMP sites are a tiny percentage of the video recorded by Replay Media Catcher, some customers may be affected. This change affects many clips on the following sites: Hulu.com (or any site hosting Hulu content), TV.com, CBS.com, Amazon and Comedy Central (Daily Show and Colbert Report). "
quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: Realplayer is dead to me ever since it tried to install a bunch of spyware and hidden garbage last time I tried to install the player to watch a movie.
Yes. I have a tough time imagining myself installing realplayer again. It has been a number of years, though, so perhaps it has changed considerably.