How To: Convert YouTube and Other FLV Videos to iPhone (OS X)

Have you ever found one of those videos on YouTube or any other streaming video site that you just have to have? It's always accessible on your computer, so long as you have an internet connection. Sadly, the video may not always be easily available on your iPhone. You can download over your cellphone's network, but that can take a while. There are also websites that contain FLV videos but won't playback on iOS devices.

This one is another lengthy tutorial with lots of pics. Please hit the jump for full instructions.

1) First, you need an FLV file. 

2) The easiest way to get one is to find a video you like on Safari and press Command + Option + A to bring up the activity meter. 

In it, you will see everything that is currently running in Safari. This works best if you only have one tab open. You will see a long list of files, and most top out at a few KB. Find the video file, which more often than not tops out at a few MB. Double-click on that file.

3) Upon double-clicking the file, you will notice that it begins downloading.

4) Now you have an FLV file on your computer: 

5) Now you must download a converter. iSkysoft is fast, and gives you a free trial. The software costs $19 upon registration. You can download iSkysoft: Here

6) Install and launch the software. Choose the video you want to convert (In our case videoplayback.flv, which is the YouTube default)

 
 7) You should now see your file in iSkysoft's main window as shown below:

Check your video settings. They should be ready to convert to MP4 (the format that reads in iTunes as well as all screened iDevices, including the iPod Classic)

9) Hit "OK" then "Convert" and watch the magic happen:

10) The approximately minute-long standard definition video we used took about 20 seconds to convert on a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac Mini:

 11) You should now have a new file. Same name, new extension (.mp4):

12) You can now import it to iTunes by simply dragging and dropping:

 
 13) The video is now compatible with the iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch and iPad. The free version of the software we used has a watermark. It's not a huge deal, but those who want to get rid of it can purchase the software for $19.