How to Convert Youtube Videos to SMV

It's easy to download youtube videos and put them on your ipods and MP3 players. But if you've ever bought an MP3 player that uses a .smv file, you know all too well how hard it is to find a program that converts to that rare file format. MP3 players such as Philips GoGear and other Philips video and audio players use the rare .smv file format and thus converting videos to your Philips or SigmaTel device is hard.

Although, every Philips media player comes equipped with a media converter for Philips, whenever most people try to convert videos using this software they get one of the following statements: "There are no codecs to support this file" or "File failed to save".

So what are you to do if you get any of the above statements while trying to convert videos to your Philips (.smv) device? It's easy, you should just follow these steps and you'll be enjoying your favorite youtube videos on your Philips device in no time.

The first step in getting your youtube video onto your .smv player is to download the youtube video. There are myriad of programs with which you can download youtube videos. Programs such as TubeTilla, Youtube Downloader, Savevid and DVDVideosoft are ideal for downloading youtube videos. But the one that I use regularly is Youtube Downloader because it's convenient, free and fast.

So download Youtube Downloader onto your computer. Once you've downloaded Youtube Downloader, go to Youtube.com and get the URL for the video you want to download. Open Youtube Downloader and paste the URL into the provided slot. Click "OK" and the select where you want the file downloaded onto your computer; you can select 'My Documents' for example. The document you have just saved in 'My Documents' will have the file extension .flv (flash video or youtube's video file format).

So you've now got an .flv file but the file format that works with your Philips device is .smv. Therefore, you must convert the .flv file to an .avi file before you run the video through your media converter for Philips or on your SMV Converter Tool 4.0.

To convert your .flv file to an .avi file you should download the Pazera Free .flv to .avi converter. Once you've downloaded the program, open it and click the 'Add' button. A dialogue box will pop up and you should open the .flv file you've just saved in 'My Documents' for example. Select the option 'output directory=input directory'. This means that wherever you've saved the .flv file is where the .avi file will be saved too. Click convert.

When the video has finished converting to the .avi file open your media converter for Philips or your SMV Converter Tool 4.0. Make sure your Philips player is connected to your computer. On the media converter for Philips click 'Add' and then select the .avi file you've just saved and converted. Click convert. Your video will start converting.

For the SMV Converter Tool 4.0 select file, then select save directory and decide to which folder you want the .smv file saved. Then click add. Add the .avi file and click convert. When you've finished converting the file drag it from its location to the video folder on your device.