Add Youtube Videos to Your iPod with Floola

Jack Wallen — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:34:15 +0000

Some would say the fact that Linux can even communicate with an iPod is remarkable. And the way Apple keeps everything secreted away, I could easily buy that sentiment where it not for an intimate understanding of the resolve of the typical developer. Although not open source, Floola typifies this resolve, and then some. At first glance Floola is just another music manager for the iPod. Upon closer inspection, however, Floola is much more than that. The “more” couldn’t be better illustrated by Floolas’ ability to add videos to your iPod from youtube.com. Oh, and it manages your music really well too!

First things first, you’ll need to download the Linux binary of Floola from the Floola download page. Once you have the tar file downloaded unpack it with the command tar xvzf Floola-linux.tar.gz which will create a new directory called Floola-linux. Move into that new directory and, as the root user, issue the command cp Floola /usr/bin/. Copying the Floola binary into /usr/bin will allow Floola to be run globally.

Now you will need to mount your iPod. You can refer to my article Connect your iPod to gtkpod for instructions on the mounting procedure.

Once your iPod is mounted you can start up Floola. You will first have to configure the make of iPod you have connected. After you have the iPod type configured Floola will see the iPod and list all of data. Now on to the video download. Well, almost. Before you can actually get the video to your iPod you will need fmpeg installed in order to handle the conversion. Fmpeg can be installed by either doing a search for fmpeg in your Add/Remove Software utility or you can issue a command similar to urpmi fmpeg (for Mandriva) or apt-get install fmpeg (for Ubuntu.)

With fmpeg installed NOW it’s time for the video madness to start. With Floola open go to the Item menu and select Add From Web. A new window will open with a button for Add URL. Click that and a smaller window will open to copy and paste the Youtube video url and click OK.

Floola Add Video

When you see your Video listed in the Add From Web window select the video and click OK. This will start the process. Now it’s time to sit back and watch as the video downloads and then is converted. Depending upon the speed of your machine, this could take quite a while.

Once the video is converted a new window will open where you will need to click the Add button so the video is actually added to the iPod.

Adding File

Once you click the Add button your video will be transferred. But you’re not done yet. In order for your iPod to be in sync you will first close Floola and then unmount your iPod. With your iPod unmounted you are ready to enjoy your new video! You will be amazed at the quality of video transferred, it’s quite good.

And that’s it! Now you can have plenty of video goodness on your iPod with next to no effort.

Oh, and since Floola is freeware, you might consider donating to the author. If you do you will get rid of a 4-second nag screen upon closing.

Tags: floola, fmeg, iPod, Linux, Mandriva, multimedia, ubuntu, video, youtube

gHacks technology news » fmeg

Add Youtube Videos to Your iPod with Floola

Related posts