Taking Vlogs on the Road

If you've subscribed to vlogs using video aggregators, you can now take your favorite ones with you. Apple's new iPod and Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) make it possible to watch video on the go. There is a catcheach device is pretty picky about what kind of video it will play.

• The Apple iPod plays only certain QuickTime videos. Thankfully, vloggers will usually let you know if their stuff is compatible with the iPod.

• The Sony PSP will play only a specially formatted .mp4 file. Most videoblogs don't offer videos in this format. That means you'll have to convert the videos yourselfunless you use FireAnt on a PC, which can convert the videos for you automatically.

• Internet-enabled mobile phones will play anything labeled 3GP.

iPod with Mefeedia

Mefeedia also offers a way to get videos onto your iPod. When you create an account at Mefeedia, the site creates a master feed of all the videoblogs you've subscribed to in your video queue page. Subscribe to this feed in iTunes, and it will automatically download new videos and put them on your iPod when you sync it. Here's how:

1.	Log in to Mefeedia. Simply copy your personal queue feed at the top of the Home page (Figure 1.41). Figure 1.41. Personal Feed Queue
2.	In iTunes, choose Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast. Paste the feed address into the pop-up window and click OK (Figure 1.42). Figure 1.42. Subscribe to Podcast

iPod with FireAnt

If you own a Mac and use FireAnt as your aggregator, you can simply select the videos in FireAnt you'd like to put on your iPod, choose the gear-shaped icon in the lower left corner of the FireAnt window, and choose Send to iTunes (Figure 1.43).

Figure 1.43. On a Mac, FireAnt can send your videos to iTunes for automatic iPod syncing.

It's also easy to transfer videos to your iPod on a Windows PC. Simply follow the steps in Figures 1.44 and 1.45.

Figure 1.44. Open FireAnt and select the videos that you'd like to put on your iPod. Now right-click on them and choose Synchronize.

Figure 1.45. In the dialog that pops up, select Synchronize > Apple iTunes and then click OK.

These steps will send iPod-compatible videos to iTunes for automatic iPod syncing. The next time you sync your iPod, you will see a FireAnt playlist with videos from your favorite videoblogs.

iPod with iTunes

Transferring your videos to the iPod is super easy using iTunes. Simply connect the iPod to your computer. iTunes will automatically transfer all compatible videos from your vlog subscriptions to your iPod.

Note

iPods that play video support certain QuickTime videos only. If the format of your favorite videoblog isn't supported, iTunes won't transfer it to your iPod. Developers at Mefeedia and FireAnt are working on the ability to convert all formats for syncing and playing on the iPod.

PSP with FireAnt (PC Only)

Sony's PSP is another great device for watching videoblogs on the run. With FireAnt as your aggregator, you can easily download videoblogs from your PC to a PSP.

1.	Open FireAnt and choose View > Media Items. Right-click on a video in the Media Inbox that you want to put on your PSP.
2.	Choose Synchronize > Sony PSP (Figure 1.46). Figure 1.46. FireAnt lets you download your favorite videoblogs to a PSP.
3.	In the PSP Synchronization Settings box, click Sync (Figure 1.47). FireAnt will begin preparing the video for PSP syncing. Figure 1.47. FireAnt's PSP Synchronization Settings
4.	Plug the PSP into your computer using a USB cable.
5.	Turn on the PSP.
6.	On your PSP, choose Settings > USB Mode. Videos will automatically sync to your PSP in the Video Category.

Mobile Phones

Many new mobile phones can browse the Internet and play videos in the 3GP format. While mobile phones have the potential to become a popular video playback device, as of this writing only a few videobloggers make videos in 3GP format. Because video aggregators don't yet support mobile phone technology, the only way to download 3GP video is by going directly to vlogs that support it.

Rocketboom, a daily news satire, and MobuzzTV are two sites that specialize in mobile video, are two sites that support the 3GP mobile phone format. Though you can't subscribe to a feed, you can view 3GP videos from 3G phones at http://rboom.com and http://mobile.mobuzz.com.