OT: How to make animated GIF from videos with ease

How to make animated GIF from videos with ease

In this article,I will show you how to make animated GIF from videos easily. You need 2 simple tools - ffmpeg and any GIF animator.FFmpeg can capture most of videos formats & I use GIF Movie Gear

Note: this method may not work with rm/rmvb videos


Preparation:
Download GIF Movie Gear and capture batch file with ffmpeg
Unzip all the files to your computer.Now you are ready to go


Capture frames:
1. Place the video file you want to capture into the same folder as the batch file
2. Run the batch file,create a folder named "pics" if not exist,press any key to continue
3. It will ask you the file name,input the file name with extension,eg: video.avi
If you dont know what extension it is,click here
4. It will show the video info,you can get the video resolution for use later
5. Input the details. Example:



6. Done!


Make GIFs:
1. Run GIF Movie Gear,import all the captured frames
2. Click Animation -> Timer,set the frame delay time
3. For the best quality,Select local palette for merge method
Edit -> Preferences -> Palettes
4. Save the GIF

Is this tutorial useful for you?

Easiest way to record Internet Radio & Shoutcast using wget

Do you want to save or record online radio stations to your hard disk?
Its no need to spend money on commercial software just to record online radio stations & shoutcast.All you need is a free command line download manager - wget,to save online stations on your disk.


Save / Record Internet Radio & Shoutcast using wget

Note: this method doesnt split or tag songs for you,if you just want to save the whole radio program,this one should definitely help you to do your job.



1. First,get wget binary here
2. Now you need to find the streaming URLs using URL sniffers/snoopers
or just search it in the playlist file (.pls) For example:
I want to record the radio from http://yp.shoutcast.com/sbin/tunein-station.pls?id=437
download the playlist file and open it with notepad or other text editors,so I get several links out there,anyone of the links work,the one with least listeners are preferred because we can get more bandwidth to record the radio program.Now if I want to record this one: http://91.121.124.91:8006/
3. Execute wget from the cmd,and type

wget http://91.121.124.91:8006/

wget will start to record it,press Ctrl + C will stop the process
The recorded file is a .html file,change the file extension to .mp3 and you will be able to play it on media players.

Is this method helpful & useful for you?

OT: How to extract FLV from MP3

After downloading/saving the audio flv files from the internet,you can use media players to play the file on computer.
Most of the media players can play .flv file.How about playing the files on your MP3/MP4 players? You have to "convert" the file to mp3 or any other common audio formats.Changing the file extension will not work in most cases.Since audio flv files use mp3 codec,its no need to re-encode flv to mp3,it will cause extra quality loss.Here's a few tools that can extract mp3 from flv files without any quality loss.



Media Player Classic (Freeware)



Download link: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Media_Player_Classic.htm


The player has a built-in converter that can extract raw data from original file.The converter is called DSM Converter.


To extract mp3 using MPC:
1. Click File -> Utils -> DSM Converter
2. Drag & drop the file into the converter or just right click to add file
3. Right click on Audio -> Demux
4. Save as .mp3 file

or just watch this tutorial



MPC is a great media player.Get it now!




FLV Extract (Freeware)



Download link: http://www.moitah.net/


Free tool that can extract video(avi),audio(mp3,aac,wav) from flv.But the tool requires .NET framework 2.0 or above installed to in order to run,big inconvenience here.The tool has some limitations as well.


To extract mp3 using FLV Extract:
Drag & drop flv file on the tool




Replay Media Catcher MP3 extract tool (Shareware)



Download link: http://applian.com/download-videos/


The recording program has a built-in flv2mp3 tool to extract mp3.Although the program is a shareware,you can use the extract tool for free.


To extract mp3 using extract tool in RMC:
1. Click Tools -> Extract MP3 from FLV
2. Select flv file and save as mp3 file




FFmpeg (Freeware)



Download link: http://ffdshow.faireal.net/mirror/ffmpeg/


FFmpeg is a free command line converter.It will convert most of media formats,including flv file.To extract(convert) mp3 from flv flawlessly,execute the command below:

ffmpeg -i file.flv -acodec copy converted.mp3

It will produce the same quality audio file but in mp3 format.

Which one(s) is/are your favorite(s)? Please leave comments.

How to download/save "anti-leech" HTTP files (deezer & imeem)

This article is written to introduce tools that can download "hard-to-download" (anti-leech) files from the internet.

What's "anti-leech"? That means you cant directly download the file using any download manager and browser.

I always got questions from other users asked me "How to download music and video from imeem,deezer?"
I've found the solution of it. A few tools can do the wonderful job on those files.



NetworkActiv PIAFCTM (Freeware)



Download link: http://www.networkactiv.com/PIAFCTM.html


Its a http packets sniffer and it can capture packets coming to your NIC and reconstruct the packets into readable http files on file mode.For some reasons,the tool didnt work on some network interface cards,all you need to do is install the tool with its packet driver of the installer.


Example of how to download from imeem/deezer:
1. Start the tool,and select the connection that you are currently using.Its recommended to listen on Raw Sockets (Sockets in left column)
2. Click Start to capture,then find and play the song or video you want
3. Let it play until the song/video is fully loaded(buffered) in the browser or "Files Processing" returns to 0 ,then click Stop to capture
4. Find the file in the folder you specified (Tip: Sort the files by file size)

This tool work on most anti-leech sites like imeem,deezer.

WebVideoCap (Freeware)



Download link: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/web_video_capture.html


Free capture tool from Nirsoft. It works like PIAFCTM but it only works on some media type files. The advantage of it is the ability to capture mms,rtsp .wmv files.You can also run it on USB drive because of its light-weight size. It supports 2 capture methods: Raw Sockets and WinPcap.
Before starting to capture,its recommended to select the option "Keep the captured files opened until the capture is finished" in Advanced box or the captured file will be corrupted and unreadable.


Example of how to download from imeem/deezer:
1. Start the tool,and select the suitable capture method.Its recommended to listen on Raw Sockets.
2. Click Start to capture,then find and play the song or video you want
3. Let it play until the song/video is fully loaded(buffered) in the browser,then click Stop to capture
4. Find the file in the folder you specified (Tip: Sort the files by file size)

This tool work on most anti-leech sites that streaming flv files like imeem,deezer.



Effetech HTTP Sniffer (Commercial)



Download link: http://www.effetech.com/sniffer/


Like its name,a HTTP sniffer but it can save HTTP files.It requires WinPcap installed in order to work.It works like PIAFCTM but it can also sniff URLs at the same time.It can capture most of file types unlike WebVideoCap.


Example of how to download from imeem/deezer:
1. Start the tool,and select the adapter that you are currently using in the menu.
2. Click Start to capture,then find and play the song or video you want
3. Let it play until the song/video is fully loaded(buffered) in the browser,then click Stop to capture
4. Right click on the URL(usually the one with biggest file size) and save the file.

This tool work on most anti-leech sites like imeem,deezer.


(Not recommended) SoftX HTTP Debugger 4.3 (Commercial)



Download link: http://download.cnet.com/SoftX-HTTP-Debugger/3000-2218_4-10611766.html


This tool can sniff HTTP URLs and also save HTTP files,but i do not recommend using this tool to save HTTP files.It sometimes crashes the browser or lags the browser after saving bigger files.
But it's worth a try if other tools dont work.


Example of how to download from imeem/deezer:
1. Start the tool,click debug program and select the browser that you are currently using.
2. Find and play the song or video you want
3. Let it play until the song/video is fully loaded(buffered) in the browser
4. Double click on the URL(usually the one with biggest file size) and right click on the preview window and select "Save Content Decoded" to save the file into proper format.
5. After saving,click debug program and detach the browser from the program,then close the program

Step 5 is important because it can reduce/avoid the lag caused by the debugger

This tool work on most anti-leech sites like imeem,deezer.



Additional deezer/imeem download tool - Freezer 1.4 (Freeware)



Download link: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Download-Managers/xsmith-Freezer.shtml


xsmith made a small tool that can download songs from imeem,deezer & jiwa.fr.This tool is fantastic.You dont even need to wait the song is fully loaded(buffered) in the browser,once the program detect the file and start to download it,you can move to next song.It can save multiple songs at the same time. Only supports imeem,deezer & jiwa.fr.


Example of how to download from imeem/deezer:
1. Start the tool,and change the proxy of browser to localhost:8800
2. Find and play the song you want
3. Once the program detect and start to download,you can move to next song

This tool work on imeem,deezer & jiwa.fr.




Thought:

In my opinion,its quite impossible to protect http files,even with anti-leech technique.Some of packet sniffers like PIAFCTM,Effetech Sniffer and SoftX Debugger can save and reconstruct the packets into valid http files.If you can see and hear the sources,you can save it.

Which one(s) is/are your favorite(s)? Please leave comments.

Net Transport(NetXfer) 1.87 maximum threads & jobs patch download

Net Transport(NetXfer) 1.87 is my favorite download manager.It has

- No ads
- No limitations
- No unnecessary features
- Extremely fast download speed
- Simple and clean interface
- Supports common protocols like HTTP,HTTPS,FTP,RTSP,MMS and PNM
- Effective scheduler
- Free


Unfortunately,NetXfer turns into shareware.I manage to find version 1.87,probably the last free version of Net Transport(NetXfer).
The installer come together with a reg file which let you patch the maximum threads & download jobs to 128 & 32 respectively.
Install the program and then double click to add the reg file into windows regedit.
If anyone is interested,here is the download link
http://www.mediafire.com/?2edycriesgw

Feel free to share the file,Net Transport is a program

Top URL Sniffer/Snooper Tools for downloading

In order to download internet resources,you need to know the location of it,or as we call them URL. There are so many URL sniffers or packets sniffers that can sniff the real URLs. But since most of them are not free or might not feed the need of some users(light-weight size,easy to use),I pick my favorite and most efficient tools to sniff the URLs.


1. Smartsniff




Download link: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/smsniff.html


It's easily my favorite sniffer out of all the tools. Reasons? So many.
First of all,its freeware.I think its not right to spend money on a tool just to find a simple URL.
2nd,its a light-weight software,its only 53kb and doesnt require installation in order to use it. You can even put it in your USB drive and run it on any computer.
3rd,URL display mode and sorting feature let you easily find out the url you want.Once you start to capture,it will capture the packets from the sources,let it capture for a few seconds,then stop it,change to URL mode and sort the packets received,the one with most packets captured is usually the URL you want.
4th,it supports multiple capture methods,unlike most other sniffers out there which requires WinPcap installed to use it.Raw Sockets mode is very convenient for Windows XP/2k users like me.
5th,other features like capture filter,different display modes are useful.

Disadvantge: Its a simple http sniffer and it cannot sniff other protocols like mms,rtsp,rtmp,etc.

Smartsniff make a great packets sniffer.A must-have tiny freeware in your computer.


2. Bit Analyzer



Download link: http://bitanalyzer.com/


This tool comes in 2nd on my favorite sniffers list. Another freeware with light-weight file size,though it requires installation and WinPcap.The installation copies 2 files to your computer.You can just copy the executable file to USB drive and use it like Smartsniff.It can also sniff mms,rtsp URLs unlike Smartsniff. The easy to use interface is also the reason why i'd love to use it.

Disadvantage: Requires WinPcap installed.


3. URL Snooper



Download link: http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/urlsnooper/


This handy tool only comes in 3rd on my list,are you surprised?
Most of people would like it a lot because its a well-known free URL sniffer,I am not too sold on this tool,but its still a good sniffer nonetheless .It can sniff rtmp URL which is a big advantage over Smartsniff and Bit Analyzer.

Disadvantage: Requires WinPcap installed & has issues with some network interface cards.


4. Effetech HTTP Sniffer



Download link: http://www.effetech.com/sniffer/


Another HTTP sniffer like Smartsniff,but it requires WinPcap installed.
I dont use it too often,but I'd use it on saving hard-to-download files which means you cannot directly download the file using download manager.It has a special feature to capture packets coming to your NIC and reconstruct the packets into readable http files.Simply right click on the URL and click "Save the file" But you must wait the file(music,video) fully loaded in browser then save it to your disk or the file will be corrupted and unreadable.

Disadvantage: Commercial software.Requires WinPcap installed and it cannot sniff other protocols like mms,rtsp,rtmp,etc.

Other tools: URL Helper (Commercial) / Grab++ @Orbit Downloader (Freeware) / Sniffer @ NetXfer (Commercial) / File Sniffer @Maxthon Browser(Freeware) / Firefox addon - Live HTTP headers(Freeware) / GetASFStream(Freeware)

Which one(s) is/are your favorite(s)? Please leave comments.

My First Post in Blogspot!

Hi! I am new to blogspot,this is my first post here
Please excuse my bad English since i am not a native English speaker
hope yall can understand my English!

I will be writing anything about downloading resources from the internet,especially the multimedia. If I got a problem or found a solution of downloading from the web,i will post them all here.

Welcome to subscribe my blog and spread to others to let them know about it.