MP4 is a versatile format. It’s suitable for watching videos on a PC, but it’s also ideal for watching videos on mobile devices like an iPod or smartphone, as well as devices like the PlayStation PSP.

So where do you go to find free — and legal — MP4 downloads to help stock your online video library? We’ve rounded up sites where you’ll find a wealth of MP4 videos available including full-length movies, educational videos, or wacky user-generated content.

PUBLIC DOMAIN FREE MP4 DOWNLOADS

The Internet Archive’s video section includes a large collection of free public domain videos, most available in MP4, where you’ll find feature films such as The Giant Gila Monster and My Man Godfrey. The site also offers old movie trailers and thousands of videos in categories such as cultural and academic films, arts and music, and sports videos (including the 1972 Muhammad Ali-Floyd Patterson match). There are even made for TV movies such as Rescue From Gilligan’s Island for those who are curious to find out the fate of Gilligan and crew.

Entertainment Magazine Online also features a selection of public domain titles, including old adventure films like the Hercules and Tarzan series, Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons (including the classic Snow White episode with Cab Calloway’s rendition of “St. James Infirmary” – watch it below), and classic TV including the Dick Van Dyke Show and The Jack Benny Show.

CREATIVE COMMONS FREE MP4 MOVIE DOWNLOADS

Videos under a Creative Commons license are available to watch and share for free. Creative Commons has a wiki page listing videos under its various licensing schemes. Many of the titles — though not all — are available as free MP4 movie downloads.

For those who prefer animated movies check out Blender Open Projects, which promotes content created with Blender’s open-source 3D graphics software. The site features four short films under the Creative Commons license. All beautifully animated, three of the films (Elephants Dream, Big Buck Bunny, and Sintel) are available as free MP4 downloads.

Build A Free Classic Movie Library

In addition to watching MP4 videos RealPlayer, you can use the free app to transfer them to  your cell phone. It takes just minutes with the free RealPlayer app.

FREE USER-GENERATED MP4 DOWNLOADS

If your taste in online video runs toward the homemade and the goofy, MP4Point.com has a selection of free MP4 downloads under categories such as commercials/trailers, extreme/shocking, sports related, and funny/stupid. If you love funny cat videos, you’ll appreciate videos like Super Evil Cat. Simply click the “Download MP4 File” link under the video you want and it’s automatically saved to your computer.

FREE MP4 DOWNLOADS THAT INSPIRE AND EDUCATE

Now for something completely different. Love those inspiring TEDTalks presentations? More than 1,500 of them are available as free MP4 downloads from the site. To download, click to begin playing a video. Beneath the stream you’ll see a button to download the video. Select a resolution and a destination (desktop or iTunes), and then download (on a Mac, right click, then select Download Linked File As to save it to your folder of choice).

There are plenty of great talks on the TED Talks site on a range of topics including a Talk by linguist John McWhorter entitled Txtng is killing language. JK!!! To get an idea of some of the things you can learn from a TED Talk check out David Pogue’s 10 Top Time-Saving Tech Tips below:

If educational instruction is what you’re after, the Open Video Project offers a collection of videos targeted toward scholarly research. You’ll find a trove of videos from NASA Connect, the program that supports national math, science, and technology education standards. If you like videos involving students in recondite experiments, such as how surface conditions influence the coefficient friction between two surfaces or space videos, this is your site. To find MP4 videos, you can specify a search for videos in that format across all categories, which includes documentaries, educational, lectures, and public service.

If you’re looking for knowledge that isn’t quite so esoteric, Utah Valley University offers a selection of distance education video courses as free MP4 downloads, including lessons in biology, algebra, and philosophy.

What types of MP4 videos do you like to download? What are your favorite MP4 download sites? Let us know in the comments section.

The ability to watch video on different types of devices is a wonderful thing. Not so wonderful are the compatibility issues that often arise when you try to watch the same video on different devices. That’s because not all video players can play all video formats.

Let’s say you shot a video with a camcorder. You’ve downloaded the file to your computer and you’d like to email it to a few friends. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that they won’t have the proper software or plug-ins to watch it.

That’s where video converter software comes in. With a video converter, you can simply change the video’s file format to something more universal, like AVI. It’s also helpful when you’d like to watch a video on a mobile device, like an iPod or smartphone, which might not support a format intended for viewing on a PC.

There are lots of video converters to choose from, and the technical jargon they throw at you can be overwhelming. Don’t be intimidated — there are just a few things you need to know.

Get A Free Video Converter

There’s no need to spend a lot of money on a video converter. Get RealPlayer and start converting videos into different formats including MP3. Best of all it’s free.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN VIDEO CONVERTER SOFTWARE

The most important aspect is to make sure your video converter supports familiar formats like AVI and WMV for watching on a PC, and MP4 for mobile devices. If you or your friends use a Mac or iPad, look for MOV file support.

Along with file formats, your video converter should support common video codecs, such as MPEG-4 and WMV. If high-definition (HD) matters to you — and it should — make sure the video converter supports the H.264 codec. Although H.264 is the standard codec for Blu-ray discs, it’s also widely used in streaming web video. If you want to post your videos to YouTube or Vimeo, for example, both of those sites support H.264 encoded video files.

Another feature to look for is batch conversion, which allows you to convert several files at once. Also, the ability to trim your videos comes in handy for eliminating unnecessary footage at the end or the beginning of a video and reducing the file size when you want to share a clip via email or post it on a social networking site.

USING REALPLAYER’S BUILT-IN VIDEO CONVERTER 

Along with its ability to play all common video formats, RealPlayer includes a free video converter. Simply click on the video icon in the RealPlayer Library and choose the Convert option. Choose the new file format and the RealPlayer Video Converter does the rest. RealPlayer supports all the popular file formats, including MP4, AVI, and WMV. Additionally, RealPlayer can convert a video to a MP3 file, which you can transfer to a mobile device to listen to educational videos, interviews, and the like. Essentially, it allows you to convert a video into an audio podcast.

If you upgrade to RealPlayer Plus, you can convert videos to MKV, which is becoming an increasingly popular web video format because of its ability to support multiple audio tracks, DVD-like interactive menus, and user-generated subtitles. RealPlayer Plus also supports the H.264 and MPEG-4 codecs for high-quality video playback.

VIDEO CONVERTERS MAKE SHARING VIDEOS A SNAP

While all these file formats might look like alphabet soup, having a general idea of what different devices can generally play which video formats definitely helps. That will make converting videos easier and increase the chances that the person you are sending your video to will be able to watch it. There are plenty of online video converters available that can be downloaded to your computer, a little knowledge can help you pick the one that’s right for you.

What device do you use to watch online videos most? Do you have problems playing videos sent to you from friends and family? Have other questions about video converters? Let us know in the comments below.

By Ken Myers

When it comes to protecting our children from the content of the Internet, there is no such thing as too much security. Although the Internet is loaded with valuable information for all ages, it also can subject your child to content they may not be ready for or is otherwise inappropriate. Even innocent enough websites such as YouTube can have inappropriate material displayed. This is especially true if the computer your child is using is shared by the whole family. YouTube and Google will provide results based on your search criteria. In a shared environment, this can yield results that you may not want your children to have access to.

6 PARENTAL CONTROL TIPS TO MAKE SURE KIDS ARE WATCHING SAFE VIDEOS ONLINE

There are many ways a parent can ensure the viewing safety of the children while watching videos on the Internet. While some options may be more technical, others can be accomplished through simple settings for accounts. Either way, you can provide a safe environment for the child without dismantling much of what you enjoy.

1. Restriction by Router - Many routers within the home can be set up to deny access to one site depending on the IP address of the computer on the network. This may be a bit technical for many, but you can remove sites such as YouTube and Vimeo from children computers while allowing yourself access. These settings are usually in the “Access Restrictions” area of the router. Unless the child knows the password to the router, there is no access to specified sites within this list.

Many firewalls will deny access to the website in question for all computers connected to the network. If you want to have access to YouTube, but don’t want the child watching those videos, learning more about this setting can help you secure your network for the younger audiences while giving you freedom to enjoy your favorite content.

2. Become Informed - Although the technology surrounding the Internet may escape you, it is a subject that you must learn. If you are to protect your children against inappropriate content, you need to know what measures you can take and how to deal with problems should they arise. A curious child may have the technical skills to circumvent your measures and you need to know what can be done. When it comes to technology, today’s youth is becoming more and more adept to working with it better than you can. You need to stay ahead of the game in order to succeed.

3. Communication - It’s never too early to sit your child down and explain the rules of the Internet within the home. If they are old enough to use the Internet without your assistance, then they are old enough to understand what is to be expected. Setting ground rules for everyone to obey isn’t any more complicated than any other rule in your house. Follow-through with consequences could easily be implemented by learning more about the security capabilities of your network’s router. You could potentially turn off Internet access based on time of day, specific computers or Internet-enabled devices, or all together.

4. Parental Control Settings - Many tablets, smartphones, browsers, and other computer related equipment have some kind of parental safety control built into them. For example, Internet Explorer has such a setting that can be activated in order to reduce inappropriate content from being viewed. Essentially, you can lock these devices down from accessing sites and content you deem are inappropriate.

5. User Accounts - If your child is exceptional at computer usage, he or she can circumvent a lot of parental controls by creating a new account on the computer system. These new accounts won’t have a lot of the settings initialized for parental control as these are usually account specific settings. By not allowing your child to have administrative control of the computer, he or she would not be able to create new accounts in order to browse unfettered. However, this would mean that you may have to install any software the child would like on the computer system – which may not be a bad idea anyway.

6. YouTube Parental Control - Within the settings of Google and YouTube, you are able to “Save and Lock” parental controls for safer viewing. However, these can easily be thwarted. YouTube relies on the viewers to deem if a video is inappropriate or not. It’s possible for these videos to slip through the cracks and still be viewed. Vulgar content can also be accessed by certain videos if the child simply logs out of the account and browses as a guest. However, the setting may still be able to reduce the damage by removing a great deal of videos from children who may not be that adept at the internal workings of YouTube.

Regardless of your methods, it is up to you as a parent to be involved in your child’s life. All too often parents give their children free reign of the Internet which can lead to undesirable circumstances. Don’t allow your child to become a statistic and become involved today. Let us know in the comments if you have any tips for watching safe video online.

About the Author: Ken Myers is the founder of Longhorn Leads  and has learned over the years the importance of focusing on what the customer is looking for and literally serving it to them. He doesn’t try to create a need; instead he tries to satisfy the existing demand for information on products and services.

Flash video is all over the Internet, but at the same time Flash video on the Internet is a dying format. On one hand, you see Flash used on all of the major streaming video sites like YouTube or Facebook. On the other hand, Flash is jumping into the dustbin of history — its maker Adobe has totally given up on updating Flash for mobile devices. Smartphone and tablet users are on their own with Flash video, and must seek out a third-party FLV player or app to play Flash videos on mobile devices.

The “big picture” reason that Flash is doomed is that it doesn’t work on mobile devices. Apple stopped shipping Flash on new iPhones and iPads in 2010 because the CPU and battery demands of Flash diminished the performance of those lovely iOS devices. “The video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software,” the late Steve Jobs said in an open letter explaining why Apple abandoned Flash. “The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.”

Two years later, Adobe announced it would no longer support Flash for Android devices, and pulled Flash from the Google Play store. That means you can’t use Flash on an iPhone, iPad, or most Android smartphones or tablets. That eliminates most mobile devices!

Get A Free FLV Player

Can’t play Flash videos on your computer? No problem. Just download the free version of RealPlayer and you can start watching FLV videos, well, in a flash.

DOWNLOAD A FLV PLAYER TO WATCH FLASH VIDEOS OFFLINE

Flash videos play in the FLV file format. Since FLV videos are found on websites, they are really only designed to play on those sites while being viewed on a computer’s web browser. Sure, you can view embedded Flash videos on your computer’s web browser, but the media players that come standard on your computer won’t play them. If you want to play those Flash video files offline, then you’ll need to find a good, solid free FLV player.

If you’re offline you’ll need some form of dedicated FLV player to watch these videos. The easiest option is to download FLV players to watch Flash videos on your computer.Whatever you do, don’t pay for a FLV player! There are plenty of trustworthy free FLV players made by reputable companies that are perfectly safe to use.

FREE FLV PLAYER WANTED

Free software can be loaded with all kinds of garbage like viruses, malware, and bloatware. That’s why it’s important to download FLV players or other free software from companies with long track records of providing safe and easy to use software. RealPlayer plays FLV videos with ease and it’s one of the fastest and safest way to download a free FLV player. If you don’t already have it, you can download RealPlayer by clicking on the orange button on the top right corner of this page.

If you’ve ever come across a video while surfing the web on a smartphone that wouldn’t play, it’s likely that it was a FLV video embedded on that website. While the options to download FLV players to a mobile device are limited, one of the easiest things to do is to convert FLV videos to a format that is compatible with your device. This feature is included with the free version of RealPlayer. Just download the FLV video on your computer and save it in the RealPlayer library. Then convert it and transfer it to your phone. If you don’t know what format works with your phone, no worries. Simply select your phone model and RealPlayer does the rest.

FLV PLAYERS – WHAT’S NEXT?

There is more to the demise of Flash than just a lack of mobile support. The “little picture” reason that developers embraced an alternative to Flash video is that it cannot really be customized, so they’re less willing to work with it. All the logic and programming built into Flash is restricted by patents. The method by which Flash videos are encapsulated — that is, their various streams of data are turned into characteristics like voice, color and screen size — are all built into proprietary software belonging to Adobe.

Flash is rapidly being replaced by HTML5 — an open-source format with multimedia capabilities that displays and operates similarly on smartphones, tablets, computers, and laptops. To the viewer, HTML5 will work the same way as Flash did. However, developers have the ability to customize the video in all kinds of wild and exciting new ways — from creating their own Play, Pause, and Volume buttons, to choosing the image to display in the background while the video loads, to producing interactive video. Adding video is much easier for developers and designers in HTML5, and best of all, you won’t see those maddening “Your Adobe Flash plug-in has crashed” messages anymore.

What’s your favorite FLV player? Have you found any good FLV players for iPads and smartphones? Just how often does your Adobe Flash player plug-in crash on your computer? Crash the party with your observations in the comments section below.

Navigating the world of video file formats can get confusing, even more so when it comes to playing video on different types of devices. Not all videos can play on all types of devices. In fact, there are plenty of smartphones that can’t play FLV videos. Before you even start downloading videos, it’s best to know what types of video formats can be played on your device. Not to worry, we can help. Whether you’re looking for movies to watch on your computer, smartphone, or tablet, here’s what you need to know if you’re searching for videos by file format.

DOWNLOAD MKV MOVIES TO WATCH ON YOUR COMPUTER

When looking online you’ll likely see a lot of options to download MP4 videos. That’s because MP4 is the jack-of-all-trades among video formats. It’s widely used for computers and mobile devices, and it’s appropriate for both downloading and streaming video. Since it’s the default choice for smartphones and tablets, we’ll discuss downloading MP4 movies in-depth later. Besides, another format is gaining in popularity for watching movies on your computer.

MKV has the capability of handling virtually unlimited streams of digital media. In addition to multiple tracks of audio and video, an MKV file player can read subtitles, chapter points, menus, stereoscopic 3D content, and it supports the AC3 surround sound codec. MKV also supports dual audio tracks and fansubs — subtitles in different languages created by individual fans — which is why it’s become a popular format for anime videos. As more and more movies have additional features available there will be increasingly more MKV movie downloads available online.

Find The Best Video Format For Your Device

Do video formats confuse you?Leave the guess work to us. Download the free version of RealPlayer and use it to convert and transfer movies to play on your device. All you need to know is the name of your phone.

Not all video players can play downloaded MKV movies, so it’s important to look at the video file formats supported by a video player before getting it. RealPlayer Plus can play MKV videos as well as read the encoded subtitles found in MKV files.

HOW TO PLAY AVI MOBILE MOVIES

While MKV is quickly gaining favor, an old standby format is still widely used. Just about every media player supports AVI movies, and you’ll often find AVI videos on sites that offer free movie downloads. Developed in the early 1990s, AVI has become somewhat antiquated since there have been several technologies introduced that offer better compression schemes for optimizing space requirements. That’s why AVI files are typically larger than MP4 files, making them less suitable for use on mobile devices or for streaming movies on a computer.

If you have a library of AVI files on your computer that you’d like to be able to play on your mobile device, there are plenty of video format converters available that will do the trick. In fact, the free version of RealPlayer converts a wide range of formats including AVI and can transfer videos directly to your Android device. The best part about RealPlayer is that you don’t actually need to know which video file format will work with your mobile device. Instead, you simply select the model of your phone from the list of supported handsets and RealPlayer does the rest.

DOWNLOAD MP4 MOVIES TO WATCH ON SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS

When looking for files that will play on your smartphone, the format you’ll come across most often is MP4. It’s widely compatible with Android and Apple mobile devices. From a technical standpoint, MP4‘s main attraction is that it supports the H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) codec, which processes the original large media file into a small package that can yield high-quality video at very low bit rates if necessary. The H.264 codec is optimal both for streaming Internet video (which requires lower bit rates) and Blu-ray discs (which handle extremely high bit rates). For smartphones, your best bet is to download MP4 movies. These videos will save space without sacrificing quality.

As with smartphones, MP4 is the standard video format on tablets. But what about all those anime MVK movies downloaded and saved on your computer that you’d like to play on your tablet? It’s unlikely that your tablet’s video player will play MKV files by default, so you’ll need to download a media player that supports the format. Otherwise, you’ll have to find a video converter app that will convert MKV files to MP4, such as RealPlayer Plus.

Do you have a format preference when it comes to watching video? Let us know in the comments section.

All it takes is just one click to share a video you created with the world. This is either a thrilling or a terrifying concept; it depends entirely on the nature of the video and the kindness or otherwise of your friends.

Second only to sharing videos on YouTube, never has online video had more power than it has on Facebook. Why? Hitting the “share” button is so darn easy and often it’s too late to take the video down without anyone having a chance to see it.

FACEBOOK VIDEOS: WHAT’S YOUR PREFERRED SHARING METHOD

Sharing video on Facebook has exponential power, but that’s no reason to be terrified you can use this weapon to achieve a lot of good. There are several ways that you can share a video with friends on Facebook.

1. The simplest way to share videos if you have a good Internet connection is to send it straight from your video camera (if it’s your mobile device) to your Facebook page. Give it a good title, tag your friends who would like the video, hit update, and that’s it. You are done.
2. If you don’t upload Facebook videos directly from a mobile device, you can transfer the video to a desktop computer from your video camera and then upload it to Facebook. If you’re feeling artistic and want to edit the video first, you can upload videos to Facebook straight from the editing software package on your PC. The specifications for the format types, the aspect ratio, and the file size can be found here. A word of warning: Facebook videos must be less than 1024MBs in file size and under 20 minutes in length. Just make sure the video fits those specifications and uploading videos is a breeze.
3. For larger videos, you can upload them to a compatible video sharing website and embed the video into your Facebook page as a status update. This works just fine, no problem at all.
4. If you have a Facebook Page for business or dedicated to your career then it’s possible to embed your whole YouTube Channel onto a tab on your Facebook Page. This looks fabulous and is a great way to showcase your video talents. You can use a free app from Involver.com to do this.
5. Of course, the last way to share a video on Facebook that you haven’t created is to simply hit the share button on one of the videos of a friend and now all your other friends can see it, too.

Save Facebook Videos With Just One Click

Tired of missing videos shared by friends and family on Facebook? Download the free version of RealPlayer and you can easily find and save videos in your Facebook feed on your computer.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD VIDEO FROM FACEBOOK

One of the problems with Facebook is the high rate of flux of its content. This is extremely noticeable if you have a large number of friends who are constantly updating their profiles.

Here’s the challenge: You see a video that you like, you watch it, but when you try to find it later… it has disappeared in a News Feed.

One great solution to this problem can be found in the free version of RealPlayer. If you don’t already have RealPlayer you can download it by clicking the orange button at the top right hand corner of this post. Use it to automatically download Facebook videos that your friends have posted in the last seven days on Facebook straight onto your desktop.

Once you have the application installed, just log into your Facebook account and you can start downloading Facebook videos to your RealPlayer library. This is an easy way to start downloading and collecting videos shared in your Facebook News Feed. You can also use the app to download or bookmark videos from any other online video sharing website for that matter.

WHAT MAKES A VIRAL FACEBOOK VIDEO

There are no magic tricks to making a viral video or in the case of a horrific bachelor party misdemeanor… preventing one. In truth, the secret to creating a video that spreads around the world in a matter of hours, almost always lies somewhere within the nature of the video content. Here are some things to look for in your video:

1. It is shocking.
2. It is hilarious.
3. It involves a celebrity.
4. It involves a celebrity doing something that is both shocking and hilarious.

SAVING YOUR FRIENDS FROM FACEBOOK VIDEO SHAME 

To shame or not to shame — that really is the question. If a friend acts shamelessly and you manage to catch this hilarious, or downright scandalous act on video… should you post it on Facebook? Ultimately, that’s a question of ethics and what feels right to you and your friendship with that person.

That said, you should check out our post on The Unbreakable Rules Of Video Sharing. It provides Facebook video posting guidelines. Remember, downloading Facebook videos is insanely easy. Think about if what you’re posting is a video you wanted downloaded from Facebook before hitting the share button.

What types of videos do you post on Facebook? Do you want to download videos from Facebook so you can save them in your personal archive? What are your favorite Facebook videos? Let us know in the comments below.

As a child “it” was my favorite part of going to the movies.  No, it’s not the overpriced candy and popcorn. It is of course the exciting new movie trailers that would screen prior to the start of the feature film. Before movie trailers were available to watch for free on the Internet, there were only news and advertisements about which films would be coming out soon. The anticipation of seeing these new movie trailers was palpable and they did not disappoint.

Now, of course, movie trailers can be watched online at any time, movie previews are pretty much everywhere in cyberspace. The genre of “the movie trailer watching” has changed, but there are still plenty of places where you can watch them and talk to friends about them.

WHERE TO FIND NEW MOVIE TRAILERS

Movie trailer preview sites are highly competitive, there is nothing quite like an exclusive on an upcoming blockbuster. This means that not all new movie trailers can be found on every site… much like the cinema you have to shop around to find out exactly where your movie trailer preview is playing. So let’s take a look at some of the best movie trailer websites.

MovieFone.Com: On Moviefone there is a wide selection of movie trailers arranged into different categories including movies that are currently in theaters, movies that are coming soon, and movies that are out on DVD.

One of the great things about Moviefone is that you can simply enter your zip code and it will tell you where the actual movie is playing (if it is already in theaters) or you can click on the link and go straight to Amazon where the movie (If it’s been released) can be purchased or downloaded/streamed if it’s available on Amazon’s video on demand service.

Download Movie Trailers For Free

Use RealPlayer to download and save movie trailers with just one click. Watch the trailers at your leisure or transfer them to your phone and view it on the way to the theater all for free.

Trailer Addict: The website TrailerAddict.com is custom built for movie trailer addicts. You can watch trailers in full screen HD, download the mobile version, or just sit and watch your favorite movie trailers all night long streaming on your computer.

Best of all, Trailer Addict aggregates all different trailers, video clips, and interviews about each film and aggregates them all together in the one place. The site even offers new movie trailers of  Sundance Film Festival winners. Loads of fun!

Yahoo Movies: The website has a great looking interface on the homepage. Unfortunately, once you click through to watch a movie trailer, the website becomes clunky. That said, Yahoo Movies definitely manages to snag most of the blockbuster movie trailers.

There are options for watching movie trailers in HD and taking part in a community discussion about the trailers. If a new movie trailer catches your attention and is available in theaters, you can click through and book movie tickets online at Fandango.com.

iTunes Apple Trailers: Apple has a great range of movie trailer previews in its iTunes database. Due to the popularity of all things Apple, iTunes often manages to get an exclusive deal on new movie trailers.

There is a wide range of new movie trailers available for each individual film and those often include featurette videos; the type of content that used to be reserved for DVD’s only.  iTunes also syncs up with Rotten Tomatoes to show user ratings and reviews of the full length movie. It’s a great place to go to make your “movie watching” decisions.

ComingSoon.Net: Coming Soon really is an all encompassing website for movie lovers with the latest movie news, video interviews, box office reports, and best of all new movie trailer previews.

A word of warning: There is so much content on the website that it can be a little taxing to find the movie trailers that you are looking for, but if you’ve got time on your hands then you could easily spend your whole day on this site drinking in all the movie stuff.

IMDB: The International Movie Database (IMDB) is one of the best places for a movie fan to visit. The site is a vast network containing just about everything relating to movies. From cast and crew biographies and filmographies, to stunning film photos, to box office reports and movie trailers.

The great thing about IMDB is that its movie trailer library is massive. So you can easily watch old movie trailers reminisce about the good old days.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TRAILERS

Every now and then you will see a new movie trailer that you just want to watch again and again. Such, addictive trailer watching wets the appetite and builds the anticipation as the release date approaches.

The good news is that you can now use the RealPlayer One Click Video Download Tool to download the movie trailers onto your computer. Once they are saved in the RealPlayer library, show them to friends and watch them whenever you choose without having to go back online. You could even create your own movie trailer library.

Ready. Set. Go. It’s movie trailer watching time.

What’s your favorite part about going to the movies? Is it the new movie trailers? Let us know in the comments below.

Two contradictory trends are happening in video. On the one hand, we spend a lot of money and effort making our living rooms seem more like movie theaters — all anchored by a large high-definition television, of course.

On the flip side is mobile video, in which we watch movies on screens smaller than old analog portable TVs. It’s a matter of convenience. Whether you’re commuting, stuck in an airport, or trapped at a function with your in-laws, sometimes you need to escape with a movie, and your phone is the only device available. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for mobile movie watching.

MOBILE PHONE MOVIES: STREAMING SERVICES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

With streaming movie services, you pay a monthly subscription and can watch the available titles as often as you wish. Hulu is best known for letting viewers catch up on their favorite TV shows. For about $8 a month, Hulu Plus gives you access to an extensive movie library. You won’t necessarily find the latest blockbusters, but its catalog of classic films is impressive, anchored by its inclusion of the Criterion Collection, which includes art-house favorites from across the globe. You’ll find films by Jim Jarmusch, Francois Truffaut, and Yasujiro Ozu, among others, within the section. Download the free Hulu Plus Android app for access to its entire streaming library on your mobile phone.

Mobile Movie Theater

Already have movies on your computer that you want to watch on your smartphone? No problem. Just download the RealPlayer Android app to your phone and you can keep all the movies you transfer to your phone in one spot.

The roster of movies on Netflix’s $8-a-month streaming plan still isn’t as compelling as it should be. Blame it on studios such as Sony and Universal keeping their titles off of Netflix. Of course, there’s still the frustration you experience when the rights to some titles expire and you can’t watch them on Netflix anymore. But it’s getting better all the time. Netflix’s Android app that’s free when you purchase a streaming subscription to the service can be used to watch any movie available for streaming on your mobile device.

Like Hulu, the selection of newer movies is spotty. You’ll currently find Friends With Kids, Cosmopolis, and Bernie among the newer arrivals. The selection of older titles is a bit better, where you’ll find classics such as Midnight Cowboy and Gosford Park. Netflix’s foreign film roster is good, even for celebrated newer titles such as Leos Carax’s Holy Motors and 5 Broken Cameras, which was nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for best documentary feature. Netflix’s strength is in its roster of television shows, which includes Mad Men, the Netflix original series House of Cards, and the upcoming reboot of Arrested Development.

Before you start streaming any movies on your mobile device we recommend checking out your data plan. Streaming movies over your phone’s data network can eat through a data plan pretty quickly. Unless you have an unlimited data plan, you might be better off streaming movies over your phone via a free WiFi connection.

DOWNLOAD PAY-PER-VIEW MOBILE MOVIES

For the best selection of new releases, pay-per-view mobile movie downloads are your best bet. With pay-per-view services, you can stream movies directly from your smartphone app when you’re connected to a network. You can also download the files, which allows you to watch a movie on your mobile phone when a network connection is unavailable (when you’re on a plane, or when visiting in-laws who live in a wireless dead zone). The downside to downloading a movie is that video takes up precious space on your phone or memory card. The good news is microSD cards are becoming more and more affordable (you can get a 16GB card for under $15 that can store up to 64 hours of non-HD video). Also keep in mind that when you rent a movie, you generally have 30 days to start watching it, and then a 24-hour window to finish watching the movie once you begin.

If you have an Android smartphone, it’s a snap to watch purchased movies with Google Play. If you have a recent Android smartphone, the Google Play Movies and TV app comes preinstalled on your device. To download Google Play titles to your phone, find the video you wish to save in the Google Play app, click the “push pin” icon on the thumbnail image, and press “OK.”

You’ll find the latest titles for rent or purchase on Google Play, such as Lincoln, This Is 40, and Skyfall. The newest titles are generally $4 or $5 to rent and $15 to purchase. Older movies are usually cheaper to rent, although purchase prices tend to remain constant. Also, not every title — especially older ones — are available for purchase.

Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone and Galaxy Note phone/tablet hybrid can take advantage of the preinstalled Samsung Media Hub app, which offers access to new movie and TV titles, such as Life of Pi and Bates Motel.

TRANSFER MOVIES TO YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

It’s easy to watch movies on your mobile phone directly from the content providers. But what if you already have a library of paid-for movies stored on your PC that you’d like to be able to watch on your phone? You can use RealPlayer to transfer videos to your smartphone.

Connect the phone to the computer, open the RealPlayer library, and click on the phone icon. Hover your mouse over the video you want to move, select “Copy To,” and choose your mobile phone. RealPlayer does the rest, and you’ll be able to watch mobile movies with the free RealPlayer for Android app.

How often do you watch movies on your mobile device? Let us know in the comments section.

Last year we announced the RealPlayer’s Video Visionary Award – Education. The award recognizes those who are using video to create world-class educational content for the masses. We’re happy to announce the next recipient of the award is IB Chemistry.

Available on YouTube, IB Chemistry is dedicated to helping kids and people understand and learn chemistry. Led by Richard Thornley, a chemistry teacher at the United Nations International School in New York, uses video to help teach viewers a complete specific Chemistry course. Thornley was educated in South London and graduated with a degree in Environmental Chemistry from the University of East Anglia. In his first year of teaching chemistry he began to appreciate all that teachers do and how hard it can be. The videos have become a way to help students and viewers learn chemistry in a fun way – many of the videos have a video game feel to them making them all that more engaging. Watch the video below to get an idea of what you can expect from the IB Chemistry channel on YouTube.

VIDEO VISIONARY INTERVIEW WITH IB CHEMISTRY

We caught up with Richard Thornley, teacher and sole creator of the IB Chemistry channel, to learn more about the goals behind the IB Chemistry channel and about how video is being used to help teach chemistry. What follows is our interview with the Video Visionary Award – Education recipient:

RealPlayer (RP):
 How long has IB Chemistry been producing videos?

Richard Thornley (RT): For three years and we average one video every three days. I live in a poky apartment and can never have on any loud music. So I would go to school, crank up the cheesy 80’s rock and get to work on the videos.

RP:
 What gave you the idea to make chemistry videos?

RT: The school I teach at set aside some teacher time for a computer based IB project (only about an afternoon a week, though). We had found a niche on the Internet creating videos for a complete specific course made by someone who has actually taught it for years and therefore knows how to teach it in a way to avoid common misunderstandings.

RP: Some of the videos are reminiscent of a video game (such as the video below that describes Collision Theory), what is the motivation behind using this medium and is it effective?

RT: Kids can learn from quirky narratives. I thought maybe linking this to video games would be a novel idea. Also, I try to have a “Where’s Waldo” recurring character, Dr. Atkinson, who meets an untimely end related to the chemistry involved. My mother claimed that the time spent playing video games, as a fresh-faced youth, would never pay off. Thirty years later I have proved her wrong!

RP: How do you decide which topics to cover and should people view them in any particular order?

RT: I decided to cover the ENTIRE course – as taught at the school where I teach. Chemistry builds upon itself more than any science. In physics, if you do not understand Newton’s Laws you might still be fine with radioactivity or optics. That’s not really the case with chemistry – so it is easy to get left behind. Hopefully these videos help those who are behind to catch-up. I got left behind in French class and could never get the present tense in the first 6 months. Took French for 5 long years! Now, I would catch up using YouTube videos.

RP: Have you found a video style more effective than others?

RT: I genuinely have no idea which videos will be popular! One video took me two years of working on and off to complete it and no-one really watched it. Another video I did in an hour is one of my top ten most watched videos.Overall, I’d say my irreverent attitude towards the subject, exam board and “let’s just get this done – with the least you need to know – but hey this bit is kinda cool” style seems to work.

RP: Can you tell us about the video team?

RT: We all work at the United Nations International School in NYC. Along with myself, the other members of the team include: Brian Kahn, a veteran teacher and author, who had the original idea “Why not put the entire course on the Internet?” and got the teachers the time off to make the videos. Stephanie Castle is the site creator of IB Biology, the sister site to IB Chemistry.

RP: Where can people go to learn more about IB Chemistry and spread the word about the video services?

The IB is the internationally recognized program for schools. It highlights an all round international education from primary school through high school. People can learn more about IB Chemistry by visiting our YouTube channel.

Click here for instructions on how to nominate a series of educational videos to receive a Video Visionary – Education award.

What do you think of the IB Chemistry videos? Does it bring chemistry principles to life? What’s your favorite video? Let us know in the comments below.

Surely you know there are plenty of ways to find movie trailers online for upcoming flicks. Did you know the web is also a rich resource for finding and downloading old movie trailers? Given the variety of sites offering classic movie trailers, there’s definitely an appetite for this sort of thing.

At first blush, it seems like a strange pursuit. If you’ve already seen the movie, why would you want to watch the trailer? If you haven’t already seen, say, Citizen Kane, is the trailer really going to tip the scales one way or the other? It just might.

On the other hand, if you’re a serious film buff there’s something to be said about studying old movie trailers. At their best, they were masterpieces of editing and narration, giving enough information to pique your interest but, not so much that you no longer need to see the film. Unlike today’s previews that basically give away the entire movie — or at least the best jokes — old movie trailers were often mysterious and elliptical. Check out the trailer for Taxi Driver to see for yourself. Plus, you get a glimpse at actors/actresses such as Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Jodie Foster, and Cybill Shepherd performances in the early stages of their careers.

Filmmakers used to take the medium seriously, elevating movie trailers into works of art in and of themselves. For Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick employed a montage of quick edits, bringing the film’s off-kilter satire in even greater relief. To promote Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock starred in a guided tour of the Bates Motel.

WHERE TO FIND OLD MOVIE TRAILERS

Simply Classic

Old movie trailers never go out of style. Download RealPlayer free and save movie trailers to your RealPlayer library with just one click and take a walk down memory lane.

Several sites have sections devoted to trailers of classic films. On Reel Classics’ video gallery page, you’ll find the original trailers for such movies as 12 Angry Men (intense), The Maltese Falcon (intriguing), and 2001: A Space Odyssey (as inscrutable as the movie itself). Most of the clips are QuickTime MOV files that you can download directly from the website. Just install the free version of RealPlayer, mouse over the top right corner of the video player and click Download This Video. It will be downloaded into your RealPlayer library where you can you play it or use the video format converter to transfer it to other devices.

Movie List also has an extensive selection of old movie trailers, although most of the films are of a more recent vintage than Reel Classics’ selection. Here you’ll find the original trailers to such titles as 12 Monkeys, Pulp Fiction, and Purple Rain (a classic example in which the trailer is better than the movie). Like Reel Classics, Movie List offers MOV files that you can download directly from the website.

Along with an extensive collection of full-length public domain movies available for free download, the Internet Archive offers several dozen old movie trailers, mostly in the science-fiction B-movie realm. If you haven’t experienced the incompetent genius that is Plan 9 From Outer Space or Attack of the Giant Leeches, you’ll surely want to download the free movie versions after watching the trailers. Most clips are in MP4 or OGG formats, which you can download directly from the site and then watch the videos in RealPlayer.

OLD MOVIE TRAILERS ON YOUTUBE

Not surprisingly, YouTube offers the broadest range of old movie trailers, but you can get lost for hours making your way through the various sources. Fortunately, the Old Hollywood Trailers channel organizes its enormous selection by decade. Covering the 1930s through 2007, you’ll find classic trailers from Grand Hotel to American Graffiti, from Mrs. Miniver to Moonstruck.

You can save trailers from YouTube using RealPlayer and save them in the RealPlayer Library whee you can watch them as many times as you would like. You can also transfer them to your smartphone and watch them on the go using the free RealPlayer Android app.

Do you watch old movie trailers? Do you think they’re better than today’s movie trailers? Tell us why and let us know your favorites in the comments section.