Online

• 1). Browse an online converter such as Zamzar, which avoids downloads of space-hogging programs that may contain viruses. The site limits you to a maximum of 2 MB.
  
  
• 2). Click "Browse" to navigate to the video you need. Double-click the file to load it into the site.
  
  
• 3). Choose a format from the Step 2 drop-down that your MP3 player can handle, such as M4V.
  
  
• 4). Enter your email address in the Step 3 box and click "Convert." When processing is finished, a link to the converted file is emailed to you.
  
  

Free Program

• 1). Download, install and run a free converter such as Any Video Converter, which avoids any limits and lets you convert even without an Internet connection.
  
  
• 2). Click "Add Video" to load one or more files into the software. You can convert several videos at one time.
  
  
• 3). Choose a video format from the Profile drop-down that is compatible with MP3 players, such as "MP4."
  
  
• 4). Adjust conversion options as needed such as the sampling rate or the number of audio channels.
  
  
• 5). Click "Convert" to convert the file. The file appears in the My Videos folder, unless you change the default by choosing the Edit menu and selecting "Options."
  
  

Commercial Software

• 1). Buy, install and run a commercial program such as Blaze Media Pro, which allows editing and playing of files, and can add special effects.
  
  
• 2). Click "Edit Video" if you want to adjust the video before conversion. Otherwise, click "Convert Video" to display the Video Converter dialog box.
  
  
• 3). Click the first "Add Files" button to load one or more files onto the site. You can convert more than one file at a time.
  
  
• 4). Choose a tab for the format compatible with your MP3 player. For example, if you have an iPod, choose the iPod tab.
  
  
• 5). Select a specific format in the Profile drop-down. In the case of the iPod, you can leave the default of "MPEG-4/210x240/25FPS/256Kbit/AAC/48Kbit."
  
  
• 6). Click the third "Convert" button to display the Browse for Folder dialog box. Navigate to the folder in which to store the converted file. Click "OK" to process the file.