The Apple I-pod is one of the most technologically advanced multi media players on the market. The new I-pod touch and I-pod video have the capabilities to store and play thousands of songs and pictures like the older models, but now have the technology to store and play hundreds of hours of video as well.

Apple has taken instant, hand held entertainment to a new level, allowing I-pod users to create their own videos and upload them onto their I-pods to enjoy and share, or to purchase their favorite music videos from I-tunes (or one of any number of other online retailers) to carry with them anywhere they go.

Where to get your Favorite Videos

There are a number of ways to get your favorite music videos and movie clips onto your I-pod where you'll be able to enjoy them wherever and whenever you want.

The Safest Bets

You can join a website for the specific purpose of supplying videos for portable media players. This is often a good option, because the files will already be in the format that will be compatible with your I-pod software, so all you have to do is essentially point and click to have all of your favorite music videos in the palm of your hand. The only downside to joining a membership site, is that you have to pay the fee regardless of how many videos you download - so if you only find a few that you really want, then you could be paying an exceedingly high per-video fee. The up side is that downloading videos this way is perfectly safe and legal; you can search and download all the videos you want without any fear of viruses or legal repercussions.

You can transfer videos from DVDs that you already own, which will be free, but a little bit more complicated. I-pods only support video in the MPEG 4 format, which means that any videos in any other format will have to be translated into the MPEG 4 format in order to be compatible with your I-pod. Translating video into this format will require you to purchase software that can change the video format, creating an extra cost and adding an extra step to the process. You may or may not be able to find a software application that can translate certain video formats for you for free, but be very wary about what sites you download programs from - in looking for a cheaper alternative, you may just find yourself with an unwanted virus.

You can also join a "pay as you download" site, where you won't have any out of pocket cost to join, but will pay for each individual video that you download. This is just as safe and legal as the pay membership sites, but you will probably end up paying a bit more for each individual video that you download. These sites often have very extensive libraries containing thousands and thousands of videos to choose from, so finding the exact videos that you want shouldn't be very challenging.

A Cheaper but, Risky Option

If you don't want to pay for the software to translate videos into the MPEG4 format, or pay anything for the videos that you download, you can always visit a free download or shareware site. You'll usually be able to find exactly what you are looking for on these sites, but the big downsides here are that it is dangerous and illegal. These sites usually aren't monitored very well, so it's pretty common to find that either a virus or some form of spy-ware has found it's way onto your computer, particular if your are on the sites often.

Whatever method of downloading videos to your I-pod that you happen to choose, you'll be opening yourself up to a whole new style of entertainment. You'll have instant access to all of your favorite music videos, no matter when or where you want to view them. Apple has totally changed the way we are able to entertain ourselves with the capabilities of the new series of I-pods.